Left Behinds: Red State Brokeback

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Red State Brokeback

I just published my first piece at TPM Cafe. Let me know what you think.

8 Comments:

At 5:06 PM, Antid Oto said…

I think your pictures is adorable.
At 7:17 PM, Solomon Grundy said…

But what did you think of what I wrote? It was tough saying anything fresh about BBM.
At 4:45 PM, Antid Oto said…

You might also want to check this out: it makes a similar argument as you do, and one of the commenters even sounds the "sheepherders, not cowboys" theme.
At 6:41 PM, Solomon Grundy said…

Nice piece (though I would have preferred pace when he used contra).

I think I didn't make my point very clearly on TPMC. When I said it was a red state movie, all I meant was that it is a pretty accurate and nuanced depiction of life in a red state. And as you said, one authentic aspect of life in a red state is that some of the guys sleep together. I've seen it firsthand. It's not some Hollywood fantasy of gay cowboys, it's an accurate portrayal of life in Wyoming. It felt really real for me (as most of Proulx's Wyoming stories do).

I guess I come at BBM having seen a million gay movies, so that for me what's so unusual is the regional culture depicted and the fact that they're so thoroughly country. They aren't fish out of water struggling against their hick milieu (which we've seen before), they're really, truly country. They just happen to be in a relationship. It's a total Log Cabin Republican fantasy, in a lot of ways. In that sense it's a red state movie about red state guys and red state values.

I have to agree, though, with the haters who commented that this is perhaps not a particularly insightful observation. But give me a break, I was on a deadline.
At 6:47 PM, Solomon Grundy said…

Oh and when I said Jack and Ennis were more red-blooded than most red-staters, what I had in mind was exactly what you wrote about wussy exurban fundamentalists whose mouths are bigger than their balls. Those guys wish they were as butch as Ennis.
At 6:47 PM, Solomon Grundy said…

In fact, they wish they were as butch as Lureen.
At 10:04 PM, Josh K-sky said…

Now that the Oscars are over, can we stop talking about Brokeback Mountain and start talking about Mysterious Skin? Because I fuckin' loved it. Gentlemen?

I suppose I could start this off at my own blog.
At 3:48 PM, Antid Oto said…

Once I watch it I suppose I could talk about it.

But to a certain extent SG has to talk about BBM. You'd understand if you saw the site-traffic figures.

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Left Behinds

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Red State Brokeback

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