There is some controversy over Brokeback Mountain, and we all know why. We've heard it a thousand times; boys have sex in it, and this is disgusting/the downfall of morality/against God's will. Whatever.
I haven't seen the movie, not for lack of want, but simply because it's not playing anywhere near here. I plan on making a good faith attempt to get to a theater in the city to see it, but I'm not sure that it'll happen, especially before christmas.
I did just read it, though. And I suggest that you do the same if you have a minute or two (it's a very short read), because it's worth it. The story is beautiful and gripping, sad and hard at times. There is sex between men in it, so if you object to that, I urge you to try to put aside that objection and read it for what it is, and nothing less: a love story. People have said this before, but I think it bears repeating, and as someone who allowed my barriers to fall when it comes to this taboo, I think that I understand it. It rings true to my heart. Not because I am not with the person I want to be with. I'm lucky; I'm not living a lie. But because there is a universality to love. I don't care about the sex. The sex is wholly secondary to what goes on, emotionally, between these two men.
It's something we cannot say enough, those of us who accept, support, embrace tolerance and acceptance; we cannot let it go unsaid that homosexuality has as much to do with love as with sex. I truly believe that. This story isn't sensational; it's an account of what happens when two men love one another. Sex is involved in that, but it's not all of it. It's love that Ennis feels when he feels cramps so bad he thinks he's gonna puke as Jack is leaving. It's love Jack feels when he drops the phone and drives from Texas to Wyoming when Ennis calls him the one time. That has nothing to do with sex. Nothing.
I don't get it. And I never will. I think that this country has it all wrong, when talking about homosexuality. But we'll never be able to frame the debate in this way, because the right doesn't care about love (or peace or truth or kindness) unless it's about loving god. Too many right-wing fundies forget to love their neighbor for some all-encompassing love of god, and they're missing the forest for the trees. They're forgetting themselves.
I hope this movie is so successful that this idea doesn't go away. I hope it makes the fundies squirm.
Comments