In honor of the ten-year anniversary of the release of the inic gay Wtern, we spoke to B. Ruby Rich, the film scholar who ed the term 'new queer cema,' to discs the evolutn of gayns on the silver screen.
Contents:
- WAS IT GOOD FOR THE GAYS: ‘BROKEBACK MOUNTA’
- JAKE GYLLENHAAL DISCS GAY RUMORS, HEATH LEDGER DURG ‘INSI THE ACTOR’S STUD’ (VIO)
- 'BROKEBACK MOUNTA' USHERED A NEW ERA OF GAY CEMA
- JAKE GYLLENHAAL DISCS THE “STIGMA” OF PLAYG A GAY CHARACTER BROKEBACK MOUNTA
- JAKE GYLLENHAAL SAID THERE WAS A 'STIGMA' ATTACHED TO PLAYG A GAY MAN 'BROKEBACK MOUNTA'
- THAT “GAY COWBOY MOVIE”QUEER PEOPLE REFLECT ON 15 YEARS OF “BROKEBACK MOUNTA”
- JAKE GYLLENHAAL ON GAY RUMORS, 'BROKEBACK MOUNTA' ON 'INSI THE ACTORS STUD'
WAS IT GOOD FOR THE GAYS: ‘BROKEBACK MOUNTA’
* brokeback mountain gay or bisexual *
"However, the directors warned uld lose 's stat as the ultimate gay movie as queer cema evolv and the film dtry starts to embrace LGBT reprentatn Insir's homepage for more stori. We've had the first-ever mastream LGBT rom- "Love, Simon, " cultural juggernts like "Call Me By Your Name" and "Carol, " about three Disney movi featurg Disney's "first-ever" LGBTQ character ("Bety and the Beast, " "Onward, " and "Zootopia"), and "Moonlight, " which did what "Brokeback Mounta" uldn't and beme the first-ever queer movie to w bt picture at the Amy "Brokeback Mounta" is still viewed as the go-to gay movie.
David Calhoun, wrg for Time Out, said: "Lee has taken a story of gay love and placed where should be — the mastream. "Strikg a siar was Roger Ebert, wrg for the Chigo Sun-Tim: "'Brokeback Mounta' has been scribed as 'a gay wboy movie, ' which is a cel simplifitn. "Brokeback Mounta" straddl this le expertly, prentg their leadg queer characters and their forbidn love wh so much sympathy that turns to are gay, and while most dience members may not unrstand exactly what is like to love someone, and be somethg, that is emed so taboo uld lead you to tastrophe, or, "Brokeback Mounta's" se, ath, Lee's movie picts forbidn love, somethg a lot of people know of, so expertly and touchgly that 's hard not to get sucked to rg thoroughly about the characters — whether you're gay or Lee is rponsible for that.
The gay nversn mp drama "Boy Erased, " while ably acted by s st (particularly Lus Hedg), almost seems sred of the subject matter. It felt tailored to straight dienc, whereas "Brokeback Mounta, " while not exactly tailored to queer dienc the way that a morn TV show like "Pose" is, is so direct s pictn of queer love and the dangers of beg gay that feels absolutely thentic. "I me out as gay durg the time 'Brokeback Mounta' me out, so cid wh this time of me feelg like I uldn't live a lie anymore and wantg to fally embrace fully who I am, " Johnson told Insir.
JAKE GYLLENHAAL DISCS GAY RUMORS, HEATH LEDGER DURG ‘INSI THE ACTOR’S STUD’ (VIO)
Jam Wilby, who starred as one half of an inic gay uple himself Jam Ivory's 1987 masterpiece "Mrice, " told Insir that he was "irrated" by the movie spe also thkg was "remarkable.
"In "Mrice, " Hugh Grant's Clive reprs his sexualy and liv life as a straight man, whereas Wilby's tular character embrac his inty as a gay man Edwardian England. "I thought the way that Jam Ivory handled Clive's transn om, if you want to ll him or gay or if you want to ll him somethg oteric, to beg straight was better [than 'Brokeback'], " Wilby told Insir. Of urse, 's themselv that they actually hate bee of their reprsed homosexualy, so anger is an unrstandable rponse those circumstanc.
