Hamlet - David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Penny Downie. Act 5, Scene 1. -...

iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LLO5IdAl-q8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

By next Thursday (Assignment!!!)

Hi All,

So.  No class tomorrow (day 6).

You WILL have class on Monday.  Brandon will be with you; you will be doing a writing exercise.

You WILL NOT have class on Tuesday.

You WILL have class on Wednesday.  Brandon will be with you; you will continue the writing exercise.

You have TWO THINGS YOU MUST DO FOR HOMEWORK between now and next Thursday (when I return):

1) Please READ AND ANNOTATE Hamlet, Act Two Scene Two

2) Please choose an adaptation of Hamlet you'd like to study for your final assignment.

You will be asked to consider whether the "adaptation" IS a true adaptation, whether it is faithful, and whether it is successful.

Note: no more than three of you can choose the same version to discuss.

Here are a few you might consider:

FEATURE FILMS CALLED HAMLET

Franco Zepherelli’s 1990 Hamlet, with Mel Gibson in the lead role

Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 Hamlet, with himself in the lead role

Michael Almereyda’s 2000 Hamlet, with Ethan Hawke in the lead role

MADE-FOR-TELEVISION FILMS (year, star provided)

Christopher Plummer (1964)

Richard Chamberlain (1970)

Derek Jacobi (1980)

Kevin Kline (1990)

Campbell Scott (2000)

David Tennant (2010)

BY ANY OTHER NAME

Der Rest ist Schweigen (The Rest is Silence), dir Helmut Kautner

Warui Yatsu Hodo Noku Nemuru (The Bad Sleep Well) dir. Akira Kurosawa

Ophelia, dir Claude Chabrol (France, 1962)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, by Tom Stoppard (read with “No Exit”) (film and/or stageplay)

Hamlet/Machine by Heiner Muller

Strange Brew, 1983, dirs. Bob and Doug Mackenzie

The Lion King (Disney Movie or Disney Stage Musical)

Fortinbras by playwright Lee Blessing

Dead Fathers Club by novelist Matt Haig

Hamlet II: Ophelia’s Revenge by novelist David Bergantino

Too Too Solid Flesh by science fiction novelist Nick O’Donahoe

Ophelia, written by playwright Dustin Wills

Twelve Ophelias: A Play with Broken Songs by playwright Caridad Svich

Gertrude and Claudius by novelist John Updike

2 posts in One (class hw + assigned day at the same. time.)

1)
when reading the book, one thing in noticed was how effectively Conrad used metaphors and similes to describe the senses in order to bring the reader in and let them 'experience' along with Marlow. I think the use of sound in the movie did a really good job of harassing the different senses, and really makes the experience of the journey 'real' the viewer, as it is in the book. The chopper sounds, the ominous music, the gunfire and explosion, the screaming; everything came together to create the confusion and insanity described in the book.

2)
One thing we talked about in class (and I blogged about earlier) was whether Heart of Darkness is a psychological journey into Marlow's mind, or a commentary on European colonialism. The first thing i noticed about the movie was how it also could be separated into both these paths. In the opening of the movie, Captain Ben's face is faded over scenes of explosions and concealing smoke. The close up of Ben's eyes and face indicate a psychological experience taking place, but at the same time it is a literal representation of colonialism in Vietnam.

Thesis

To accurately adapt something from one medium to another the adaptation must contain and be able to convey the same feelings as the original, even if the setting and characters are changed. In both Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now there is a feeling that our main character could snap at any time. Ultimately his adaptation is successful because even though almost everything about the story is changed except for the bare bones of the plot through his use of light and sound Coppola is able to capture the same sense of mystery and fear of the unknown.

A Thesis Statement

An “adaptation” is something that while having name changes, story changes, or even setting, still manages to echo themes of the work it is adapting. In this regard, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now manages to be an adaptation that differs from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness with its transplantation from Darkest Africa to Vietnam, yet still manages to capture the sense of dread, darkness, and fear that such primitive places have over men. Like in Conrad’s seminal novel, the end result of the movie is an apocalypse where the mind, physical body, and souls of men are completely and utterly destroyed by their situations.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Melina

Apocalypse Now is filmed in a way where structure and sequence play an important role. At first I was distracted by the superficial scenes such as the scene where Captain Willard strips off his clothes, depressively dancing, and then punches a mirror. However, as the storyline developed I realized the importance of the self-destructive episode--it transcribed the outside description of the charcter Marlow mentioned in Heart of Darkness. Only the audience and Willard know what happened in that room, therefore we become the omnious narrator describing Marlow as "not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be expected), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze" (pg.6). Likewise, almost all the other scenes are introduced in a confusing way, where we don't quite understand until another scene explains its importance. This occurs all throughout the novel, where many moments are unrecognizable until another occurence makes the light bulb go on. So far, it's been faithful.

Adaptation?

As we've gotten further and further into Apocalypse Now I've begun to question whether it is truly an adaptation at all. Since the movie started I had a hard time distinguishing what parts of the movie related to Heart of Darkness and which were a reference to Vietnam. Part of doing an adaptation is being able to work with time period/setting, reoccurring images, characters, and speed amongst many other things. I happen to think that Coppola didn't think wisely when he decided to shoot Apocalypse Now in Vietnam. The movie portrays Vietnam does feel like this dark, fearful place that stems from war. I found that there were multiple times when I was cross referencing and thinking about history class. The Vietnamese weren't savages who lived in the jungle and needed to be civilized, they were indigenous people who were fighting for their independence. Apocalypse Now shouldn't have been about war, it should have been about an adventure gone wrong because war has too many different denotations to it. All in all, I did find one director's choice that I agreed with, and that was the use of lighting in the movie up until now. The lighting was most effective during the scene at the bridge when the soldiers were under fire. The way each blast lit up the sky and each soldier's face until it passed and went back to darkness, was great. The audience really got this feeling of desperation and chaos that surrounds war; that was pretty realistic.  

Henry

Until today, I didn't consider Apocalypse Now to be an adaptation at all. The Rolling Stones/ water skiing scene felt out of place, and the presence of many other Americans at war doesn't give off the feeling that "Marlow" is an outsider at all; many others are in the exact same position as him. The Playboy performance also felt wrong. Women play a huge role in Heart of Darkness; the women we encounter on the river are mysterious natives. Here, the models in the show are clearly flown in from overseas, and while they are clearly "out of touch" like the women in Heart of Darkness, they do not give off the same mysterious vibe.

I thought the attack scenes were done well though. Coppola chose not to show any of the natives; we only see the arrows coming towards the boat. The sound of the arrows contrast well with the silence beforehand, which only emphasizes how scary it is for the men to be on a boat by themselves. The second attack was interesting as well. While the arrows were toys, there was also a real spear in the mix. We see that something that seems harmless in Vietnam can be harmful.

Kurtz

The biggest difference I’ve noticed between Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now is the way in which Kurtz is depicted. In the book Kurtz is a mystery up until the moment we meet him. Even once Marlow has interacted with him it is hard to tell exactly what his intentions in the Congo were and the intended only makes our idea of him less clear. The descriptions of Kurtz in the beginning of the book make him out to be a hero, while the descriptions at the beginning of the movie make him seem mad. I am not sure if our perceptions of Kurtz is going to shift as the movie continues but right now I feel that the mystery surrounding Kurtz is gone; he is no longer a voice. In both the movie and the book Kurt’s “methods become unsound” and there was even a photograph in the folder of Kurtz standing near many heads on sticks. These two characters are obviously meant to resemble each other but I can’t help but feel like the ways in which the other characters relate to Kurtz are too different for him to be the same man.

Welcome to the Jungle

From what I've seen so far, I'm finding "Apocalypse Now" to be both a strange and dark experience. I feel like so far the parallels between "Heart of Darkness" apply here. The wanton destruction of the natives, set to an epic Wagner piece that is both thrilling and dreadful, Kilgore discussing surfing with Corporal Lance, the tiger attack- These reflect a sense and fear of the unknown, of shooting Charlie just for the hell. I found Killgore's attack to be like hunting the Vietnamese as less than human.

