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 SAID THERE WAS A 'STIGMA' ATTACHED TO PLAYG A GAY MAN 'BROKEBACK MOUNTA'
- 'BROKEBACK MOUNTA' USHERED A NEW ERA OF GAY CEMA
- JAKE GYLLENHAAL: ‘IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT’ TO BREAK STIGMA OF PLAYG GAY ROL WH ‘BROKEBACK’
WAS IT GOOD FOR THE GAYS: ‘BROKEBACK MOUNTA’
It's hard to believe but 15 years have passed sce the inic gay film was released. * gay movie brokeback mountain *
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. 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. ) 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.
JAKE GYLLENHAAL SAID THERE WAS A 'STIGMA' ATTACHED TO PLAYG A GAY MAN 'BROKEBACK MOUNTA'
* gay movie brokeback mountain *
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. …although maybe Anne Hathaway’s hair is the proof that a gay man did work on this film, and he had an amazg sense of humor? And the one gay sex scene was dimly l and fully clothed, while Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway both appeared topls.
It’s a movie about gay people livered through the lens of straight people, and the straight gaze here is very thick. Then aga, ’s probably valuable for people to see and unrstand the “normalcy, ” whatever that means (however they fe , I gus), of the gay experience. It’s a betifully filmed, stunngly acted tear-jerker, and ultimately do more good than harm, bee sometim I fet, until I do silly thgs like read the Netflix er reviews of this perfectly fe, tolerable, and harmls film, that there are people out there who believe credibly stupid and tolerable thgs about gay people and I am so grateful that I don’t have to al wh them my personal life:.
However, Gyllenhaal, who was nomated for bt supportg actor at the 2006 Osrs, has recently spoken about the "stigma" that was attached to takg on and playg a gay role a film about two wboys who embark on a plex and emotnal relatnship across several an terview wh The Sunday Tim, Gyllenhaal was asked if people would have "a different reactn" to two straight men takg on the rol "Brokeback Mounta" today than they had back 2005. "Brokeback Mounta" was one of only a few stanc where straight actors had taken on mastream gay rol, and beme arguably the most succsful movie of s kd wh eight Osr nomatns and three ws, cludg bt director for Ang movie was a landmark event for queer cema and still has a cultural impact to this day and fluenc many LGBTQ+ filmmakers.
'BROKEBACK MOUNTA' USHERED A NEW ERA OF GAY CEMA
Many straight actors have actually been praised for their performanc as queer characters and have gone on to w several awards for dog recently, Ewan McGregor won an Emmy for playg gay fashn signer Roy Halston Netflix's "Halston. "McGregor, who is straight, spoke about takg on the role an terview wh The Hollywood Reporter: "If had been a story about Halston's sexualy more, then maybe 's right that gay actors should play that role.
It was only time before a film about two men love would get the treatment gets Ang Lee's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, sce up to now, films had eher skirted the subject, rced to a peripheral, sanized versn of self or given the eye-ndy treatment only meant at makg a quick imprsn the "Gay-Lbian" tegory.
JAKE GYLLENHAAL: ‘IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT’ TO BREAK STIGMA OF PLAYG GAY ROL WH ‘BROKEBACK’
The mechanism of two men fallg love here velops along the l of homo-masculy dictatg patterns of behavr which both Jack and Ennis obey whether they know or not. I believe straight women (and a few enlightened straight men) will be the on drawn to view the movie over a majory of nservative idts who still hold the ia of two men locked timacy as beg repugnant and are rippg their feeble bras out over the quasi "gay agenda" that BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is tryg to "nvert people to homoexualy". Anne Hathaway's role as Jack Twist's wife is much more tricky: is she aware of his gayns or is she really all about bs and havg a perfect home?
The 2006 Bt Picture Osr was ntted, primarily, by two 'issue' pictur one alg wh race, the other alg wh homosexualy. Brokeback Mounta is always gog to be risively referred to as 'that gay wboy movie' by the people who are predisposed towards dislikg , but even though people aren't ed to male homosexualy beg portrayed on the big screen a non-ic way, 's really not a very revolutnary film - reprsed love has been alt wh many tim cema. And sure enough, the kchen, Ennis' ex adms that she knows about his homosexualy and a scuffle Jack has his own domtic hell to al wh, too.