Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Christian
Storrs
English
2850
April
30,
2015
Final
Paper
Brokeback
Mountain
(the
film)
was
released
during
a
conservative
societal
era
(2004),
and
not
only
was
this
film
shocking
and
offensive
to
a
vast
amount
of
the
American
mainstream
public,
it
was
also
a
stepping
stone
in
queer
liberation
and
queer
awareness.
This
film
was
hope,
and
gave
an
ever
so
deserving
queer
audience,
a
small
taste
of
freedom,
and
an
emotional
connection
to
Hollywoods
glamorous
love
stories,
that
these
individuals
had
hardly
ever
experienced
and
so
badly
craved.
It
touched
many
people
in
ways
they
cant
describe,
and
also
infuriated,
and
annoyed
others.
The
range
of
emotions
that
were
felt
in
this
film
could
be
seen
as
a
twisting
and
turning
roller
coaster,
which
almost
made
you
nauseous
to
view.
In
regards
to
bringing
to
light
a
new
sense
of
LGBTQ
visibility,
this
film
did
so
in
a
way
that
many
older
generations
could
personally
relate
to.
While
at
the
same
time,
painting
a
picture
to
a
younger
generation
of
what
being
queer
was
like,
in
the
rural
west
during
the
60s.
It
showed
the
horrors
that
were
so
often
bestowed
in
individuals
during
this
time,
and
the
hell
that
these
people
faced
in
their
daily
lives
if
they
were
to
ever
be
caught
or
noticed
as
queer.
The
filmed
portrayed
a
sense
of
hopelessness
for
these
two
cowboys,
which
in
modern
day
political
and
societal
views
didnt
t
seem
to
quite
match
up.
So
it
could
be
noted
that
those
who
are
in
younger
generations,
or
who
have
never
grown
up
in
or
near
rural
west
farm
Storrs
country
(probably
most
people
watching
this
film),
cant
fully
grasp
the
storyline
or
settings
to
its
full
extent,
to
which
it
is
being
presented.
So
in
other
words,
the
film
has
a
theme
that
distances
many
of
the
audiences
members,
and
disconnects
them
from
fully
understanding
the
historical
side
of
LGBTQ
struggles
in
this
area,
and
at
this
time.
Moreover,
I
believe
a
message
is
being
relayed
to
the
audience
that
isnt
necessarily
positive
or
progressive,
this
message
is:
those
who
are
gay
will
never
fully
find
true
happiness
and
satisfaction
in
their
lives,
and
that
who
they
are,
and
what
they
do,
is
unacceptable
in
societys
eyes
and
ideas.
Next,
the
pessimistic,
depressed,
and
lonely
character
Ennis
survives
in
the
end,
while
Jack
the
optimistic
one
who
desperately
wishes
to
live
a
life
with
the
man
he
loves
and
cherishes,
is
assumed
to
be
brutally
murdered
later
in
the
film,
due
to
his
open
and
hopeful
thinking
and
attitudes
for
a
better,
more
meaningful
life.
The
storyline
to
me
seems
depressing
and
outdated
in
todays
queer
ideology,
but
given
the
time
its
being
portrayed,
it
seems
more
fitting.
Furthermore,
Its
also
hard
for
me
to
watch
this
film,
knowing
that
Hollywood
hasnt
released
a
major
big
budget
queer
film
that
has
caught
as
much
attention
as
Brokeback,
since
Brokeback
was
released.
I
believe
many
mainstream
Americans
are
still
using
Brokeback
as
the
rhetorical
or
metaphorical
go
to
in
understanding
how
to
accept
and
deal
with
queer
people,
this
film
didnt
strengthen
the
love
and
acceptance
of
queer
individuals,
but
rather
outed
them
as
sad
pathetic
freaks
in
the
publics
eye.
Although,
it
isnt
to
say
that
the
love
story
that
unfolds
in
the
film
isnt
extremely
passionate
and
heartwarming,
while
also
showing
real
love
and
Storrs
friendship
between
the
two
men.
But
the
background
message
is
silently
preaching
that
this
love
will
never
flourish
and
grow
into
something
bigger,
and
that
their
relationship
is
impossible.
Leaving
the
audience
in
shock
and
desperation
when
they
finally
leave
the
theater.
On another note, the article of The Magic Mountain brings attention to the
Storrs
today.
Things
like
dominance
in
marriage,
masculinity
and
gay
men,
gay
cowboys
(who
in
history
have
been
seen
as
manly,
rugged
and
most
definitely
heterosexual)
woman
as
the
breadwinner,
and
true
passionate
love
between
men
etc
Although
overall,
I
believe
this
film
was
much
more
progressive
than
the
films
shown
in
the
celluloid
closet,
especially
because
of
the
time
period
in
which
it
was
released.
This
film
brought
about
new
ideas
to
a
public
that
so
badly
needed
a
broader
range
of
understanding,
along
with
serious
desensitizing
of
queer
sexuality,
and
the
many
forms
it
can
occur
in.
Brokeback
opened
a
large
closet
door
to
a
whole
new
level
of
queer
communication,
awareness,
and
media
mainstreaming,
or
normalizing
queer
sexualities.
Even
with
all
the
jokes,
and
mocking
media
reports
that
later
followed
its
release,
the
film
still
stands
out
with
dignity,
and
plays
a
momentous
role
in
the
progression
of
queer
equality
and
awareness.
I
believe
that
in
a
semi
short
matter
of
time,
we
will
start
seeing
queer
Disney
princes,
princesses,
and
hopefully
those
that
are
somewhere
in
the
middle,
or
entirely
genderless,
equally
inclusive
in
popular
films
in
the
U.S,
and
around
the
world.
Heres
a
neat
quote
I
find
quite
moving
and
progressive
to
be
found
in
a
modern
day
childs
cartoon.
Hope
you
enjoy
it!
-Well one isnt purely defined by their sex or gender. I have yet to find out who
I really am. I have freedom, no longer bound by the limits of my core. Freedom
Storrs
"The Magic Mountain." The Gay Lesbian Review. N.p., 28 Feb. 2006. Web.
30 Apr. 2015. <http://www.glreview.org/article/article-120/>.
Storrs