Attraction, Gender Roles, and Homosexuality: an Analysis of Brokeback Mountain

Not long after Inman leaves for Cold Mountain, three men by a store attack him. He defeats each of them and continues his trip, but the men follow him for a while later. Afterwards, Inman comes upon a man with whom he helps to pull a dead bull out of the water. This man, Junior, feeds him and is friendly until his wife begins to hit on Inman. When Junior catches them together, he becomes very angry. Inman is captured by guards and taken on a detour from his trip. During the remainder of his journey, Inman comes upon several different people. Many of them feed him and give him a place to sleep for one or more nights. Soon after, Inman meets up with Ada in a cabin on the mountain and spends some time with her. It is not until the final stretch home that Inman meets Teague, a horseman in the woods. Teague and his men cause problems for anyone who confronts them. Inman gets into a brawl with them and kills Teague. He could have easily killed the boy that was following Teague, but wanted to handle matters more civilly. Because Inman chooses not to hurt the boy, the boy shoots him, and he is never again to return to Ada.

The representation of the LGBT community in the film industry has long been a topic of much debate. In her article, “It Ain’t Easy Being Bisexual on TV,” Amy Zimmerman addresses this topic with specific interest on bisexual representation. By appealing to the logic of her audience, using an informal tone, and referring to relatable content, Zimmerman constructs an argument which persuades readers of The Daily Beast that the film industry is unfairly and inaccurately representing bisexuals. However, her argument holds little influence over those who are not movie fans or The Daily Beast readers.

In addition, mise-en-scene is used to show the contradictions between the two understandings of life. The barbecue and dinner scene show the emotional overkill and unstable conduct of the residents in the town by using the lively and distinctive color (Burton, 1990). The distinction with Edward’s gothic punk style of fashion, hairdo and makeup is unusual and marks him as an outcast. It is not only his exterior that points out his detachment from people, but also his ideas which represent his own reality and separates him from the world that he does not belong to. When the people discover Edward’s talents they begin to request different tasks from him. Overall, it seems as if the society is only accepting of Edward for their own benefit. However, Burton makes it clear that there is no true acceptance for Edward when he is forced to leave Peg’s house. Kim, the girl Edward falls in love with, knows she cannot change society, so she leaves him in the castle and tells everyone he’s dead so he is protected.

Edward is represented as the creation of an intelligent inventor, yet before Edward could be “completed” the inventor passed away. This had a long-term effect on Edward as he was left confused, alienated, alone and most importantly, “incomplete” literally, and metaphorically. This contrast, symbolizes the complex feelings associated with alienation and ostracism, and the destructive effects it has on individuals, leading them to create barriers of isolation, and lack of acceptance and understanding. William struggles to form a sense of identity because of the emotional abuse that was inflicted upon him during his placement with an unidentified male. And Edward suffers from a sense of identity, as he was never able to establish on, through social interactions, Edward is intrigued by those around who to him seem to be, unique and different, while those around Edward believe him to be unique and one of a kind, accepting him for “ The years spent in isolation have not given him the tools to judge from right or wrong. The snow represented the change he brought to the people and especially Kim. It showed how he blossomed, and when the chaos of his visit came and left, he still left his mark behind to the town. Before Edward visited it had never snowed, and now every year it does. This is because even though Edward was looked down upon at the end, he still wanted to show people he can create beauty and not just destruction. Edward wanted them to feel a sense of belonging, maybe not with him but with each other, with the town’s community. understood by us as an audience that the need to belong is significant in our world as it is through the healing process in our relationships and experiences that the human

Edward’s differences are viewed negatively by society as he is encouraged to conform. By having scars visible on his face, Peg makes an effort to mask Edwards imperfections. She is unfamiliar with his fair complexion as everyone in the neighborhood has glowing smooth skin and therefore she urges to “help with the scars”. While Peg applies a concealing cream on Edwards face, she insinuates that “blending is the secret” which symbolizes how blending into society will help Edward conform. This suggests that Edwards flaws are not accepted and how society pressures to cover up your differences because uniformity is acknowledged. As the family warms up to Edward in their home, Bill suggests that Edward gets a job to earn money like everyone else in the community. He says that having a job is the “greatest satisfaction” a man can have. This insinuates that men are conformed to have a job and earn money for their family. Edward decides to make an effort and get a loan to start up his own business at the local bank which is painted white and black symbolizing the dull and homogenous life the society lives in. Edward is rejected by the bank authorities when he finds that Edward has no previous bank records and therefore “may as well not even exists.” This implies that by Edward not having a job, he is not welcome to exist in society as they are not willing to give others who are different a chance. As humanity negatively views Edwards differences, Burton displays how humans encourage outcast to conform to society.

