Howdy.
I read the article described in the link and although it was meant for a more literary minded audience, I agree with it in spirit. I thought I would share my interpretation here, because in many ways, Annie Proulx' story has affected me deeply and I would appreciate your feedback. I also read some of the postings here and I feel that some of us may have misunderstood some of what was said in the analysis. I hope to do this justice.
First, at the risk of putting myself in a vulnerable spot, I have seen the movie once and then read the original short story. I am hard-of-hearing and visually impaired individual, who was born in the 60s on a tropical island's ethnically melting pot, but after childhood emigrated to Canada in the 70s. I also identify myself with being a gay male. People have called me all kinds of labels, but I have never been comfortable with them (yes, I promise to post something in the My Brokeback Mountain thread, it is just that it is very, very emotional and convoluted... so I hope you guys can wait)
The story "Brokeback Mountain" is a work of fiction, with these fictional characters in a hypothetical situation, but the interactions and their consequences are the messages that the story is portraying... not the characters... as much as we may care for them, they live only for the sake of the narrative and its interpretation. Once we understand those underlying principles then can we come back to the characters and see them as they really are.
Annie Proulx had indicated that she did a lot of observation and research about homophobia before writing "Brokeback Mountain". She must have done this, because the characters, Jack and Ennis were products of their place and time. They were both uneducated, roughnecked and inexperienced young men in Wyoming (NOTE: this was where a young gay man, Matthew Sheppard, was killed for being outwardly gay) who happen to fall in love with each other, unexpectedly in the 60s. This event is the postulate: What would happen if two stereo-typical macho west-men of Wyoming meet and fall in love?
Jack and Ennis were raised during economically hard times by poor folks with the harsh ideals of the time... ideals that were homophobic. Yet how would these two individuals handle the realization that they were in love, with each other? The only way they knew: "I ain't queer", "Me neither!"... so what's next?
For the story to be as true as fiction can be, it has to take into consideration that Jack and Ennis would only be able to do whatever limited self-determination that they were allowed within the social norms of the time and place... and it was brutal... especially if you are not book-learned. Remember we are dealing with 19 year olds... not high school drop-outs even. That tiny social enclave, Brokeback Mountain, allowed them to deepen their self-examination and the love that existed between them, but once that illusion was stripped from them, as they headed back into their *real Wyoming* to find jobs and whatever society and survival dictates to them, we can see the true tragedy.
Jack and Ennis cannot identify with being anything but the traditional stereo-typical hard-working stoic tough-skinned etc.. etc... fathering roles that their family and peers expected... and what they themselves have always been raised to expect. See, here are the forces at work... the social norms versus self-determination... social norms versus the love between two people. Both Jack and Ennis are trapped in a crucible where neither of them can fully submit to their true love, but must follow the devastatingly tragic journey of the social norm to survive. If they didn't the story would have ended a long time ago. With this point I agree.
It matters not about what the individuals wanted it was more what society expected... or rather what the individuals thought that society wanted.
So again, in order for us to observe from Jack's and Ennis' eyes the audience has to broach that imaginary line between society and them, for which Annie Proulx provides a forum: Brokeback Mountain. Inside Brokeback Mountain, it was beautiful, loving, caring, easy, natural and it was two people in love. Now as human beings, we tend to classify and say "Oh, this is gay love"... "Oh, he is gay"... "No, he is bi." and so on, but the truth does not lie with our classification, it lies with how the participants, Jack and Ennis, see themselves. Jack and Ennis in order to survive outside have to say "No, I am not queer", but inside, they love each other so where does that leave us the audience.
In this context, it becomes clear that it is the labels that we have to discard and focus on the only one true thing that survived through the story and that is that Jack and Ennis really did love each other. Calling it gay love would not be what Jack and Ennis care for, they just wanted the ability to love each other without the labels. And this is where the tragedy lies: because just as Jack got killed by homophobic agents in Ennis' eyes... so does their wish that LOVE simply be whatever it can be... boundless and free.
The article is widening how we should view "homophobia"... it is not just about the society saying gay love is deviant... it is about the destructive interference of ANYTHING that is unwanted outside the relationship between two people... and by "unwanted", we mean unwanted by the two people. Then it takes it one step deeper, it is also about the destructive interference of ANYTHING that is unwanted outside the self-determination of a person... here, by "unwanted" we mean unwanted by that person. I hope I have written it clearly.
Take it from someone who has had to live with labels all my life... the message is universal. Brokeback Mountain is about love between Jack and Ennis, but it is not about gay, straight or bisexual love.... it is two people who fell in love annd needs our patience and tolerance to simply "let be, let be...".
Peace,
Frank (aka Jack Nasty)
