Not political

[therealjae]

I went to see "Brokeback Mountain" yesterday. I liked it. But my opinions about the movie aren't really what I want to talk about.

In recent weeks, I've been reading more and more reviews of this film that take it to task for everything it isn't. It isn't actually groundbreaking, they say--it's just an ordinary love story. After all, if the

Comments

[tellitslant]

Here is the review I mentioned that totally slams slashers. There's some discussion, not all of which I've read, at cesperanza's journal here.

[therealjae]

My goodness. That "review" really does say almost nothing about the movie itself, doesn't it?

-J

[rivka]

well, with the size of the chip on his shoulder, how's he supposed to see the screen?

[rivka]

Ugh, it's the worst sort of tokenism. Why make a movie about gay people, if you're not making A Movie About Gay People? I mean, if you're not presenting a totally comprehensive and worked-out position on queerness, shouldn't your movie just be about straight people?

[mort_q]

I mean, if you're not presenting a totally comprehensive and worked-out position on queerness, shouldn't your movie just be about straight people?

I'm not sure I follow...

[rivka]

I was being sarcastic. I object to people who think that any portrayal of gay people in the movies (or disabled people, or people of various races, etc.) must represent some sort of Statement about what gay people are like, or must make a significant point about homosexuality, instead of just being a movie about people.

[therealjae]

Whereas if we suggested to them outright that that was the logical extension of their comments, they would of course be appalled at the very thought!

-J

[k2daisy]

Hear, hear.

That's been exactly my reaction in reading all the various analyses and commentary about the movie. Thank you for expressing it better than I ever could.

[nlindq]

Y'know, I'm so used to gritting my teeth over the use of "Here, here" online for so long, that--just for a second--your "Hear, hear" didn't look quite right to me.

*sigh*

[k2daisy]

Heh.

And now I'm second-guessing myself whether I spelled it correctly or not.

[sarahevekelly]

Ugh. Yeah, that makes me nuts. One of my favourite authors, called 'the world's first lesbian Republican' (a long time ago), wrote a column in the National Review once about how many letters she'd gotten asking her to come out publicly in favour of gay marriage. She refused, saying that it was toadying, ridiculous, and demeaning for same-sex couples to want to be like straight ones in every possible respect in order to feel legitimate. I didn't agree with that being a good reason to deny same-sex couples the option of getting married (obviously there's no good reason), but it was interesting to hear that take.

As far as the movie goes, if it had said something timely and sweeping about The Queer Experience, it would have pretty much immediately become a shite movie, and would have been panned on those grounds. There's no way for this or any other film to be The Little Gay Movie That Could, not because of what it says or doesn't say, but because critics will speak of it in those terms.

[therealjae]

if it had said something timely and sweeping about The Queer Experience, it would have pretty much immediately become a shite movie, and would have been panned on those grounds.

Exactly! The Great Queer Film Experience these people seem to be seeking would be a totally crappy *story*.

-J

[rivka]

Now this is kind of reminding me of the discussions you've had with people about whether gay politics can be integrated into slash. In this case, obviously, gay rights issues would've been the last possible way these guys would've conceptualized their experience.

[therealjae]

Yeah, no kidding.

At the one and only slash con I went to, there was this whole discussion about whether slash writers were under obligation to promote safer sex measures in their stories by having the characters use condoms for intercourse. One fan (not me, actually!) kept standing up and saying: "it's about the characters! would these people use condoms? no? then don't write them using condoms! yes? then write them using condoms! it's that simple!"

That was such a great discussion.

-J

[laurenhat]

I agree. Well put.