Gay, Straight, and Taken?

In today’s society, where it is acceptable for people to shoot, stab, torture, or kill somebody, why is it still a huge controversy to see two men together out in the mountains? Actually, homosexuals have appeared on film in the past in hundreds of films, but no filmmaker has gone to this extreme before. Therefore, this movie turned a lot of heads and caused controversy everywhere.

In my opinion, the reason why this movie was so much different than any other homosexual appearance on film is because the two men are so masculine. In every other example of gay men in movies, they are all portrayed as very feminine, with high-pitched voices and tight pink shirts, usually talking about makeup and the latest hairstyle. It has always been obvious during the first moment they walk in front of the camera that they are homosexual. In Brokeback Mountain, however, Enos and Jack are extremely different. Heath Ledger in this movie is simply the epitome of masculinity, and Jake Gyllenhaal is not far behind. Everything they do, besides the obvious sex/kissing scenes, is masculine, from herding sheep to wrestling to selling combines. Actually, I think you could take out the few sex/kissing scenes from this movie and not very many people would suspect these two men to be gay. On the outside looking in, they appear very normal-they both have wives and kids, they have masculine jobs, and they enjoy going “fishing” every once in a while.

The reality of the movie is, however, that they are not “normal.” These two men are trapped in a society where homosexuality is unacceptable. This makes the plot even more complex and interesting in that they can’t be together just whenever they want to, and everything they do together must be in secret. I think this also adds to the controversy because it causes the audience to feel for the two men instead of just judging them for their sexuality. It forces the viewers to think about what it would be like to be homosexual in a world where it is unacceptable, as opposed to seeing a gay man as a sort of comic relief in a subplot of a movie, such as Sweet Home Alabama or Along Came Polly.

Overall, this movie caused controversy when it came out because it is totally different than what society considers “normal.” However, the purpose of the film was to show the audience a different view of homosexuality, and in that aspect, it was very successful.