Masculinity In Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain defies traditional masculinity of the western with the story of tragic love between the two male protagonists ‘Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist’ in a small town where homosexuality was seen as a sin. Ennis’ character represents the masculine hero of the western with his large frame, deep voice and rugged looks. The love interest in Western texts is usually a female damsel in distress that needs saving from the daring hero who saves not only her but also the town. Lee switched up this impression by having Jack as Ennis’ lover and his character is influenced by beliefs is attached with femineity. Jack is portrayed as the seducer throughout the film, and on Brokeback Mountain it is Jack who tempts Ennis into the tent and makes the first advance onto a confused Ennis who declares, “You know I ain’t no queer”.
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The viewer is able to see this notion, for instance during their lovemaking Jack is the submissive, and always throughout the film he emotionally expresses himself to Ennis whereas Ennis seems emotionally stunted when it comes to saying what their relationship is.
Their relationship is doomed to end badly when one character accepts his homosexuality and the other disregards it. Brokeback Mountain offers the two men an opportunity to act on their desires without feeling the pressures of modern society and unhappy relationships. Tompkins (1992, 84) argues that the ‘west functions as a symbol of freedom and opportunity’. This is seen throughout the film when the two men reminisce about their time on Brokeback Mountain and how they always seem melancholy about how their relationship will never progress from what it was once like back on the mountain. The film explored the repercussions of suppressing homosexuality in the west and the struggles that one experiences because of
it.
Another version of masculinity that is explored throughout the film is the homoeroticism of western cowboy seen as a sexual figure. Before the love scenes between Jack and Ennis, the viewer is able to see underlying tension between the two men. They are both physically in their prime, eating, sleeping working together, they are physically aware of each other and their time on Brokeback Mountain brings this awareness into them acting on their tensions and taking pleasure. Gaines and Herzog (1998) demonstrate the homoerotic undertones of the Western through the costume worn, commenting that ‘it is difficult to imagine a male costume that lends itself more to eroticisation than that of the Western gunfighter’ (1998,p179). This erotic element is seen by what the two males wear while working alongside one another; their fitted t-shirts that highlight their chests and arms and jeans that show their thighs and hips. Their practical western wear enhances their masculine attraction and reinforces the sensuality of the western scenario which inturns breaks down the traditional masculine version as rough and tough. Lees use of Jack and Ennis has furthered Gaines and Herzog’s explanation of the Western Cowboy becoming a ‘sexual fantasy’ (179) for viewers and throughout the film they become aware of the cowboy figure in all of his sexiness. With the exploration of the homosexual relationship in Brokeback Mountain and the homoeroticism of the western cowboy, traditional versions of masculinity have been challenged and emasculated by the actions of the two characters in the film.
The viewer is able to see this notion, for instance during their lovemaking Jack is the submissive, and always throughout the film he emotionally expresses himself to Ennis whereas Ennis seems emotionally stunted when it comes to saying what their relationship is.
Their relationship is doomed to end badly when one character accepts his homosexuality and the other disregards it. Brokeback Mountain offers the two men an opportunity to act on their desires without feeling the pressures of modern society and unhappy relationships. Tompkins (1992, 84) argues that the ‘west functions as a symbol of freedom and opportunity’. This is seen throughout the film when the two men reminisce about their time on Brokeback Mountain and how they always seem melancholy about how their relationship will never progress from what it was once like back on the mountain. The film explored the repercussions of suppressing homosexuality in the west and the struggles that one experiences because of
it.
Another version of masculinity that is explored throughout the film is the homoeroticism of western cowboy seen as a sexual figure. Before the love scenes between Jack and Ennis, the viewer is able to see underlying tension between the two men. They are both physically in their prime, eating, sleeping working together, they are physically aware of each other and their time on Brokeback Mountain brings this awareness into them acting on their tensions and taking pleasure. Gaines and Herzog (1998) demonstrate the homoerotic undertones of the Western through the costume worn, commenting that ‘it is difficult to imagine a male costume that lends itself more to eroticisation than that of the Western gunfighter’ (1998,p179). This erotic element is seen by what the two males wear while working alongside one another; their fitted t-shirts that highlight their chests and arms and jeans that show their thighs and hips. Their practical western wear enhances their masculine attraction and reinforces the sensuality of the western scenario which inturns breaks down the traditional masculine version as rough and tough. Lees use of Jack and Ennis has furthered Gaines and Herzog’s explanation of the Western Cowboy becoming a ‘sexual fantasy’ (179) for viewers and throughout the film they become aware of the cowboy figure in all of his sexiness. With the exploration of the homosexual relationship in Brokeback Mountain and the homoeroticism of the western cowboy, traditional versions of masculinity have been challenged and emasculated by the actions of the two characters in the film.