Lost on Brokeback Mountain?
Friday, January 20, 2006 at 04:30PM I haven't seen “Brokeback Mountain” and doubt I ever will. Sorry, I’m just not a fan of cowboy movies.
What, you thought I that I wouldn't see it because it's a gay cowboy movie?
I’ll admit that the image of kissing cowboys makes me squirm a little, but I’ve never been one to avoid a movie just because it makes me a bit uncomfortable.
I’m not quite sure what all the fuss is about anyways. Does it really come as a surprise that cowboys could be gay?
The subject of “Brokeback Mountain” came up in a half-hour radio interview I did on Monday on KXLE 95.3 FM, a station in central Washington that boasts it has 50,000 watts of country power.
This was one of those questions that came right out of the glove of Matt Murton, slated to play left field for the Chicago Cubs this year.
The interviewer, a newsman not a DJ, tiptoed around the question. He referred to “Brokeback Mountain” not by its title but as the much-talked about, Oscar-touted western in theatres now. I was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about “Cheaper by the Dozen 2.”
He was curious if “Lost in the Ivy,” the book I authored and the reason I was on his program, was in any way influenced by “Brokeback Mountain.”
Of course the release of “Lost in the Ivy” came months before the “Brokeback Mountain” hit the big screen, and I’m pretty sure the interviewer was aware of that. But it was his way of delicately dancing around a sensitive topic.
“Brokeback Mountain” deals with subject matter that not too long ago was considered taboo and in some ways still is. How else do you explain all the parodies and jokes that have evolved out of a serious film? I hear them every day on Jonathan Brandmeier’s radio show on WLUP FM 97.9. Even though I’ve never seen the film, I feel like I have. The line from the movie “I wish I knew how to quit you” plays in my head like a broken record.
It’s no big secret that a gay character plays a key role in my book. In some ways the book was inspired by the dichotomy that I saw between two Chicago neighborhoods.
Back in the mid-1990s I was living in a studio apartment located on the border of two very different neighborhoods living somewhat uncomfortably next to each other. On one side there was Wrigleyville and all the testosterone-fueled sports bars. On the other was Boys Town, Chicago’s main gay district. At the time I was living there, there had been a spate of gay-bashing incidents. All of that served as a backdrop for the story that would eventually unfold into “Lost in the Ivy.”
Back in the late 1990s, Annie Proulx published a short story which few people had heard of until this year. Its title: “Brokeback Mountain.” It was about a time and a place that stuck with her.
Maybe someday that piece of my life that stuck with me all these years will be discovered. That’s a dream I’d never want to quit.
Randy Richardson
I seem to get a lot of hits on my blog from wayward surfers searching for "Brokeback" parodies. Thanks to the Fresno Bee's Beehive blog, you don't have to look any further. They've compiled a comprehensive list of online "Brokeback" parodies, for those that "just can't get enough" of them.
Reader Comments (1)
You really should see Brokeback Mountain. It's not a cowboy movie. It's got sheep, which appealed to me, being Greek and all. But seriously, it's a pretty incredible love story, and though I was a little squirmy at the thought of the love scenes, it turned out to be very well done. I saw it with my girlfriend. Now my ex-wife wants to see it, and her boyfriend won't go with her, so she wants me to go. But I can't. I've already seen it. I can't see it again. Can you imagine?
"So, have you seen Brokeback Mountain?"
"Oh, sure. Saw it twice."
"Really? Twice? Hmmm..."
Congratulations on the award, by the way. I'm going to get a copy of your book.
jc