Brokeback Mountain

RideRocket

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Matthew said:
I think it gets under the skin of many people because they hate faggots. In terms of success, Brokeback Mountain is showing in far fewer theaters than any other in the current top 15, and I would hope that the amount of money a film makes does not determine how much press or critical acclaim it receives. Large numbers of people, including a "majority," can believe or like all kinds of bullshit. Happens all the time. But "forcing" the movie on them? Please!!! Don't see it if you don't want to. It's that simple.

FWIW, Ride, I'm not trying to get after you in particular. I simply do not believe that the discomfort about Brokeback Mountain among the 'general public' has to do with anything other than plain, old-fashioned gay-hating.

Unfortunately, that may be true that it's nothing mroe than "plain, old-fashioned gay-hating".

It's not so much 'forcing' the movie on them whereas it is more 'forcing' an issue on them that they disagree with. And when (what appears) minority issues taking centerstage over majority opinion, people don't like it. As a result, we see things like the gay marriage amendments being defeated.

On the whole, I think people don't like sexuality out in the open, especially when it differs from their perspective. Of course, that's easy to say when heterosexuality is the majority while homosexuality is not. But (and I'm not trying to sound crass), that's life in a democracy.

I agree with not seeing the movie if you don't like it. Same with half the crap on television - just turn it off!

btw - I think this a great discussion! Thanks Matthew and Stronzo!
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In the immortal words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"
 

B_Stronzo

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RideRocket said:
As far as American 'majority', if you look at most polls and surveys, a majority (majority being more than 50%) of Americans do not favor gay marriages, but do favor legal rights.

Though I believe this an inapproriate thread for this discussion I must address the legitimacy of what you say. Indeed the same sort of polls could be cited from the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. However the "majority" be damned. If black Americans had waited for a 'majority' of Alabamans in Selma in 1964 to concur that black American children should be integrated to our schools we'd still see a segregated South. 'Majority' ignorance is certainly nothing new and cannot be held up as the standard for decency. It's not trustworthy as our history instructs.

And as the Cyclical Theory Instructs: "If we don't learn from the mistakes of the past we're doomed to repeat them".

Along religious lines, a majority feel Christianity is under attack.

The only "Christians" I see under attack are the "fundies" (Fundamentalists) who use a few vague (and surely historically misinterpreted) Old Testament Bible verses to undo and relegate to second class citizenship an entire faction of valuable society. If it's those cloistered myopic souls who are 'under attack' then so be it. They should be.

However, I'm fortunate to know among the Christian community decent folks who realize the hypocrisy of this stance and the roots of its narrow-mindedness. These good Christians know the zealots for the hatemongers they are. So I don't know where you get your statistic that 'a majority feel Christianity is under attack'. In truth it's a small extremist fringe element which is, nothing more.

As in most things its the extremists that give the group a bad rap.

With regards to my media comment, I think the media tends to blindly support the minority issues while not giving equal time or respect to the majority opinion.


I find that statement incredible to buy. The majority, by the very nature of being the majority, has due coverage. I don't understand why you think this ground breaking film (as mediocre as I find it substantively) has had undo coverage.

Again: "High time"
 

Matthew

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RideRocket said:
btw - I think this a great discussion! Thanks Matthew and Stronzo! In the immortal words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"
Thank you, Ride, for being one of the consistently intelligent and funny posters here. Even when I don't agree with what you write, it's worth reading.

And now, I think it's time for a beer.
 

RideRocket

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Stronzo said:
Agreed and you're entirely welcome.

Matthew said:
Thank you, Ride, for being one of the consistently intelligent and funny posters here. Even when I don't agree with what you write, it's worth reading.

And now, I think it's time for a beer.

Thanks - and I enjoy both of your comments as well; it's part of the reason I like this board so much (just don't tell the boss...).

Speaking of beer, should we ever meet in the 'real world', first rounds on me. :smile: My favorite is a nice cold hefeweizen.
 

panthera

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A democracy which fails to respect and protect the human rights of minorities may, technically, be a democracy - but it is not a place I wish to live.
There is far too much "might makes right" and "my way or the highway" in main-stream US culture right now.
I don't understand why so many christians hate homosexuals; nor do I see why giving us basic rights somehow debases their own...
There is, however, a more fundamental reason why it might be in the best interests of people who are in the "majority" to want to protect human rights. This poem from Martin Niemöller says it well: (English translation follows the German text - so just scroll down...)

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.

Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Jude.

Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestierte.

When they came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

He said it better than I ever could, so I will leave it at that...
 

B_Stronzo

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Panthera?

You write with purpose and intelligence and it's obvious you address humankind from a global perspective rather than a subjective one. I'd forgotten that poem. And I'd only ever read the translation. I didn't know its author was German.

Thanks. And thanks again for posting it here.
 

B_HungSpermBoy

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Hey RideRocket,

What's up with your avatar? For some reason it makes me very uncomfortable. Especially on this particular thread. Could you explain it for me for me? Thanx.

Jeff







RideRocket said:
Thanks - and I enjoy both of your comments as well; it's part of the reason I like this board so much (just don't tell the boss...).

Speaking of beer, should we ever meet in the 'real world', first rounds on me. :smile: My favorite is a nice cold hefeweizen.
 

Matthew

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salinger said:
Not to speak out of turn, but I'm pretty sure it's a clip from "Office Space"
Yeah, I think Ride has mentioned before that it's the scene where the guy is beating a fax machine ...
 