Kill the Wabbit

When we first started watching Apocalypse Now I thought that instead of being an adaptation it was a movie with a few references to Heart of Darkness, but as we get farther in I am starting to see more similarities. After the helicopters fly in to Wagner's the Valkyrie and bomb the village there is a moment when Lieutenant Kilgore is talking about surfing and in the background, slightly out of focus, is a line of Vietnamese people who have been roped together being taken somewhere. Although it doesn't have quite the same effect as in Heart of Darkness when Marlowe sees the criminals when he is on his way to the first station, there is the same sense of blatant disregard on behalf of the people who are coming in to a strange new land. In Heart of Darkness Marlowe acknowledges the criminals but the man who is marching with them seems like he could not care less.

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

As I mentioned in class today one aspect of the movie that I have been very focused on is the use of sound (synchronous and asynchronous) in the film. The first sounds the audience hears are the helicopters, and we see them hovering above the ominous, burning, beautiful jungle. The sound of the helicopters continues throughout the movie and seems to be the overpowering sound. Yet what is interesting is Copola's choice of transitioning with sounds.
When we first meet the young, comical crew we see Laurence Fishburne turn on a small transistor radio and I Can't Get No Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones comes on. First the sound is very quiet and then quickly gets louder and louder until that is all the audience can hear.
Similarly the scene in which the general says "Put on the music!" as the whole crew is bombing another place up the river, the audience hears that famous song along with the helicopters, and then later on an opera song also takes over.
In Heart of Darkness this idea of VOICE is extremely important to the novel. The main voice discussed in the novel is Kurtz's, and Copola captures it right from the start of the film by playing it on a tape recorder, and having it eerily linger in the room.

A couple days late....

Last time we talked about the book, the class tried to convince me that heart of darkness was either a psychological trip into Marlow's subconscious, or an observation of colonialism in Africa. Most people in class had evidence to support the psychological trip, for instance the repetition of earth and men imagery through the book, perhaps suggesting a look in the nature of man, and quotes like, "The mind of a man is capable of anything", which seems to indicate a discovery larger than just the discovery of Africa. However, after class Sophie asked Ms. Drezner her opinion, and I have to say, her argument won me over.
The argument that convinced me was really rather a simple one. First and foremost, the book IS basically a journal of Conrad's account of what he saw in Africa. The psychological argument was one that came about later because of uncompfotable feelings toward racism. To say the book is not about colonialism and racism is to almost let the white supremacists in the book off the hook. I think that viewing the book as a coarse look into colonialism is more interesting than our own creating of a psychological journey. Truth is stranger than fiction after all...

The Blinding Truth

Heart of Darkness is a bone-chilling book. It forces the reader to take a look inside of themselves and confront the unknown. Conrad plays with quite a few themes, but I think that the most important one is truth. He asks his readers to question everything by taking us on a journey. What starts off as three men sitting in a boat on the Thames river later turns into an account of Marlow's experience in Africa. One line that stood out to me the most was: "Joy, fear, sorrow, devotion, valour, rage--who can tell?--but truth--truth stripped of its cloak of time" (43). Here Conrad is analyzing the mind of a man. A man feels many emotions, but cannot show them because being forward isn't be masculine.

Conrad then goes on to mesh two themes together: truth and darkness/light. He has a tendency to associate light with geography, and darkness with mankind. "Light" is mentioned at the very beginning of the book: "The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light" (4). While he associates darkness with the "utter savagery" of mankind (7). Men are savages because we give them too much power, we put them on pedestals as most men did with Krutz. They allowed Krutz to "englarge" their minds (65). One quote that stood out to me was "You don't talk with that man [Krutz]--you listen to him" (64). We also see Conrad depict men as savages when the reader learns that Marlow is looking at "heads on stakes" posted outside of Krutz' house (70). Marlow couldn't make out the heads until he took off the binoculars and got a closer view. I think the binoculars are a metaphor, just like the fog was a metaphor; Marlow doesn't make out the heads until he sees them with his own eyes. Instead of the binoculars helping him see, they blinded Marlow, in the same way that the thick fog would have caused the natives to get lost on the river (51). Here Conrad is hinting at the idea of sight, and being able to determine the truth with your own eyes.

Truth is such a big topic in this book because there are so many hidden motives. One of the characters that we meet that seems to have a hidden motive is the Manager. Krutz overhears the Manager saying how he wants to "do away" with Krutz. This is crucial because it is at this point that the Marlow hints, and that the reader thinks, that Marlow's boat was sabotaged. Another character that we finally have the chance to meet is Krutz. Krutz doesn't really have a secret motive, but more so the reader sees this overarching theme of secrecy with the two women in Krutz' life: the native and the Intended. Both women represent a different time period in Krutz' life. Aside from being a clear representation of savagery and civilization they also literally represent the colors black and white. What I found interesting is that these colors can stand for so many things. These colors take us all the way to the end of the book where Conrad has Marlow say that "The last words he pronounced was--your name" (95). Even though the majority of the book takes place in Africa Conrad wanted to make sure that while Krutz did venture off into a savage foreign land and had an African lover, in death it was as if Africa had never changed him because he ended up saying the Intended's name.

The book as a whole felt something like the written version of Inception but to a lesser extent. The book challenged the idea that we have the power to make others believe what we want them too. It was almost as if Conrad was trying to show this through the god-like figure Krutz. One thing that I liked the most was that Conrad began the book talking about the Nellie and "light," while at the end he truly leaves us in the "heart of an immense darkness" (96).

A Long Awaited Post

Europeans:
20-21 a very put together "amazing" white man
23 the man that needs to be carried by slaves
25 bad leader
29 when he notices Kurtz' painting

One thing that I kept in mind the entire time I was reading our copy of Heart of Darkness was the back of the book and the annotations. What I think is very important to note is just how much of the book is actually based on Conrad's own life. Many times some semblance of the comment "Marlow's recollections resemble Conrad's" (100). Direct images from Conrad's treks are taken (23) and told in Marlow's story (by Conrad) as if they were newly created just for this work of 'fiction.' The entire story of the wrecked ship (24), Marlow's repeated requests for parts, and the manager that hopes to destroy Kurtz (and even Kurtz himself) are all based on people and occurrences in Conrad's life. The man discussed on the bottom of page 23 (mentioned above) who was ill so had to be carried by Africans is also based on Conrad's friend.
I don't know quite what to make of the similarities between Conrad and Marlow, their lives, their journeys, or their stories, but I do know that these similarities do exist and they are very interesting. It would be neat to read a biography of Conrad that focuses on his similarities to Marlow (if they were made clear in the notes section they must be famously known and therefor written about many times) so as to learn of the importance of the similarities.

Hearts

There are many definitions of the word heart: it can be a symbol for love, an anatomical organ that pumps blood and sustains life, it also is used to mean the innermost part of something, or the most important aspect. As we read heart of darkness I have been trying to figure out which one of these hearts is the “heart of darkness”. Most obviously, I think “heart” is referring to the inside of the Congo. As the book progresses we travel deeper into Africa, and deeper into a world we don’t understand. Marlow says, “When you have to attend to things of that sort, to the mere incidents of the surface, the reality—the reality, I tell you fades. The inner truth is hidden—luckily, luckily” (41). Reality is a tricky subject to figure out in this book. If we look at the journey though Africa as a psychological journey into the depths of the mind it is apparent that subconscious contains “hidden truths”. I am not sure what Marlow means by “luckily” but it seems to be an ominous warning. I think the connection between the use of hearts as anatomical objects is interesting when compared to the other body imagery throughout the text. If the story represents the mind, why it is filled with “a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, of eyes rolling, under the droop of heavy motionless foliage” (42)? If hearts are the mechanics of life, what is the heart of life in the Congo? I am not quite sure yet.

A Newfound Admiration?

