You know, the reason I really loved Ennis is probably because I related to him so much. Which is, actually, probably why I'm so hard on him. ^^ Sorry if it came off as though I blamed him for the whole situation, I just wanted to make clear that I thought that what made Brokeback Mountain so great was the fact that it never relied on social factors to make its drama happen, as I think many movies whose central theme is prejudice tend to do. A lot of the problems in Jack and Ennis's relationship stemmed from their being just Jack and Ennis.
I personally don't think Jack was actually any better than Ennis, although it came off that way, I think, because he was less practical and had more of the sense of a revolutionary to him, which I think movie-makers and audiences in general tend to appreciate more in fiction. I mean...*laughs* I knew I'd end up talking about this, but look at HP. Slytherin's main problem in the text, I think, is just being a house full of very practical people with absolutely no illusions about the horrible things people are capable of. What they lack in self-awareness, they make up for in social and spatial awareness, which means they're not going to try and change the world so much as become as successful as possible within its defined boundaries. While Gryffindors, like Hermione in particular, will always see the world the way it should or could be, and will try to force things to live up to their expectations. Which doesn't make for great living in RL (which is why I think Jack had to die at the end of the story and not Ennis), but which does make for a better hero in the bounds of a fictional world, which is one built up on showing what we wish the world could be.
The tagline to the story was, "If you can't fix it, you've got to stand it," which is a very RL theme. But unlike in RL, people do want things to be fixed when they see a movie. So they see Jack trying to fix it and Ennis fighting him the whole way, even after Ennis really has nothing left to lose but his life, and then Jack dying hammers the nail in his Heroic coffin, so to speak. Martyrdom is the best way to sainthood, after all. Especially when its something people are inclined to believe shouldn't be stood. And especially when your own fear is what's in the way. I think people don't want to understand this fear. I think it hit too close to home, even though standing it, and just living day-to-day in this reality is probably the hardest thing most people will aver have to accept to do.
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I personally don't think Jack was actually any better than Ennis, although it came off that way, I think, because he was less practical and had more of the sense of a revolutionary to him, which I think movie-makers and audiences in general tend to appreciate more in fiction. I mean...*laughs* I knew I'd end up talking about this, but look at HP. Slytherin's main problem in the text, I think, is just being a house full of very practical people with absolutely no illusions about the horrible things people are capable of. What they lack in self-awareness, they make up for in social and spatial awareness, which means they're not going to try and change the world so much as become as successful as possible within its defined boundaries. While Gryffindors, like Hermione in particular, will always see the world the way it should or could be, and will try to force things to live up to their expectations. Which doesn't make for great living in RL (which is why I think Jack had to die at the end of the story and not Ennis), but which does make for a better hero in the bounds of a fictional world, which is one built up on showing what we wish the world could be.
The tagline to the story was, "If you can't fix it, you've got to stand it," which is a very RL theme. But unlike in RL, people do want things to be fixed when they see a movie. So they see Jack trying to fix it and Ennis fighting him the whole way, even after Ennis really has nothing left to lose but his life, and then Jack dying hammers the nail in his Heroic coffin, so to speak. Martyrdom is the best way to sainthood, after all. Especially when its something people are inclined to believe shouldn't be stood. And especially when your own fear is what's in the way. I think people don't want to understand this fear. I think it hit too close to home, even though standing it, and just living day-to-day in this reality is probably the hardest thing most people will aver have to accept to do.