They actually talk about it, how much better this is than with any woman. It shows them close, it shows them getting personal, even discussing the possibility of running away together. The movie did not discribe the emotional intimacy Jack and Ennis shared even before they had sex. Ennis's emotional transformation in Jack's company appears in the book with the line, "Ennis, riding against the wind back to the sheep in the treacherous, drunken light, thought he'd never had such a good time, felt he could paw the white out of the moon." The deep friendship does not reveal in the movie, the way the book does, which was the foundation for their love. (Walford, Compare/contrast the book vs. the movie, ennisjack, 2006)

society he lives in on lies. Both characters share their attraction towards the opposite sex in

The topic of sexual orientation is both sensitive and controversial. This is evident in events, such as the Pride Parade, and also in media, where authoritative figures preach against it and speak of its “sinful nature” (Emmanuele, Blanchard, Camperio-Ciani, & Bancroft, 2010). Sexual orientation exists in various forms, it differs in the way it is viewed by different cultures, and researchers propose different perspectives to explain the emergence of an individual 's sexual orientation. In the discourse of sexual orientation,

As Edward storms through the neighborhood his anger gets the best of him, and pushes him into a stage of destruction. Those in the community become frightened of his unusual behavior, and decide to take action into their own hands by calling the local police. His family, in particular Pegg, question if bringing Edward into society had been the best decision and go out in search of the naïve lad.

The films framework is centered around the exploration of sexuality, and although it is subtle the film implies that the two

This is an attempt to alter Edward to conform and become ‘normal’ by removing his source of individuality. The message ‘one should be out of the ordinary’ is demonstrated by this, which adds depth and more meaning to the film.

Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.

Brokeback Mountain, being the more homosexual romance-oriented Western that it is, subverts a large number of the typical traditional elements of the Western film genre as a whole, this one especially, by having another male be in the position of the love interest of the hero. Although this subversion in particular is very problematic for Jack, as it puts him in the shoes of being associated with all things relating to femininity in the relationship. For example, Jack is the one who makes the first move when seducing Ennis, using his own allure and sexuality into tempting Ennis when he calls him into the tent, leading Ennis down somewhat of a risky path. Ennis, however, is portrayed as somewhat of a saint, his being repressed and restrained by social standards, saying to Jack, “You may be a sinner but I ain't yet had the opportunity”. Another interesting typical thing in the Western genre that was altered was that instead of Indians being the villain, the enemy is that of a ignorant and oppressive society–a society that would kill Ennis and Jack for being “different”, Ennis says to Jack, “this thing takes hold of us at the wrong place, wrong time and we're dead,” which shows how much they both worry about it–but the two cowboys still have to find some way to pull through and struggle to find their true selves in this society, but it is also that fear which causes the devastating events

With reference to relevant cultural theories analyse the representation of sexuality in a film/television text of your choice.

The summers went by with both characters living their lives without any contact. Then in June of the fourth summer, Jack wrote Ennis to tell him that he was coming though his town and wanted to visit while passing through. Ennis responded and agreed to the visit. On the day Jack was due for the visit, Ennis was running around like a wild man in anticipation of what was going to happen. Jack arrived and immediately the attraction came right back. When the reunion took place they embraced each other and kissed passionately. Unbeknownst to them, their embrace was caught by Ennis’s wife, and she became very suspicious. The two would eventually get drunk and engage in another sexual escapade all night in the local hotel. After the encounter Ennis said, “I didn’t know where in the hell you was, I about gave up on you. Figured you were sore about that punch” (Annie Proulx 11). Conversations were had about leaving and starting a life together on a ranch of their own, but Ennis was not going to leave his family. He was reminded of a story his father told him about homosexuals being beaten up and left for dead. Ennis was fearful that may happen to them. Again, they part ways but stay in touch with multiple