While reading last night, I found a strange contrast in Conrad's view and depiction of the natives. From about pages 49-50, he seems to view the black men on the boat as calm, yet ravenously hungry savages, wondering why they did not choose to eat the white men they outnumbered. Yet when the black helmsman is shot by an arrow, Marlow seems to mourn his death, with a graphic description of his condition. He speaks of him as a gifted creature, being able to talk with words, and while he seemed second-rate, I feel that he was one of the only people whom Marlow may have thought of as a sort of friend. But again, it's a little startling this contrast, and part of me wonders if Conrad had edited or gone back to this part of the novel before.
Again, we can see the sort of futility and making lots of smoke with the ginger-haired man as well.

Cry Me a Congo

Today in class we were discussing the lines that either stood out, shocked, or surprised us the most. Most of the lines that came up were about how Marlow described the people he encountered in ways that dehumanized them or made them seem grotesque but the line that stood out the most to me was when he said "The man seemed young – almost a boy – but you know with them it's hard to tell"(20). The fact that he can make an offhand comment about how the man could be almost any age and it would be impossible to tell are shows how he finds them to all be the same tells a lot about the attitude that he is going into Africa with. One of the most disturbing lines occurs where it seems like he has just realized that all of the native Africans are people too. When he sees them on the shore from the river he thinks “Yes, it was ugly enough; but if you were man enough you would admit to yourself that there was in you just the faintest trace of a response to the terrible frankness of that noise, a dim suspicion of there being a meaning in it which you…could comprehend” (43). Whether this is a belief that Conrad shares or not he does an excellent job of shocking the reader with how nonchalantly Marlow can bring that up. It isn’t a huge moment of realization, instead it seems as though it is something that Marlow feels that a man would have to stoop down to admit to himself or to others.

Amanda: Identity/Voice/Materialism

Identity/Voice/Materialism and Objects
Marlow finds himself by basing his life on what he knows. He is extremely independent and believes that a man "...must meet that truth with his own true stuff-with his own newborn strength." In both part 1 and part 2, we see Marlow struggling to find who he is. He seems to be sure of himself because of his choice to venture out alone into the world unknown (Africa) on a steam ship. In part 2, he brings up prehistoric man, and prehistoric earth but defends his choices and opinions by saying, "I hear; I admit, but I have a voice too, and for good or evil mine is the speech that cannot be silenced" (43). He recognizes that everyone is different but refuses to try and understand the ways of men that are different then him. That is until his steerman dies. The reader sees Marlow discovering the importance of voice, and understanding that this man (along with the cannibals and pilgrims) was a person, with a voice (57-58). The word voice is repeated, which echoed in my mind. Marlow is aware of the nature of life almost, and observes life "with assumed innocence that no man was safe from trouble in this world" (46).

Yet the most important thing to Marlow is the waters and his steamboat. His steamboat (which he personifies and characterizes as female) seems to symbolize his journey of self discovery, but more importantly his guide to understanding other people. Marlow clearly spends a lot of time alone, observing the ocean and the surroundings and doesn't trust people, especially people that aren't of his own race. It's interesting that Marlow seems to detest materialism or people obsessed with objects and wealth (like Kurtz) but yet spends almost all of his time on a ship and takes care of it. That ship seems to mean more to Marlow than any person has.
Marlow doesn't like Kurtz (even before he has met him) because he imagines him to be a man taken over by ivory, because ivory is his life and he is obsessed with it. Marlow describes him as "a tree strayed by the wind" (61) because of his desire for ivory. Yet even though Marlow puts Kurtz down for this, one could argue that Marlow himself is "a tree strayed by the wind" (61) because he is obsessed with the water, and sailing, and even the darkness or horror of the earth and life. This also ties into to whether Marlow is a reliable narrator or not, and at this point in the book, the reader is forced to question every image described. Is it a dream? Is it the truth? Did all of this happen or did only some of it happen?

Snakes!

Knowing that rivers are a significant motif and play an important role in this book (especially one in particular) something thing that really struck me in the reading (pages 3-21) was the comparison of the river to a snake: “But there was one river especially… resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land… The snake charmed me” (9). Conrad continues to refers to the river and calls it a snake a few times, and later gives an eerie description of the river: “…in and out of rivers, streams of life and death, whose banks were rotting to mud, whose waters, thickened into slime, invaded the contorted mangroves, that seemed to writhe at us in the extremity of an impotent despair” (16). This imagery of “slime” and writhing and contortion reminds one of a snake. The reference and comparison of the river to a snake is significant in that snakes have strong connotations of being enticing, seductive, and fascinating, but also of being, deadly and poisonous, and associated with evil. I think that this could very well be foreshadowing, and definitely sets tone for the rest of the book.

Henry

While the story does get off to a slow start plot wise, there is still plenty to digest within the first twenty pages. First, we see that Marlow's story overpowers the original story of men on a boat. It's mysterious that the story opens with a character we currently know almost nothing about. Conrad has also started developing a mysterious tone for the setting. He describes the coast as "tr[ying] to ward off intruders" (16), and makes references to the fate of other foreigners. This includes a danish man who previously held Marlow's job, who found himself dead after a "misunderstanding about some hens" (10), and a Swede who "hanged himself on the road" (17). We get a feeling that this new territory is too maddening, to different for some European travelers, but this is what attracted Marlow to Africa in the first place.

The Metaphorical & Party City

The last part of the movie we saw where Jack and Ennis get ready to part to go back to their lives off of Brokeback (1:43:45 - 1:48:33) stays pretty close to their interaction in the text (on page 83), which makes sense because a majority of the text is dialogue. However right after Jack says "I wish I knew how to quit you" Annie Proulx unknowingly threw Ang Lee a curve ball: "Like vast clouds of steam from thermal springs in winter the years of things unsaid and unsayable - admissions, declarations, shames, guilts, fears - rose around them" (83). This sentence was at the top of my "good luck Ang Lee" list; how could he possibly re-create and express the simile rich with imagery that Proulx chose? What choice could he use that would have the same affect, that is if there even is any choice that could possibly hold the same weighty connotation that sentence carries as well as the effect the abstract imagery has on the reader? The only way I could think of to actually get this detail across through film without a narrator was if it was shown on the screen (even though it's metaphorical). But then I imagined Ang Lee venturing into Atlantic Center to get fog machines from party city, so he could surround Jack and Ennis with them in the scene, and what that would look like on the screen. Despite my outrageous imaginings of Ang Lee shopping, I'm pretty sure that actually showing the figurative imagery would take away and distract from any significance and emotion in the scene. But I do think that the heaviness in heartache and struggle that this line connotes is definitely captured in the scene by the actors, so much of the weight and impact of its affect is effectively adapted, even if the striking imagery evoked by it isn't.

Intentional Details

I love the little details that tie scenes together. I have seen a lot of parallels in this movie
jack losing his hat bullriding, lureen losing her hat racing. Ennis being hugged from behind by Jack with his hands in a diagonal on ennis's chest in the beginning of Brokeback and then later when they have grown older, Ennis coming up behind Jack. It shows a change in who has i guess the "power" in the relationship. *

one of my favorite details is funny and not as descrete as other clever details. when alma and ennis are have sex and he turns her over, I laughed a little and then felt terrible for alma. The obvious cause of this position, an inuendo to gay sex.

another scene that i found wonderful was when ennis dropped the kids off at the grocery store and his daughter broke nearly all of the jars. That encounter with the manager was needed and added another dimension to seeing her with him as the new husband. Whoa i just had a thought i think she was cheating on ennis with him because she was taking on extra shifts (like when she ran out on ennis and he was like, any of you need a push?).






*questionable.. anyone have something to say about whether they have changed or not?

