If Brokeback Mountain wasn't the big gay break out symbol of today...?
86535
I don't think so.  I believe that one of the biggest components to making the movie so great was the controversial tone of it.  The movie had great cinematography; but without the edge of the characters interplay, it wouldn't have had a whole lot of substance.
58140
I have not seen the movie, but I think that every little bit of exposure to something will cause people to become more open to it (and generally more accepting).\n\nThat being said I don't expect any CEOs to walk into their boardrooms next month and demand health benefits for the domestic partners of their employees because they saw a movie about gay cowboys.
1179435
I don't know if they've been there, but there's a theory that the most homophobic guys are the ones who are secretly afraid that they are a little bit gay... you know, like the ex-army Sgt Major character in 'American Beauty'
277148
Crash was a better movie.  I think as much as Brokeback wanted to make a statement about gay romance, most of the country as well as the Academy isn't comfortable with a premise that is so anachronistic.  \n\nAnd Crash addressed a topic that MORE people can relate too in a setting that is very very much like real life.\n\n"Capote" was a better movie than Brokeback mountain and it got the awards it deserved.  Its almost as if Ang Lee said "Hmm let's take the least gay icon in American History and make it gay."  PLUS...it really looked more like an essay on bi-sexuality and lust, rather than the charming love story every other sheep out there bleats it out to be.
619858
I don't think so.\n\nThe story, the music, and the acting of Brokeback Mountain touches the soul few movies can. It's universal. Women, men, gay, and straight, from all walks of life and cultures, who possess the same human decency of kindness and conscience, resonate in the same ways. That's the kind of beauty in BBM that grabs people and makes them cry.\n\nNeedless to say, those who are afraid to watch the movie, or cannot experience the true meaning of it, would not have much to say about it.  To say I have lived, I must have experienced.  This movie is an experience of a life-time.
286097
Haha, I just totally posted a topic just like yours. I definitely thought it should have won over crash. I mean, honestly, the average person heard much more about Brokeback Mountain than Crash. The acting was superb, it was origional, I enjoyed it.
1141909
I don't think it fostered any greater understanding of the gay community - all it does represent, to my mind, is a landmark achievement of mainstream cinema realising it CAN make money by portraying gays as other than deviants with mass murdering tendencies or as foppish shells with little to no characterisation.  It helps too that the principals were established and respected actors and not some unknowns who had no reputation to lose by prising gay roles.\n\nThe movie itself was not that hot.  The best thing about it for me was the cinematography/art direction.\n\nOh and it did give the media something to write about - not that much of what I saw was gay friendly - rather they just (rather salaciously, IMHO) reported on the brouhaha that the right-wingers saw fit to instigate about it.  If anything, the only thing they helped was ticket sales - with all the free advertising.
1174528
I used to jerk off with straight guys while watching straight porn. They didnt know i was gay. And believe me i was not paying too much attention to the movie. There is no way in hell that i am even remotely straight and a porno flick is not going to convert me. I have watched dozens of staight with my straight friends since then and I have still never got the notion to boink chics.
533559
As with all cultures, there is definitely a fragmenatation within the gay community.  It depends how stable and established the community is before it forms subcultures.  For gay men, you can be a twink, bear, queen, fashionista, muscle mary, drug whore... the list is endless.  Many people find that they associate with one particular group (eg muscle marys may find that they have a shared interest in going to the gym).  Lesbians can be butch, femme, dykes, into tattoos.. again the list is a long one.\n\nFar from being a negative thing, this subdividing should be seen as positive - it shows that gay culture is strong enough to allow fragmentation.  Some people see their sexuality as a secondary thing.  As long as gay people remember the battles our forefathers had to get us to this point, our communities should stay strong.\n\nThere is one further point to remember - not all transvestites are gay.  There are many straight people who enjoy the experience of wearing the other gender's clothes.  They tend to be drawn to gay communities because we are seen as being more tolerant of those who appear different.\n\nOf course you are going to get the odd person who verbalises an intolerance towards others.  I think this actually is an expression of self-loathing and low self esteem, something that is a recurring theme in the gay community.  If you hear people critisising others, ignore them, they're not worth the effort.  Eventually if we all work towards a common goal of support and acceptance, they will tire of being ignored and join the party.
446081
because it portrays gays being cowboys.
509069
I think it's left up to us, the audience to decide what really happened to Jack. I've seen the movie a couple of times and have thought about the same thing, but I'm still not sure which story to believe. But I'm leaning towards Jack getting killed by the townspeople who found out he was gay because Jack was more open about his sexuality.
543762
I'm not sure... I was the victim of a gay bashing on Christmas Morning, 2005. And since I live in western Nebraska, I really was not sure what to do. If I had made a stink out of it and got the police involved, I more than likely would have been subjected to it again. Maybe gay bashing is done by those who are too chicken shite to admit they really are gay, so they hate those of us who are out of the closet and fear that we will drag them kicking and screaming into the world of Gayness. lol.
195776
A small county newspaper (15,000) outside Colorado Springs.\n\nIn fact, We're being threatened with a lawsuit by a former city councilman for a Brokeback Mountain parody last week. Sadly he's let his own homophobia blind him to the real spoof which was a huge city expansion project gone belly up (or Broken Back as the case goes.) TOO MUCH FUN!
1182177
Although Brokeback Mountain is a beautiful film, I would have to go with Big Eden ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212815/ ) as the better "love story." For younger audiences, maybe the old British film, "Beautiful Thing" (long before Queer As Folk.) And for laughs (romantic comedy) "The Trick."  You can find all of these titles and a lot more at TLAvideo ( http://tlavideo.com/ ) go to their site an access the Gay and Lesbian section.  it is one of the largest on line resources for DVDs, and has a good amount of older films as well as the newest releases.  Have fun watching.
672591
Not for me.\n\nCan't people stop questioning why people are gay and just accept that people are gay?
1134885
It could be worse it could have been gay porn. \n\nCount your blessings.
165317
I don't think so, i believe, a date is about starting to know each other, Brokeback mountain is a movie that you can hate or you can love, it's so polemic that you can end the relation the same day you started it. \nHumans become so exalted when you make your point on subjects like homosexuality, religion and politics, that i don't think a first or second date is good to use those subjects. You have to see something that is more ligth!\nIf you have a girlfriend, wich whom you know about her ideas, and agree with most of them, then you can enjoy this movie, cause it is a GREAT LOVE MOVIE!!!\n\nAh, and i was forgotting to say, that this migth look like you are trying to get out of the closet, it's dangerous too.