B_RoysToy

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A week after Brokeback opened on two screens in a Memphis theater it began playing on three screens, due to the other two being sell-outs or near that. The attendance last night, my first viewing, consisted of a broad range of types, in age, gender and perceived sexual orientation. As someone else has indicated in this thread, I, too, was a bit stunned by the complete silence during the movie.

rsny845 referred to Brokeback as the watershead of his life. I relate. While Ennis portrayed the more stoic of the two, giving in to his sexual desires because of his emotional attachment to Jack, Jack succumbed to his desires by making a trip to Mexico and getting release, when Ennis was attempting to be the dutiful husband. Perhaps this picture wasn't a true representation of the total 20 year time frame, but both characteristics were presented. My own actions led me to point out this possibility, since I know what it means to be a Jack as well as an Ennis.

My heart went out to Ennis' wife as she suffered after seeing the two hungrily kissing between the buildings and my thoughts were locked on my pity for my ex because of the pain I had caused her. For a while, I was wondering if I would ever be able to have the same empathy for either of the guys, but by the end of the movie those feelings were there as well. Doing wrong and being wronged are two of life's hardest experiences to weather. However, doing wrong has the accompanying punishment of guilt, whereas being wronged can bring only acute and chronic pain. Both wrongs were pungently presented in the movie.

I continue to 'rerun' scenes from the movie in my mind and most of them are applicable to my life experiences. i.e., some of them enjoyable and some of them better left without rerunning. All just part of the human condition, I think.
 

RideRocket

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HungSpermBoy said:
Hey RideRocket,

What's up with your avatar? For some reason it makes me very uncomfortable. Especially on this particular thread. Could you explain it for me for me? Thanx.

Jeff

Jeff - As some of the others have stated, it's a clip from the movie 'Office Space'. I realize those who haven't seen the movie might take the avatar out of context, but that was never my intention. I thought the movie was quite hilarious as it 'told the tale' of several co-workers stuck in cubicle land. The character in the clip finally has an opportunity to exact his revenge on the technology that has frustrated him so much, namely the office fax machine. If you get a chance, rent the movie!

Anyway, not to jack the thread...
 

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It's pretty amazing the uproar this Golden Globe winning movie has created with the religious right. Where was the anger and concern for humanity when "Saw 2" and "Hostel" (both about brutalizing and torturing fellow human beings) opened at the same time pretty much. I guess it just goes to prove that two men can kill and torture each other without judgement, but God help us if he loves one.
 

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The movie cost $14 million to make and has earned $32,299,295.00 in 42 days. Usually a movie is considered a hit if it earns 2.5 times the cost to make it. Currently, it is playing in 1,196 theaters. Contrast that with a big budget behemoth such as "King Kong" and the like which will open on as many as 3,000 screens. "Brokeback Mountain" is a small movie that is moving into the big leagues and might end being one of the biggest independent films ever.
 

Lex

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And keep in mind that when it debuted, it was one a mere 62 screens and made 2.3 million in limited released. The movie's per screen average for that weekend made it the highest ever.
 

SurferGirlCA

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Personally, I think a great story is what makes for a great movie, and I just saw Brokeback Mountain with a friend, and I would say this one has it in spades. I don't care if the characters are black, white, Asian, Latino, male, female, straight, gay, bi, whatever. I thought the performances were amazing, particularly Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams. I had some issues with the costume design and hair/mu, but that's shop talk I won't bore others with here. I also thought the music was moving; I am sure it made me cry more, but I didn't feel like it was hitting me over the head.

I'm not sure why taking a respected short story and translating it to film is "shoving" anything down anyone's throats, as someone else implied. Are people being hog-tied and dragged into theaters? If so, that is a bad thing and that should be stopped. :tongue: I also thought it was interesting that the theater in Utah that booked the film and then at the last minute decided to pull it from distribution (which is totally the theater owner's right), replaced it with the slasher film, HOSTEL. So a serial killer dismembering people is ok, but god forbid any one see a movie where 2 men kiss? :rolleyes: I think that's a sad comment on some people's own narrow-minded thinking.
 

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I bought the book from Amazon. It is 55 pages long, so it is a short book. Most people call it a short story. I call it a short book. It is well worth reading. It is not apparent that the author is setting the reader up for the ending until it happens. Then the reader is left hanging to interpret the ending any way he chooses. I am curious to see how Ang Lee interpreted it in his film.
 

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The film is apparently exceeding all expectations. The following is from the 01/20/06 PLANETOUT News on Yahoo:



Focus Features announced Thursday that its film, about two cowboys who fall in love and continue their affair over two decades, had a U.S. gross of $742,412 on Tuesday, and $748,028 on Wednesday. The totals exceeded those earned by any other domestic film on those days.


The total domestic gross for "Brokeback Mountain" as of Wednesday was $33.6 million.


"The unusual midweek surge to -- and hold on - the top slot is particularly impressive in that the film is playing in only 683 theaters, which is but a fraction of the runs of the others film in the national box office Top 10," said Jack Foley, president of theatrical distribution for Focus Features.
 

GoneA

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MY GOODNESS!!! I just saw this movie tonight - loved it. It really is one of the greatest stories (love story) told. I have never in my life cried during a movie - whether it is at a theatre or the comforts of my home - guess i wasn't the manliest guy in the theatre tonight - oh well. The theme and nature of this movie were very powerful and, dare i say it, overwhelming. It deserves every award it receives and then some - i can't believe i almost let a friend talk me out of going to see it. Although this movie it much too sad for me to see twice, i'm sure it will become a classic and continuously generate praises from its viewers.


Heath and Jake are slowly climbing their way up on my 'great actors' list.