Age

What I really liked about this third part of the movie, was the way Ang Lee showed age in the movie Brokeback Mountain. As time progressed, the hair and facial hair that they originally had would change drastically. For example, Jack originally didn't have a mustache or the longer hair but later int he movie, he did. Enis looked naturally older with his wrinkly face.
Another thing I really liked was how Jack finally "grew up" and stood up to his father-in-law. His wife was also very happy about that I think she was glad to see a change in Jack, but I think that was an effect of Enis being busy and him being angry because he had to wait for a long time.

Music

The film brings the feelings alive for me because it focuses on two key senses: sight and hearing. Personally, this is why I like the film more than the story. The film is able to show a lot more without telling cause that's what pictures do, while the story is just a narrated fiction.

The use of music is something that's been really interesting to me. Every lanscape shot comes with the quiet acoustic guitar and pedal steel in that picking pattern that sometimes resolves on a disonant or augmented note, which can induce the feeling of a potential issue arising, that when all seems perfect, something could go wrong, or just not as planned. It's a note that surprises the listener, it's not an expected note, not as cliched. One example of this I found interesting after they have sex and ennis is riding away, i think. I don't have netflix i can't check, but the music is very fitting.

As the movie goes on, the music becomes more full and more paramount with the addition of a string section in the same theme. The more emotional the scene, the stronger the strings.

the bands that play during the dances sing songs that evoke some interesting emotion. When ennis is at the bar and the cassie puts on "sweet melissa" by the allman brothers, i was expecting her to have some big role in that scene, and then they start dancing. Of course cassie is no melissa, that's jack. Ennis will be "running home to" (song lyrics) jack.

Eternal Love

Walking out of class today I was a little frustrated with the movie. I felt like Ennis and Jack never changed. Yes they grew out their facial hair, and shaved from time to time, but for the most part I saw no differences. I feel like if you add up all the times that Jack and Ennis were together on Brokeback, the audience realizes how little time they spent together, even though they've actually known each other for years. After putting a lot of thought into it, I realized that I felt like Jack and Ennis' relationship went on for eternity, making it seem as though their love was everlasting.

Ang Lee used setting to enforce this feeling: Brokeback Mountain. At one point when Ennis tells Jack that he won't be able to see him until November; Jack is standing in front of the mountains. It was at this point that I realized that Jack represented stability. If we look at Ennis and his life up until this point in the movie, the audience will notice that he has been through a lot. His wife divorced him, he doesn't have a good paying job, he feels like people know he's gay, and he isn't much of a talker. The odds are against him, he hasn't been able to conform and hide his sexuality as well as Jack has. Jack on the other hand, aside from the fact that he misses Ennis, hasn't had any real problems. And so, it bothered me that Jack constantly suggested that he and Ennis leave their families and move in together, and even after Ennis says no, he still hopes. These hopes are what help their love still lives on.

Relationships

Today, we slogged through much of the movie, so it was a little hard to be exact and concrete, but one of the significant things I noticed about the film was its depiction of relationships. Ennis initally seemed to connect with his girls as babies, but as they grow up, they become almost foriegn and strange, and he shows a lack of communication. The scene with his teenaged daughter felt tragic, as if he is losing everyone he loves (except for Jack.) Alma seems to be the dominant mother, and while I think Michelle Williams was great in this role, I have to unashamedly say that she seemed to be crying most of the time, although I understood her pain. By contrast, Jack seems to be much more invested with his family, especially his son (That footaball moment was powerful!), and trying to get him a tutor. Lureen is a little bit like Ennis, in the relationship, but focusingon her work and career. I thought Lee's portryal of both men filling opposite roles in their families was really good.
Lastly, Lee's use of music is very expressive, especially Jack confidently driving to "King of the Road" and then returning with the melancholy accompaniment of "A Love that will Never grow old." Later in Mexico, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps," is heard while Jack debates about whether he should sleep with the male prostitute, but ultimately gives in. The asynchrounous sound during J. and Ennis's final fight, was really good, with the music at the end punctuating the sad, tragic seperation of the two.

Ennis the Menace

Although Brokeback Mountain is a very well made movie in the second half Lee runs out of material and starts making things up about Ennis. He strays a little too far from what Proulx originally intended the character to be like. After Ennis and Alma’s fight at Thanksgiving in the original story it says “He didn’t try to see his girls for a long time…”. In Lee’s adaptation he keeps in contact with his daughters and sees them occasionally, whereas Proulx makes him into a father that will leave his kids and wait for them to find him. Lee changes the character a little too dramatically and makes it almost hard to believe it is the same person. Although people can change over time generally they do not change everything about themselves.

Where I start to have even more trouble with the changes and liberties that Lee has taken with the story is around the time that Ennis meets Cassie the waitress. If Proulx’s had wanted Ennis to meet a waitress, she would have had him meet a waitress. I’m sure that it wasn’t that she couldn’t think of it, she just didn’t feel it was a necessary thing to happen. Although it is clear that Ennis and Cassie the waitress are not destined to be together, it is still a little disconcerting to see him with a woman that the audience assumes he is pretending to be infatuated with. Lee takes Ennis from the cowboy with a secret love affair and wife and children to the cowboy who dates a seemingly random waitress in platform sandals.

Brokeback Time

I'm not sure why exactly, but I find myself wrestling with the idea of Brokeback quite often. I am intrigued by what Brokeback is to others, and how it manages to find stability over the years, while still feeling as though Jack and Ennis are walking on untouched land. The subtle idea of age in Brokeback is one that I think is hidden through out the film. There is a scene where we see Jack asking his wife about a tutor for his son, Bobby. We also observe Ennis' two daughters growing up as we find them battling their own hardships about their father, such as when Ennis meets the waitress. It is one of the only times that we see a reaction to Ennis, not involving his sexuality.

The idea of time also relates back to the comforting feel that Lee manages to integrate throughout Brokeback. Whenever someone is watching a movie, they enjoy when they are able to recognize things. In Brokeback I find that the specific images that Lee subtly regurgitates are a way to make the reader feel connected to Jack and Ennis, their love story. During one of the first trips back to Brokeback, Ennis mentions Jacks harmonica, and how the "army didn't get him". It's moments like these that allow the viewer to feel as though we have been a part of their love story, almost as if it is a relief to us to be placed back on Brokeback mountain, almost feeling like an outsider during scenes that do not involve the mountain. Lee does a nice job of allowing us to feel like we know more than others, while also making us feel like an outsider; this accurately represents Jack and Ennis' exact feelings.

Lee does a nice job with the camera angles during Jack and Ennis' conversations about their future. During the first night of their reunion in their hotel, they are placed laying next to each other but do not make eye contact while talking about their future. Similarly, during the scene where Jack is screaming about Mexico he is facing the water and we see Ennis' face in the background as they are fighting.

During many of the scenes we see the contrast between Brokeback Jack and Ennis' other homes. Specifically when Jack is in Mexico and walks into complete darkness with another man, Lee cuts to a clear, open, shot of Brokeback. It also contrasts how Jack is in the darkness with this stranger, secretively hiding what he is doing, but in Brokeback with Ennis, Jack has no problem jumping off of cliffs naked.

We are also taken back to Brokeback when we see the image of Jack and Ennis spooning on one of their getaways to Brokeback. Immediately, I flash backed to the first image where that one subtle hand that draped over Jack began their story. On Brokeback, Jack also shaved his mustache and was back to his flannel shirts, which is not at all how he dresses at home in his leather jackets extreme facial hair.