'BROKEBACK MOUNTA' USHERED A NEW ERA OF GAY CEMA
We serve Disney-like happy endgs'"Philalphia" follows a gay man wh HIV (Tom Hanks) tryg to sue his former pany for wrongful dismissal. "Love, Simon" was a groundbreakg movie purely for exisg, but gave the fun and happy gay rom- we've been dyg for, for years. Craig Johnson's "Alex Strangelove" followed su — a reee, upliftg edy that also wisely picts one gay man's journey to "Moonlight" and "Carol, " both set reprsive societi, manage to squeeze posive moments, upliftg msag, and hopeful endgs to their artfully ma stori.
JAKE GYLLENHAAL DISCS THE “STIGMA” OF PLAYG A GAY CHARACTER BROKEBACK MOUNTA
'Brokeback Mounta' will lose s stat as the go-to gay movie, but that's a good thgWhat will never change is the qualy of "Brokeback. The movie eventually ends when Ennis receiv a postrd rmg him that Jack is ceased, and he travels to Jack’s parents’ home to retrieve a portn of his ash to stter on Brokeback is sential to the tentn of “Brokeback Mounta” to nvey the impacts of both societal and ternalized homophobia on the gay men, and this is absolutely a valid and important goal.
One thg is for certa, though, and this is that “Brokeback Mounta” tly wrote the book on homoerotic leads to the next and more prsg problem, which is that there is exactly zero character velopment for eher Jack or Ennis throughout the entire film. Up until the very end of the film, their personas rema precisely the same, and ultimately leads to both of their downfalls: Ennis divorced, purposels, and Jack the victim of a (prumably) homophobilly-motivated overall rult is a film about their romance except seems that there is no enjoyment whatsoever beg had this relatnship.
The trouble wh the film’s executn is that the men seem only to suffer om their gay inty and never experience a real sense of love or fulfillment. It nsistently fds self on lists of the bt BGLTQ+ movi of all time, and n be ld for centerg the story of two gay men 2005 when such topics were still heavily stigmatized.
JAKE GYLLENHAAL SAID THERE WAS A 'STIGMA' ATTACHED TO PLAYG A GAY MAN 'BROKEBACK MOUNTA'
However, the film has sce been eclipsed by much better queer films that portray gay love a more nuanced and thoughtful way.
Lookg back on “Brokeback Mounta” wh the benef of hdsight and today’s cril eye, seems that the film was hurt by s preoccupatn wh portrayg gay people a palatable way for straight is most obv the film’s foc on queer pa. It is important to portray the trials of queer existence a homophobic society a way that is hont and uncensored, but focg only on the stggl is not healthy, I had unrealistic or misguid expectatns for this movie. G Van Sant had tried to direct (he pched to Matt Damon, who turned down bee he had already played a gay man and a wboy before and didn’t want to do both aga); Mark Wahlberg was once nsired for the lead, but he turned down bee, duh, ’s about gay guys.
THAT “GAY COWBOY MOVIE”QUEER PEOPLE REFLECT ON 15 YEARS OF “BROKEBACK MOUNTA”
Conservative groups issued boytts of the film, polil punds acced of phg a gay agenda, and notorly lost the Amy Award for Bt Picture to Crash; many crics acced Amy voters of homophobia, as the film was the bt-reviewed release of the year, and, spe the Osr loss, was also the year’s most honored film. It’s fluence on popular culture nnot be nied, for better or for worse — ne years later, people are still makg gay wboy jok.
JAKE GYLLENHAAL ON GAY RUMORS, 'BROKEBACK MOUNTA' ON 'INSI THE ACTORS STUD'
) And what better way to stoke the classic homophobic fire by makg wboys (OK, technilly they’re “ranch hands, ” but, you know, they’re wboys) — the most classic image of good old Amerin masculy — a ltle queer? After all, prents the gay experience as somethg that is normal and ordary; the only extraordary thg about , fact, is that there are people out there so disgted by the ia of men havg sex wh other men that they take their homophobia to such extrem — eher issug verbal or physil asslts on those they have emed unsirable bee of their own private sexual practic. I will say, however, that ’d be nice to see a film that teach lsons about tolerance and empathy but did not also require vlent imagery which a gay man is the victim.