What elderly straight men REALLY think of Brokeback Mountain
Ten years this week from its US cinema release, Brokeback Mountain still stands as one of the biggest ‘mainstream’ gay films of all time, with a reach far beyond LGBT viewers. But what do non-LGBT viewers really think of this tale of forbidden love between two young ranchers in 1960s rural America?
More specifically: what do 80-something heterosexual men make of the film?
To mark the 10th anniversary of the queer cinema classic, VH1 asked several senior citizens for their views on the film – and their responses might surprise you:
“I was 71 in 2005 when the movie Brokeback Mountain was first shown. Through my early years and even today, I consider myself to be basically free of prejudices. Growing up in the New York City area, I paid little attention to differences in race, color, religion, sexual orientation, etc. However, being an avid movie fan I was somewhat apprehensive about the potential for the showing of homosexual-related explicit scenes, which I do have a problem in viewing. I did see the film, – enjoyed it immensely and never did feel uncomfortable. In fact, in many ways, I felt that this story had to be shown. Generations of suppressing and ’hiding’ these issues simply had to stop.”
– Sheldon, 81
“Brokeback Mountain was a movie about the relationship between two men. The movie was extremely well done and challenged one to think about those relationships. Both my wife and I enjoyed the movie and were not offended by any of it. We also enjoyed reading the book.”
– Merle, 83
“An aspect of the movie Brokeback Mountain that I found most interesting was the strong homophobic response it evoked from many of my acquaintances whose backgrounds were similar to mine. I would never have anticipated such strong negative responses like ’disgusting’ and ’revolting’ to an honest attraction between two men. I wonder if their response would have been different had the story involved two ballet dancers as opposed to two rugged cowboys. Despite the setting, I saw the movie as an unconventional love story with a sad ending.”
– Larry, 87
“An extraordinary portrayal of two men caught between their mutual sensual attraction and their inability to face living together in the wake of society’s condemnation. One encourages the other to be true to his feelings, but the resulting guilt, fear of discovery and lack of courage results in a later-in-life regret of a ’road not taken.’”
– Terry, 80
More stories:
Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson reveals he’s been battling skin cancer
Madonna performs surprise Paris show at Place de la République