Brokeback "got us" just as good as it got Jack and Ennis

Intrusion

Lee uses syntagmatic connotation between 00:34:00 and 00:34:26 through an abrupt cut from one scene into the next, putting the two scenes back to back to clarify their significant differences in POV, lighting, and frame; taking us from an intimate setting between Jack and Ennis where no one sees them, to an unknown encroachment of their intimacy. In the tent scene (00:34:00 – 00:34:13) Lee chooses to close up on Ennis and Jack’s faces, giving us closed form so we aren’t focused on what’s around them, and then further puts our focus on their closeness and intimate interactions with a shallow focus, gently blurring out the world around them. The use of warm colored light from the fire, and shadows from the darkness also emphasizes the connection between them and how personal and private it is.The next scene (00:34:14 – 00:34:26) Jack and Ennis are behave affectionately and may feel alone, however Joe Aguirre discretely intrudes on their secret. Lee achieves this sense of violation with an open form so we are aware of the space around them, and even more dramatically with the shift from a narrative perspective to the 1st person point of view of Joe Aguirre through the binoculars. I think that Lee actually amplifies the invasion of intimacy (with the 1st person point of view and syntagmatic connotation of these two separate scenes) that Proulx implies through narrative: “They believed themselves invisible, not knowing Joe Aguirre had watched them through his 10x42 binoculars for ten minutes one day waiting until they buttoned up their jeans, waiting until Ennis rode back to the sheep, before bringing up the message” (76).

From Christina

I thought that there were a lot of interesting choices that Ang Lee made in this part of the movie. I think I paid a lot more attention to the colors that Ang Lee used. If you look at the scene with Lureen and Jack in the back of her car, I thought it was interesting that the car was red. Colors can signify and foreshadow a lot. I think red signified passion, while the Jack's black car, in the scene where he was driving away from Ennis, signified despair. Aside from color I think facial expressions/eye contact can say a lot about a character. While facial expression cannot be controlled by the director, and are the actor's choice, its still something that I would like to touch upon. The effect that Ennis' lack of eye contact when talking to Jack had on me, showed that he was a little insecure. I'd say insecure because when Ennis looks at Alma he looks at her in her eyes. I think that there is an underlying theme that is being referenced here. It's saying that men feel like they have authority over women, yet they don't feel that way around men. This theme, masculinity, has also been hinted at in other scenes. When Jack punched Ennis by mistake, Ennis didn't need to punch him back, but because he wanted to prove that he was masculine he did. Another observation I made while watching the movie was that there are a lot of pauses when Jack and Ennis were talking. Like molly had mentioned in class, punctuation is an important part of the movie. I found that these pauses could have been a representation of commas or m-dashes. I also liked the way that Ang Lee chose to use figurative language. It is one thing to read a metaphor or simile in a piece of text but it is another to see the way someone presents it in dialogue. When Joe Aguirre implied that Jack was a queer and said that "[Jack] had spent time on Brokeback stemming the rose." I thought that the conviction with which he said that was a good actor's choice. Sound also played a big role, his use of synchronous and asynchronous sound gives the scene a certain feel, and so does Ang Lee's pacing.

Use of Lighting

Watching the movie yesterday, besides noticing that mirror shot again, and the characterizations of both men, I thought Lee's use of lighting was quite remarkable. In the tender, intimate, scenes (Jack and Ennis the 2nd time, Ennis and Alma) Lee uses dim, yet soft lighting, which is accentuated by the pinkish decor of the bedroom (Alma) and the glow of the fire. By contrast, in the scenes where two characters are wild, passionate, and almost primal (Ennis and Jack the 1st time, and Lureen and Jack in the backseat), Lee barely uses any lighting, preferring darkness illuminated by the light of the moon (At least for Lureen and Jack). Again, I'm not sure if this means anything, but one idea might be that the "quickie" yet rough scenes are just that, while the more intimate ones suggest an actual warmth the characters have for each other.

Lastly, the way Jack and Ennis denied "I'm no queer. Me neither" was quite different from what I had pictured. I originally thought that they were angrily denying their affair in the story, trying to regain their manliness of sorts. But in the movie, the tone is sad, as if they realize that they might be gay, yet societal norms force them to say these words. But I welcomed the change from my imagination.

Melina: Montage

The pacing of the story quickly changed after the slow-panning moments spent at Brokeback Mountains. The slow panning shots, the quiet music, the blowing wind were left behind after Ennis' scene where he is crying in an alley over Jack's departure. The silohuette of Ennis bent over leaning on a wall, crying, marks the transition in time for the movie. The winds blowing against the thin tree to the point where it appears bent also symbolizes the overall theme of homosexuality between Jack and Ennis. From this moment on, the director used the effect of montage in order to portray the monotonic rhythm Prouxl uses after Jack and Ennis go along their separate paths. The fast pacing of Ennis' relationship with his wife, his marriage, and his children correlates with Prouxl's short and concise descriptions used during this phase in the story. The quick cuts between Jack and Ennis show the restlessness of their lives--they have settled for something less.

The use of colors is also an interesting interpretation on the director's behalf. The colors portrayed in Ennis' home in the middle of the desert (yellow, brown, beige) depicts a lack of life presented in the lifestyle. The colors presented in Brokeback Mountain depict the excitement and passion both characters experienced such as the blazing fire behind the shadows of the two embracing inside the tent--essentially the best quality of life; the joy of living. Likewise, Jack is found in dark places with similar monotonic colors (black, gray, dark green) when he goes out to the bars. Colors is also used to show the economical difference between the rich and the poor. Both Jack and Ennis where bland colors such as black, or beige, or faded jean, while Jack's girlfriend where's bright red. The message is also present in the room where Jack's wife is holding the baby, the colors of the room are bright and vivid.

Sounds also play a crucial role when portraying different emotions; they work as codes and indexes. Such as the scene where Ennis is found holding his daughters while they cry functions as a code or index to illustrate the emotion of stress. Ennis is tired of his life and stressed about maintaining his family. The simultaneous cries along with his facial expression clearly show the intended emotions.

Contrasting Montages

The second part of the section of Brokeback that we watched is basically a montage. It tells the parallel stories of Ennis and Jack blending into their lives as straight, "normal" men. It counts as a montage because it compresses a great amount of "real" time into a small amount of screen time. I like this decision because it captures the tone of the story. Time isn't marked by us being told how long it's been, it's marked by the way the characters' lives have developed each time we see them. The montages also work because they contrast in tone. Ennis's marriage is stiff, passionless, and awkward. He gets married to some girl he probably didn't really know, and we don't get much of their romance. In contrast, Jack's romance is born of a rodeo, followed by a meeting in a loud bar and a fling in the back seat of a car. Meanwhile, Ennis's family scenes are constantly assailed by the background noise of the screaming children, showing how society's ideas of the kind of life he should have are making him miserable. Ennis's infidelity is more sympathetic when we see how horrible his home life is. Jack becomes his escape from the wailing monotony of his life. Jack seems more selfish in this light. It's difficult for the heterosexual male to sympathize with someone who's sleeping with Anne Hathaway and still feels the need to cheat. Last, this sequence tells us something about the characters. Jack is the type who has good luck. Wonderful things just seem to fall in his lap. He doesn't get rejected or strike out often. Unlike Ennis, his home life is carefree, and his baby shuts the hell up. In contrast, Ennis lets things happen to him, but they generally don't make him happy. This montage sets up Ennis's character motivation, and while not specifically foreshadowing them, justifies the characters' infidelities. Ennis cheats with Jack because he needs an escape from his life, and Jack cheats on both his wife and Ennis with other men because he can, because it's so easy for him.

Okay then

The part of the movie that we watched yesterday was interesting because of the little things I saw.

I was really interested by the shot where Jack sees Enis in the mirror, ONCE AGAIN.Trying to figure this out, I thought about the direction that Jack was going; away from Enis. While we see Jack driving away, we again don't know if Jack is looking, but we still see Enis in the mirror. When you look at someone in the distance as you're moving away, it usually signifies that you will be thinking about them in the near future.
After this shot, Ennis goes behind a wall to cry and punch the wall. I feel like this was coming eventually because I saw their relationship grow as time went on. Especially because you notice time passing with the landscaping shots and quick events that happen, such as Ennis getting married.
Another interesting thing, is when Ennis gets married and he is going to have sex with his wife. After kissing her, he turns her around just like he did Jack when they were having their affair. On the other hand, when Jack has sex with Anne Hathaway in the backseat of car, and it has no resemblance to the time where Jack and Enis had sex.

