My inevitable Brokeback Mountain post

Hello everyone!! Second post and I’m already talking about Brokeback. If you know anything about me, you know it’s my favorite movie. I’ve been collecting memorabilia for about a year now and I’ve been a huge fan for two years. I’ve seen the movie seven times (once in theaters during the 20-year anniversary showing during June), I own four physical copies of Brokeback DVDs, one book, and a movie poster, the ones that advertise they have the movie in theaters, from 2005 that has never been folded or anything. The poster is my most prized possessions because of how important Brokeback is to me. After all this, please trust that I know what I’m talking about on the subject of Brokeback Mountain.

Every time I have invited someone to watch Brokeback with me, I have been met with at least one “well, isn’t that movie just a gay porn movie?” NO. To reduce a part of queer history to “porn” is one of the worst things you could say about it. The movie isn’t focused on what Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar are doing in bed on those fishing trips. What it’s about is two queer men trying to live their lives without getting murdered for who they are. It’s about the people in their lives that end up also getting hurt because of how closed off they have to be because of the time period they live in.

One of the most important parts of Brokeback Mountain to me is the fact that Jack and Ennis are not held on a pedestal for cheating on their wives. Ennis, portrayed by Heath Ledger, marries Alma, a woman he barely knows, at the age of 19. During their time together, Ennis cheats on Alma multiple times with Jack up on Brokeback. Alma finds out and the pair get divorced. Afterwards, Alma feels discomfort around Ennis and during Thanksgiving she tells Ennis she knew the whole time. Ennis lashes out violently really homing in on the fact that he was and will stay the bad person in that situation. Jack isn’t innocent either, he cheats on his wife Laureen with Ennis. They never divorce, but their love falls away into just staying for the tractor selling business they inherited from Laureen’s father.

Jack only wanted love from Ennis. He wanted the pair of them to live together and always be there for one another. Ennis says no because of fears that ended up being correct in the end. Ennis loved Jack a little too late, and Jack loved Ennis way too long. Ennis let his fears hold him back, and that saved his life, but what was the point? After Jack’s death he lives in a trailer alone with no one visiting him other than his eldest daughter. The ending isn’t happy, but it’s not bad either. It’s realistic for someone like him. If the ending was idealistic and let them live on Jack’s farm together, it wouldn’t have been as impactful.

The ending is abrupt and heartbreaking, and that’s such a core point of the story. It’s not meant to be happy, it’s not meant to be something heart-warming. It’s meant to be a hand waving in your face yelling “hey this is what happened, sorry not sorry!” It wouldn’t be as impactful if it just ended with a positive light. It would frame Jack and Ennis as good people and their wives as villains for “holding them back” when that was never the case. Their story is so delicate and the decisions the writers made were the right ones. 

For anyone who hasn’t seen Brokeback Mountain, I didn’t even really scratch the surface of the plot. If you’re interested, please watch it. If you have a DVD player at home, I’ll let you borrow one of my copies! I think that’s enough for now, Bye Bye!!

Author: Nick Scott

I believe that writing is what is keeping me whole. I'll stay loud and proud for my beliefs, and I'll stay who I am for my art. Without being able to write freely I don't know who I'd be, but now I have a chance to figure that out. Watch as I paint the world in my eyes, so it could maybe give colors to yours. Freedom is hard to come by in this age. It's difficult to just go out and speak in the streets your freedom because the world limits us. This blog is my form of a town square. Please find comfort in the town crier telling of dangers, or the court jester trying to give you a laugh. They had their purposes, and now I have mine. View all posts by Nick Scott