'Brokeback Mountain' adaptation to star all-transgender cast (Am I the only one who hated the movie? But would love to see this for the LOLZ)

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[–]lefterfield 8 insightful - 2 fun8 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

...They were both married? That's some bullshit. I never had any interest in seeing it, but I HATE this idea of tragic romances between gay men married to women. No, that's still called being a cheating, lying asshole, your sexuality changes nothing.

[–]MarkTwainiac 13 insightful - 1 fun13 insightful - 0 fun14 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Not to excuse cheating and lying, but "Brokeback" takes place in the rustic American West in the early 1960s - the two men fall in love in 1963. A lot of gay men and lesbians in that era got married to opposite sex partners coz they were unaware of, had repressed and were in denial of their true sexual orientation - and coz they felt they had no choice.

From what I recall Annie Proulx's original short story from the 1990s and the 2005 film that was made of it, the two male protagonists in "Brokeback" hadn't come out even to themselves when they met each other.

IIRC, one of the male protagonists in "Brokeback" - the one played by Heath Ledger - was an emotionally unexpressive, repressed guy with little formal education and zero "emotional intelligence" who got married very young when he was totally clueless about his own sexual orientation as well as most of his feelings. If you do the dates, he would've met and married his wife in the mid to late 1950s.

The other fella in "Brokeback" - the one played by Jake Gyllenhaal - married a woman later in life, after he was aware he was sexually attracted to men. But he'd also been subjected to a brutal gay-bashing and he lived in a social milieu that led him to believe he had no choice but to deny and cover up his sexual orientation. Moreover, I think he got the woman he married pregnant when they were dating - and before legal abortion, marriage in such cases often seemed to be the only honorable option for a guy. Also, IIRC, the Jake G character was genuinely attracted to women - he was actually bi.

"Brokeback" as I recall it was story about gay love - love between two men - not necessarily between two men who were exclusively gay. One of the guys was bisexual.

The fact is, whilst most homosexual people - particularly today - fall in love only with other people of the same sex, some are capable of genuinely falling romantically in love with members of the opposite sex. This was probably more the case back in the repressive 1950s and 60s when "Brokeback" was set, but it also occurred in my own youth in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Similarly, there are many bi people who have mostly het relationships but whose greatest love of their lives has been a person of the same sex.

[–]lefterfield 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I'm aware of the history of how such stories happen, and how gay or bisexual men end up married with children. It's a story that's repeatedly told in media, with full sympathy given to the repressed man. Far less common to hear anything about the wife, and how she was lied to, and how it affects her life and her understanding of her own sexuality. No, it's not fair for gay men to have to hide who they are out of fear of violence. It's also not fair for men to use women and then discard them without consequence.

[–]tea4two 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That was exactly my issue with it. It was written to be overly sympathetic to the men, with no empathy left over for the women whose lives they were destroying. Moreover, it wasn't just a case of cheating, Heath Ledger's cowboy was absolutely awful to his wife on the regular! And these poor women who were not getting their needs met were framed as the obstacle to their love. I'm getting angry all over again just thinking about it!