Brokeback Mountain - a Gender Story

Brokeback Mountain
Directed by Ang Lee

Heath Ledger: as Ennis Del Mar
Jake Gyllenhaal: as Jack Twist


Against the backdrop of the awe-inspiring and rugged expanse of Brokeback mountain in Wyoming, in the summer of 1963, while tending a herd of sheep, two young men – a cowboy and a ranch hand – forge a relationship and a bond that will change their lives forever. Ironically the formidable challenges of Brokeback mountain turn into the most welcoming and accepting aspect of the men’s lives as they escape from the unfriendly societal laws and norms to resort to the place where they first met and renew their bond.

By the end of the summer, when the two men say goodbye not knowing if their roads will ever cross again, against their rough upbringing, they are both visibly morose. Ennis Del Mar, who is supposed to marry soon, hides behind a wall and starts crying noisily, only to be reminded by his socialization that “men don’t cry” when a passing man stops to find out what is wrong.

The two men continue seeing one another once or twice a year despite both being married and having children now. They marry because that is what the society expects them to do. That is what they should do as men. That is what they have been socialized to do. Though they don’t seem to be consciously aware of it, they both know unconsciously that marrying a person of the opposite sex is not what they really want. They both know deep within them that they love each other. They keep testing the invisible conformity wall of the society. And eventually they both fall victim to the harsh and unyielding realities of the norms of the society. Jack Twist is lynched on the way to Mexico where he sometimes goes to seek homosexual intercourse. And Ennis Del Mar’s marriage breaks up in acrimony when his wife finds out about the nature of his relationship with Jack.

Though the movie portrays the doomed love of two homosexual men, you cannot but shed a few tears at the end when Ennis buries his head in the bloodied denim jacket of his murdered lover and voraciously takes in the scent of the body that he has so dearly loved for so long.

I went to the movie with an open mind, as a person that is very tolerant of homosexual behavior. I truly think of gays and lesbians as a minority that should be protected by civil rights laws. But let me be honest with you; even I was initially taken aback by the explicit love making of two men. One thing is certain: being gay is not equivalent to being effeminate. “Contrary to common myths about gay male effeminacy, masculinity also plays a powerful role in shaping gay and bisexual men’s identity and behavior” (Don Sabo 547). Throughout the movie, one can observe many manifestations of masculine socialization in the behaviors of Ennis and Jack: the Rough-and-Tumble play, aggression and violence, and control and domination.

A very controversial movie because of the subject that it presented, it instigated a wide variety of responses in the society. The conservatives vehemently dispelled and condemned it reasoning that it is detached from mainstream America. The liberals and gay and lesbian community welcomed it as a movie that can bring awareness about homosexuality and create a level of acceptance of this minority group in the society.

Just as this movie was being screened in cinemas across the United States, it coincided with an event that made it obvious how intolerant and zealous some members of the society can be as a result of the way they have been socialized by the culture of male domination and masculinity. Early in February, an 18-year-old male teenager walked into a gay bar in Massachusetts and injured some of the customers using a hatchet. Later he gunned down a police officer during a traffic stop. When he was finally stopped by the police after a high speed chase in Arkansas, he shot and killed the woman who was traveling with him before he was killed in a shootout with the police. Three lives in one week! Not bad for manhood!


Works Cited:

Sabo, Don. “Masculinity and Men’s Health: Moving toward Post-Superman Era Prevention.” Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology. 4th Ed. Estelle Disch. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 541-558.