The movie will get more interesting as it goes on in my opinion. Hopefully we see why these things are so different,

Hit the Road Jack

In the segment of movie we watched today Lee shows a lot of Ennis and Alma’s life together which I think was an important thing to see, but perhaps didn’t quite have the effect he was looking for. I kept thinking about how Jack was going to come back and at that point I really didn’t want him to. I found myself becoming more and more attached to Alma and feeling sorry for her a lot of the time. What we see is a woman who is very in love with her husband, and a man who loves his wife, but loves another man more. Lee uses montage to show select scenes from their life together. Initially it seems to be that all they do is go sledding and watch movies at the drive-in, but later on we see that they have hard times too, their babies cry and pull out strategically placed bottle of peanuts. One of the most vivid descriptions in the original story is of the room where Alma gives birth and I think that with all of the scenes that are added, some of them could have been left on the cutting room floor so that one could be included. It would have been impossible to recreate the feeling that the reader gets in a film, but Lee could have at least tried.

As Naomi brought up there is an interesting parallel between Jack and Ennis’s fight and Ennis and Alma’s playful frolicking in the snow. When Jack and Ennis are fighting it seems playful at first but becomes more violent as they let out their frustration at having to leave each other. When Ennis and Alma are wrestling it is purely playful. It lacks the sense of danger and of passion that Jack and Ennis’s fight has. As an audience there is nothing that feels unsafe about it. We know that Alma isn’t going to fall and hit her head and die, and we are positive that Ennis isn’t going to punch her.

Liking Alma isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it means that when Jack comes back later, or momentarily depending on what Lee decides to shrink or expand, it will be hard to watch Alma discover her husband’s secret affair. In the original story although the reader feels a little bad for Alma, it is really a joyous occasion because Jack and Ennis are finally reunited, but in the movie after making Alma into a character that the audience (or maybe just one audience member) likes, it will be much more bittersweet.

Foreshadowing ("like two skins")

The scene in which Jack hits Ennis in the nose begins with an establishing shot of Ennis sitting in the grass. Rather than zooming in on him, the camera quickly cuts to a closer shot and then to Jack staring off at Ennis. The cuts make the scene seem faster, and more impulsive than a zoom or pan would have. There is less time to look at the mountain. The scene does not appear to be romantic at first but I think that there are many ways in which there is some sort of strange romantic element to their fight.

As Jack and Ennis roll in the grass I wasn’t sure if the scene was at all sexual. They appear to be laughing at first but as the fight continues it seems less playful. This scene can be paralleled to previous sex scenes (especially the first one) because of the roughness of it. After Ennis’ nose begins to bleed Jack holds the back of hiss neck and looks worried as if he wants to kiss him, however all he does is allow Ennis to bleed on his sleeve. I think the relationship between this scene and the sex scenes is a deliberate choice on Ang Lee’s part. It is effective because it shows that there is a physicality to their relationship which is more than sexual (there is a lot of eye contact, which shows intimacy) but at the same time they don’t know how to talk about it. To me it seemed like the anger in this scene came from all of the things Jack and Ennis can’t say to each other. This is the last close moment Jack and Ennis have together before they go back down the mountain so in some way it is like a goodbye, but like the rest of their relationship it ends with many things left unsaid, and many desires unfulfilled.

This scene is important to the end of the story when Ennis finds his shirt inside Jack’s “like skins”. Rather than have a flashback at the end Lee chose to have this scene be one that the audience sees, which I can only assume means that we are expected to remember it at the end. (Also, once they reach the bottom of the mountain Ennis mentions that he lost his shirt, when we know that Jack actually took it)

I also think that this scene is interesting when compared to Ennis and Alma wrestling in the snow (maybe someone else wants to talk about that?)

I spent my comment (emailed to Jenny) on Ean's post ranting about the two mirror scenes in Jack's side mirror. I don't want to continue my post with that, but I do want to write some things I noticed about the characterization of Jack and Ennis made in this segment we watched.

Yes, to briefly mention the two mirror scenes, I do think these are important. I think the second one reaffirms the assumption that Jack is interested in Ennis and looking at him through his side mirror, and not just innocently shaving in the first scene because he is mournfully looking at Ennis for one more//one last glance. This also makes Jack's feelings much more apparent to the watcher, characterizing him early on as the more emotional one in the relationship. This position is reaffirmed later when he is playfully lassoing Ennis, and every time they go to cuddle, kiss, or have sex, Jack is always the one to caress Ennis' cheek or look more impassioned. Even when not with Ennis Jack is the one to be dominated (when with his future wife, she even made the first move) or act the most flirty (like when he is at the bar).

Ennis is much more aggressive and has internalized the anti-gay sentiment popular in America in the 1960s. He is always the first to say that he "ain't queer." When he was provoked to face the bikers, he was given a sense of power because he was shot from the point of view of the biker on the ground looking up at him. He is not emotional and is shot in shadow when he cry//punches the side of the barn when he and Jack separate (it is also windy, I don't know if that symbolizes anything, but I think it's important to note).

Brokeback LMAOuntain

I was surprised that there are glimpses of comedy in the movie. The first example is when Jack imitates the stereotypical "Rodeo guy," and the second is when he tells Lureen that "[he] likes the direction [she's] going." I feel that giving Jack some funny lines develops his character by giving off the impression that he doesn't take himself too seriously (especially when compared to Ennis.)

Some other funny parts (I thought) were when the man on the road tells Ennis, "strong back weak mind runs in my family," and when the pile of peanut jars falls over. Although it was obviously included to emphasize the stress of parenting and marriage, it's nice that the movie, which centers around many BIG problems, can still include some of the small problems in life. By including shots of everyday occurences, the movie feels more realistic, and less like a trailer for their lives, that would only include the most interesting moments.

- Henry

Molly, February 16th

As we progress further into the story, I have begun to notice the importance of the music in this movie. Although the music is usually for background purposes, I can't help but notice that the music, more than anything, pulls on my heart strings to the point where I find myself more connected with not only Jack and Ennis, but Brokeback itself. Another interesting choice that I noticed was the contrast between the first sexual encounter between the two, and the nights to follow. On the first night that Jack and Ennis make love, we are placed in a freezing night, so cold that we see Ennis' breath. However, as the nights progress, we are comforted by the warm fire that is shown, and the implication of what is going to happen inside of the tent. The image of the tent that always stays the same, quiet and still.

This strong image of the tent however, is quickly stripped away by the shot of Jack and Ennis' boss staring at them through binoculars, reminding us that they are not alone. This also quickly pulls the viewer out of a dream like trance, as we establish that there is more to this movie than a perfect love story.

The use of light was also a choice that was very effective. Not only were the grey, stormy settings appropriate at many times, but it also correlated to the mood of the events that were taking place.

At times it almost seemed like Ennis was trying to fight off his homosexuality. This is shown through his fight with Ennis where he punches Jack in the face. And also Ennis' sexual encounters with his wife are very aggressive. However, both Ennis and Jacks relationship with their wives do not seem faulty or love-less. The images of Ennis sledding with his wife, and Jack dancing with his seem not forced, so it makes the viewer question the sexuality of the two, while they are also doing the very same thing.

There have been many images of family echoed through out the last few scenes, specifically the scene that involved Ennis and his family at the firework showing. There were overflowing images of America and the "typical family" that consisted of a few young children, and happily married couples. It's interesting to see not the contrast, but the similarities between Ennis and these couples.

All in all, we see that Ennis is able to drop everything he has created, for an opportunity to go back to Brokeback.

Amanda: Character Development and Subtext

Character Development and Subtext:
Even though Brokeback Mountain is a long movie, there is barely any speaking, it's all about facial expressions and body language, particularly surrounding Jack and Ennis' relationship. Even though its mostly between them (because the story revolves around them), the people around them communicate through body language and facial expressions (more so than words) and Lee accentuates this through close ups and constant switching back and forth within "conversations". For example, when Jack comes back to ask Mr. Aguire for work, and he just says something along the lines of, "You and gives Jack a look, and Jack understands. Similarly with how Anne Hathaway and Jake's interaction in the bar.

