Brokeback Mountain: Another Perspective

Throughout the movie Brokeback Mountain, there is ample amount of scenes that demonstrate homosexuality. As noticed from the start of the movie—well when they make it to the mountain—there seems to already be some subtle sexual tension between the two cowboys. After having viewed this movie, taking a Queer Theory approach, it became more evident to me the subtleties about homosexuality. It’s difficult to narrow the movie down to a scene or two that exemplifies what is meant by this. When the two cowboys get up to the mountain, they quickly begin to cohere to the roles assigned to them by a higher authority.
Watching the movie again, it became clearer the gender roles that are depicted. As society forces many couples to adhere to the provider and caretaker roles. This was not different on the mountain. One man was the housekeeper--typically understood as the female role—and the other man was the working man—typically understood as the male role. So what were the directors trying to relay to us the audience? Could it be that these two men don’t have the common discrepancies the populace assumes? Or, could it be that these two men develop a love, which spawns to homosexuality?
It’s tough to say exactly. Remembering back to my first idea of what the movie was trying to convey. Back then, I thought the movie was a story of two heterosexual men, with a love that was hard to contain. It was difficult for me to grasp homosexuality at the time; it may have been because at the time I wasn’t familiar with that life style. Having immersed myself in the real world, I now have homosexual friends that have taught me about their lifestyle. With the combination of maturity and exposure, the movie Brokeback Mountain has changed what I initially thought about it.
There are many more things about the movie that deserve consideration, however, as a result of time, they don’t get the limelight. Watching the movie from a specific approach truly changes what subtleties you pick up on.