I have avoided commenting on "Brokeback Mountain" and the controversy surrounding it. There is a very true principle that discussion of an idea, even though it is a wrong idea, can give can it credence, legitimacy and legs. With this risk in mind, I will express a few truths that are overlooked and need exposure.
I have not seen the film and will not. But this is irrelvant, since I am not commenting on the film, but on those who support it. I have read many reviews that were supportive and sympathetic of the themes displayed so my opinions are not based on negative, right-winged conservatives. But there are two disturbing issues that have surfaced from these discussions.
First, drama has proven over the millennia to be a powerful influence on the actions of the human race. Literature has changed the course of nations. It is always a disservice to society when disgusting tales of losers and reprobates are portrayed bigger than life on the silver screen. The precise form of deviant behavior is irrelevant for the damage is still the same. The fabric of society is shredded, not re-enforced. Conversely, those who overcome adversity and challenges rather than wallowing in it, motivate society to improve, perservere and triumph.
The other disturbing element is not the proselytizing of a lifestyle that I personally believe brings damage and unhappiness to all it touches. (It is ironic that the film poignantly supports this very idea.) The problem is the cavalier, in your face, narrow minded, bigot attitude from the film’s supporters. I have worked on stage, in films and I even directed Jake Gyllenhaal’s sister when she was a student in high school. I have worked with straight people, gay people and those who didn’t know what they were. Everyone is trying to find happiness. It is too bad that, as Garth Brooks put it, too many are looking for it in all the wrong places.
It hurts to see how so many of the vocal liberal community ridicule and demean those who do not believe the same way they do. Choosing not to watch a program that is counter to my beliefs is no different than a pro-choice activist choosing not to attend a pro-life rally, or a peace activist refusing to see a film that glorifies war and carnage. Participating in something that offends one’s senses, is not required to be objective or informed. In this country, we have the right to agree to disagree. Making light, ridiculing or harassing an individual for their beliefs is fine as long as you allow them the same opportunity to make you feel like an idiot for the way you believe.