Jake Gyllenhaal is clearly the more developed version of Jack Twist. In the scenes we watched in class today I noticed Jake decided to maintain that gentleness described in the short story but took it to the next level. Because of the freedom of time in films, Lee decided to take advantage of that to show more of Jack's life away from Ennis. And from these scenes the audience was able to analyze both Ennis and Jack and how they are dealing with the real world. The part when I started to think about Jack differently was after he was so brave and kissed Ennis, when he was the one holding Ennis and comforting him. This surprised me, because from the short story I always imagined Jack to be the less masculine one, but Lee makes it seem less like masculinity and more like ability to embrace their forbidden passion or allow themselves to be in love. Also when Jack and Ennis part, Lee chose to show Ennis hysterically crying hidden from everyone, meanwhile, one of the next scenes is Jack buying another guy a drink at the bar, unsure of himself.

Ennis meanwhile, is also perceived differently, and makes his subtext very clear. Through his facial expressions we can see how torn he is between what's right and what isn't. Also his interactions with his children are portrayed much differently in the film than in the story, he seems to be more of a happy father in the movie. Also because of the camera shot, and the enclosed spaces like the place where he cries and the tent, Lee really guides us through Ennis's self discovery or how he is dealing with the problems he faces in his life. I also think the costume choices stand out, specifically with the cowboy hats, but I also thought it was interesting that Ennis was wearing like long, printed jammies because I never expected his character to do that. I think it's also interesting to watch his relationship with Alma (/Michele Williams, Heath Ledger's real wife) and how he is looking for Jack through her, like through sex or through talking.

Focusing:
Camera Focus:
What ties into that is Lee's decisions of when and what to focus on. For example, in the beginning of the movie, we see Ennis naked in the background, but its hazy because the focus is on Jack, fully clothed. While after they have sex, Jack is now completely naked next to the screen, is in the center of the shot and completely focused. Similarly, in the first scene when Jack is shaving he is looking in the mirror of his car but we're not sure why Ennis is in focus, but then in one of the scenes we watched today, as Jack is driving away, again Ennis is focused in the mirror. Lee enjoys doing a lot of foreshadowing with focusing, and little moments, that not the entire audience would pick up. Another camera focusing thing which I thought was interesting, was when Jack and Ennis were play fighting and then they kiss, Ennis takes off his hat and covers their faces. I don't know what that symbolizes but it is also in the center of the shot, and was clearly in focus.

Scene Change:
What I noticed today that was interesting was Lee always cuts off in the middle of the sex scenes, and then takes us to the next day or the next week, or even the next nine months in Jack's case. But I thought it was interesting that the only sex scene that ended was the first one, and then each one is cut off. That might be because there are only specific moments we need to be aware of like Ennis turning Alma over, or Jack getting together with his wife.

One thing I really noticed about this part of the movie was the juxtaposition between pre-brokeback and post-brokeback. There were similar shots such as the short in the mirror of Ennis before they went up the mountain, and then after as Jack was driving away. Although the shot was the same--Ennis in the side car mirror--the fact that Jack was not looking as Ennis in the first scene, but very close attention in the second scene illuminates the emotional and psychological change that has come over them during the summer. On that same topic, the shots going up and coming down the mountain paralleled nicely, as Lee made a big deal about going up the mountain with long panning shots of country side. However, on the way down, there was just one shot of Jack and Ennis on their horse with the sheep all around them. The big deal about going up the mountain indicated something that was going to grow and develop, and the short shot going down the mountain indicated unfinished business.

Also, I just wanted to touch on the first kiss between Jack and Ennis because it reminded me of Christina's comment when we were debating weather it was a one shot deal, or if Jack and Ennis were really in love. I think it was at that first kiss (because when they first had sex they never kissed) that solidified their love, rather than their lust. The first sexual encounter may have been anamalistic and they may not have meant 'love' by it, but when they finally kissed I do believe they fell in love (or realized they were falling in love, gave into their feelings, ect).

Joe

What I really enjoyed so far about the story was the way Ang Lee showed the length of the story in the movie. There was a lot of time in the movie where you can tell time was passing. Another thing I liked was the mirror shot in the beginning when Jack is shaving and you see Enis is in the shot. I think you can't really tell if he is looking at Enis or Not. I think this is important and made for multiple interpretations because I feel as if that part was a hint towards what was to come, the relationship.

I also feel like the panning and cutting aspects of the movie were very important. There is a lot of scanning around landscapes and stuff and it really adds the sense of time (again) and sensitivity as well. Steady shots are very important because you see an extensive shot of reaction and emotion.
The sex scene was kind of random. I felt it coming once I saw Enis sleeping outside in the cold, shivering. It was important that it was random because it was the beginning of their relationship.

Pacing and Composition

All of Ang Lee's cinematography serves the purpose to isolate the characters from other people and their world. The shot length is one example of this. Lee allows many of his shots to linger, especially the ones of Jack or Ennis against the wilderness. These shots are stretched out about 20% longer than comfortable. The uncomfortable nature of these shots drives in the fact that these characters are out of place, giving you the feeling that they don't quite belong. We begin to understand the constant scrutiny and pressure that males in the society are placed under. Though there is no breaking of the fourth wall, the characters seem almost to understand that they're being watched, and closely. One example of this is the shot where Jack is making beans while Ennis undressed in the background. The shot stays focused on Jack, desperately trying not to stare at the nude form behind him, as though he knows that he is being watched and judged. As the shot lingers, though the action in focus is almost completely static, we get to see Jack's increasing discomfort, and feel it ourselves.
Lee also favors the wilderness shots. Most shots of the characters except the most intimate ones have them against a backdrop of some kind of mountain range or forest. The natural beauty of these shots is obvious, but this movie is a tragic character study, not a nature show. These shots constantly remind us of the isolation from society and what is "civilized" that the characters are experiencing. One other shot that stands out to me is right after Jack and Ennis have been drinking, and are standing overlooking the sheep as the mountain looms behind them. It isn't explained that this mountain is Brokeback itself, but it matches the description found in the story. It "boils with demonic energy," and informs even a completely uninformed watcher that some danger is in store, and that the mountain will play a vital role in it. As a subtle, not overt, form of visual foreshadowing, the shot of the mountain adds visceral tension and trepidation to the story, and to a lesser extent, the wilderness shots throughout the next part of the movie do the same.

That shot and the montage

For me, I found that the mirror shot that Ang Lee shoots while Jack is shaving himself is really fascinating. Even if it is only for one second, it raises some questions for me: Is Jack looking at himself while shaving, or is he looking at Ennis? And if it's the latter, is he seeing a "mirror" reflection of him, his true self? I am not sure.

Additionally, I liked how Ang Lee uses this whole montage of sheep and herding as a form of montage as a use of the passing of time. While taking care of sheep might be the most boring task ever, Lee's open shots of the beautiful Wyoming landscape (actually Albertan!) make the herding a grand task in this majestic country.

Finally, I liked the contrast Lee put between Jack and Ennis- Jack's black cowboy hat and jeans, constantly toting a bottle of whiskey, and very talkative, while Ennis is quiet and reserved, wearing a beige coat, and holding a mug. These contrasts are what attract both men to each other.

Re: Comments vs. Posts

Hey y'all,

Note that it is possible (and preferable) for you to make your own posts, not just to add your thoughts as a comment.

Use comments to comment on individual posts, to react to the ideas of your classmates.

That said, there are some great posts listed under the "comments" for this assignment (from Amanda, Sophie, Melina).  Make sure you read'em.

As you read others' posts, look for ways that they could communicate their observations more effectively and/or specifically.  Do you have follow-up comments?  Can you help them out with an example they didn't mention?  By the same token, look to see what others are doing well-- can you steal a page from their playbook on your next post?  How can sharing our work with each other help us to sharpen our ideas and analysis?

