Gay and Appalachian: the "Brokeback professor"

Virginia Tech creative writing professor Jeff Mann publishes Loving Mountains, Loving Men on being gay in Appalachia.

Brokeback Mountain: the DVD!

Ever since the release date (April 4) of Brokeback Mountain on DVD was announced last week, pre-orders have made it the #1 selling DVD on Amazon.com. And if you buy it from the link above, a portion of the sale supports Dave Cullen's Ultimate Brokeback Forum (the best place on earth for Brokebackers, Brokeaholics, Brokeback Mountaineers and others passionate about the Best Movie of 2005).

A Jesuit preaches on having "a Brokeback Lent"

I have to admit, this one even surprised me. An Ash Wednesday homily on Lent and Brokeback Mountain, from the Jesuit Urban Center/Boston. (Thank you, Jonathan, for the link!)

"The Academy Awards have lost their relevance."

Karen Hershenson on Annie Proulx' rant and the irrelevance of the Oscars (from the Contra Costa Times).

Me in the early Brokeback era

Me (left) and my older brother (right) in Estes Park, Colorado in the summer of either 1963 or 1964.

Brokeback filming sites

Alberta's tourism bureau has specific info (maps!) of the various sites used to film Brokeback Mountain.

More on Hollywood and homophobia

More on the Academy's homophobia. Commentary and comments make clear what a lie "complaining about Brokeback's loss is just sour grapes" is.

How can gay people not feel betrayed by Oscar when so many voters publicly admit that they never even gave "Brokeback" a chance? Worse, that didn't stop them from giving "Brokeback" all of the other Oscars it was expected to get: best director, screenplay and musical score. But they just couldn't go that last step, just couldn't install such a historic milestone on a financially successful and critically acclaimed film — worthy of Academy Awards for writing and direction — and place it in Oscar's best pic pantheon.

What if Brokeback had been about race?

An insightful commentary on the Brokeback vs. Crash controversy, by Mark Salamon on AfterElton.com. An excerpt:

I am not a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences, but I have seen Brokeback Mountain, and I did like it tremendously—as did millions of others. Our bewilderment over its defeat at the Oscars has been misinterpreted. Would you humor us by considering the following analogy that better explains our position?
Let's simply recast Brokeback Mountain as the story about the intolerance faced by a white woman and her black husband in rural Wyoming in the 1960s....

Brokebackers speak truth to the Academy

As you probably know, fans of Brokeback Mountain raised funds to place a full color ad in in the March 10 issue of Daily Variety, thanking all those responsible for the movie (as well as Jack and Ennis themselves).

The ad can be seen at http://davecullen.com/brokebackmountain/img/ad-final.jpg

Links to media coverage of the ad: http://davecullen.com/forum/index.php?topic=2005.0

Chinese language coverage: http://udn.com/NEWS/ENTERTAINMENT/ENT3/3207974.shtml

Most-awarded movie of all time

In case we forget what came before the Academy's snub, Brokeback Mountain is the most-awarded movie of all time:

During the awards' season leading up to Sunday night's Oscars, Brokeback Mountain became the most honored movie in cinematic history. It had more Best Picture and Director wins than previous Oscar winners Schindler's List and Titanic combined.

Beautiful video tribute to Brokeback Mountain

Video reminder that Brokeback will always be our Best Picture....

An Oscar-night vision

From Pierre of the Dave Cullen forum:

I had a vision march 5th,

I swear I saw jack and Ennis turn down their heads when " crash" was read and relegated back to the solitary confinement of the Mountains. i swear i saw Ennis lead as jack followed in disbelief. I swear i saw the fight of their last meeting ressurected, and the brief glimpses of the beauty they shared, albeit cut short by what surrounds them. i swear i saw that they held onto each other harder then ever before, harder then any prior fight. They knew all they have is each other. the world is not for them. They are sun and moon forever united. So full of hope that they could be with one another in the light, only to find out the tire iron still exists just in the body of a ignorant group and shape of a white envelope.

i swear i saw ennis and jack, slowly gather their belongings. Fold up the tent. put away the joyous harmonica for the last time. Climb on their horses and ride out of the auditorium. riding past the howling coyotes and learned snakes. Where they'll go? they don't know. But they know they are not welcome here and our boys are too good to stay any place they are not wanted.

I swear i saw them ride into me. they ride into my heart. make a camp. build a cabin. run a cattle operation. In my heart i will protect them from the world. I will protect them from what they don't understand. Ennis will hold jack and jack will hold ennis in my offer of peace and a home in my soul. I will let them love as they wish and only i can dream. Forever a part of me.

Jack and Ennis... I swear ...


http://davecullen.com/forum/index.php?topic=1061.225

Hollywood Homophobia

Well, the denial of the Best Picture Oscar to the widely-agreed-upon Best Picture, Brokeback Mountain, can only be explained by the Academy members' homophobia and cowardice. Talk of Crash (which few saw) as Best Picture didn't start until the question of whether Hollywood was mature enough, brave enough, to award a "gay love story" the Best Picture Oscar was raised. So the homophobic rich straight white males who run America triumph again.

While we are very happy for the recognition of the gifts and talents of Diana, Larry, Ang and Gustavo, this is certainly a Day of National Mourning in Brokeback Nation.

Real Gay Cowboy, Heath, and Gay Mardi Gras

A wonderful story from Down Under of the trials and tribulations of a real rural cowboy. (Oh to be in Sydney for Mardi Gras.... Sigh....)

Breaking the Social Order: Brokeback Mountain and the Re-Imagined Western

A veeeery interesting commentary by Shaun Huston (popmatters.com) on Brokeback Mountain and re-imagining the West. Among the conclusions:

In making its protagonists sympathetic, genuine cowboys, and in love with each other, the film asks audiences to believe that the renewal of American freedom should include the right of Jack and Ennis to have the "sweet life" Jack dreams of.