From Molly

   When watching Brokeback, it is difficult to relinquish the preconceived knowledge about the "gay cowboys", and the sex scenes that managed to raise opinions from almost anyone. The beginning of the movie managed to capture the desolate tone of Brokeback Mountain, but was quickly contrasted with a speeding image of a train which foreshadows the idea that Jack and Ennis are not alone. 


When introduced to their boss, we are able to notice the quietness that both of them possess. However, when their boss has to answer a phone call you can almost feel the tension in the air. As we join Jack and Ennis on their journey to Brokeback, we see Ennis caring for a baby lamb up the mountain while Jack wrestles with a full grown sheep, but then picking out the thorns it has, both subtly displaying their quiet sense of tenderness. A more obvious choice that Ang Lee makes is Jack's clear eye contact, but he also chooses to make Ennis' voice tighter and lower, his mouth always seems gripped and shut tight, always wanting to say more than he can. 


Ang Lee successfully transfers the excess use of commas into a clear sense of habitual action that does not carry the montage, love connotations, but simply a transition and explanation of a few days in a mere few minutes. 


As the weeks progress on Brokeback we are reminded of the exponential growth in Jack and Ennis' comfort level. There are two scenes where Ennis begins to remove his clothes, and Jack seems to pay no attention to it at all, and the image of the blurred background as Ennis is naked signifies the blurred image Jack has of Ennis. It is unclear or not to him if he should focus this image and take a chance to exist with him. As the habitual actions continue on, we are constantly taken back to images of the mountain and reminded of just how isolated these men are. Even after the first sex scene, Ennis wakes up and fixes his belt, as he is able to note that he did actually have sex with Jack. The quick cut to the image of the tent after the sex scene contrasts the primal, rough, scene with the secret, deserted, camp ground that we begin to truly understand is Brokeback Mountain. 

Distance

         Between 0:11:17 – 0:11:34 we see Jack at nighttime looking down at a campsite with a fire (we assume Ennis is there), and less than two minutes later, and in a notably similar way, we see Ennis looking up the mountain at Jack herding sheep (0:13:10 – 0:13:28). In both of these moments Ang Lee chooses to do close ups of their face giving the frame a closed form, and then immediately cuts to a long shot of what they are looking at with a dramatic angle of elevation giving the frame an open form (making us aware of what’s around them, especially because of the previous closed form; further emphasizing the vast space separating them), and then back to a close up of them catching their reactions to the distance. Lee’s choices connote the physical distance that is often between Jack and Ennis, and although with different techniques he successfully achieves and recreates this effect the way that Annie Proulx did. In her story Proulx uses imagery to allude to the expansive distance separating Ennis and Jack: “During the day Ennis looked across a great gulf and sometimes saw Jack, a small dot moving across a high meadow, as an insect moves across a tablecloth; Jack, in his dark camp, saw Ennis as night fire, a red spark on the huge black mass of mountain” (Pg. 74).

         The physical distance connoted in both these also suggests and emphasizes the figurative distance between Jack and Ennis (in regards to their relationship). Both this literal and figurative distance heighten the intimacy seen later on (at 0:27:06 – 0:28:49) through contrast, in how far apart they are initially to how close they become (both physically and emotionally). Not only does it have impact on later scenes but it also serves as foreshadowing for the hardships to come and the even greater distances and spans of time that will separate them later on in the story.

Imagery

There is very little dialogue in the first half an hour of the film, which I think is a conscious choice. In the original story Proulx spends much of the beginning of the story describing the landscape of Brokeback Mountain. Two days ago when we were discussing aspects of the story that we thought would be hard to translate to film. One thing I was worried about was if there would be any way to keep the power of the descriptions. In many ways the shots of the mountain in the movie serve the same role as the descriptions in the story. However at the same time, I feel that the lack of conversation and the long shots of the sheep changes the pacing of the plot. In Proulx’s original story the background descriptions are only a paragraph at a time, or woven throughout dialogue and do not take away from the plot of the story. However, in the movie almost all of the first half hour is scenery rather than plot, which slows down the story. I think overall this is an accurate way to preserve the feeling of the original text. Just like descriptions like “the sooty bulk of the mountain paled slowly until it was the same color as Ennis’ breakfast fire” add imagery to the story. The shots of thousands of sheep traveling up the mountain creates the same visual imagery. Although the images are different and the pacing of the story is slightly altered the visual images of Brokeback Mountain are important to the narrative of the story because of the important role it plays for Ennis and Jack.

Post

I love the cinematography in the film. In the story we read simile and metaphor describing the beautiful landscape. The story did a good job of using colorful description and images to reveal emotion in a non-gooshy way. The long pans of the mountains and country allow the description and metaphorical language to come alive on screen.
Not only that, but I like the time it takes to get up to Brokeback. It seems to elude to the magic of the mountain, and indicate nothing will ever be the same once they make the same trip down.

(new thought)
Although I agree with Henry about certain things in his post, I want to respectfully disagree about the "(implied) homosexual experience" connecting to his experience riding rodeo. On the contrary, I think one of the things Lee does to make each character 'manly'. Making Jack and Ennis manly and not having any stereotypical homosexual qualities makes the transition all the more dramatic, as well as the fact that they have to keep is a secret more exciting, because no one really knows. The gruff, manly demeanor of the characters is presented even as they have sex in the tent. I wrote down 'manly sex' when I saw the scene (which I guess is a weird thing to write...) because they were very rough and almost anamalistic. However, I do not think the act came from a place of animal lust, but rather a place of passion and desire.

Little did Ennis and Jack know that it was VALENTINES DAY

I felt the movie did a better job developing strong differences between the characters off the bat. Jack's herding experience and (implied) homosexual experience, paired with his affectionate mannerisms leads the viewer to quickly catch on to the fact that he is more aware, more comfortable with himself than Ennis is.

I personally pictured Ennis to be much colder and depressed than he is in the film. Here, he leaves out his last name when introducing himself to Jack, which I saw as a sign that he is afraid of his past, and distances himself from his (lack of) family by leaving out his family name. But with the panned shots of him and Jack taking care of sheep and his deep conversations with Jack, we see that Ennis isn't heartless, but reserved, able to ignore formalities. It is also possible that Ennis compares himself with Jack, and is unsure about their friendship at first. He tells Jack, "you may be a sinner but I ain't yet had the opportunity."

I also think a lot of the differences between the characters are visual. It's safe to say that Jake Gyllenhaal is prettier than Heath Ledger, and I think so much of the body language they give off screams "free spirit" for Jack, and "confined, insecure" for Ennis.

As someone who hasn't seen the entire movie, it'll be interesting to see if I continue to agree with myself or if I'm completely proven wrong.

- Henry

BBM Post 1

In this blog post I wanted to expand on some of the things we were discussing at the end of class today when the movie stopped and we all tried to find the salient images/themes/similarities/differences/anything from what we had just seen in Brokeback Mountain.
One thing that I brought up was the length differences between the short story and the movie: the story is about 10 pages, while the movie is more than two hours. I then remember Naomi talking about some of the scenes that they added, and Jenny told us that about 20 minutes into the movie we get the back story that the short story started with (basically everything before that point was added).

I really liked one of the added scenes--the one where we see Ennis in Jack's side mirror, and then we see Jack looking in the mirror to shave. To someone that knows nothing about the movie or the story, this seems completely innocent, but to someone who knows the story, (I see) this scene as a bit of plot/character development, because it shows (me) Jack's interest in Ennis. Another added/elaborated on scene in the movie that I like is the scene when they are learning about their future jobs. I think the use of focus is done very well, as is the mis-en-scene, because it showed Ennis as a more quiet person by having him on the far left, leaning/hunched against the wall, and Jack was usually the focus.

Looking back on the movie clip now, I realize that/see the scene where Ennis takes the rag from Jack to clean himself as not only a characterization of his personality (because he is not used to having others do for him/wants to do things himself) but also his affection for Jack (he is being quiet so I don't really know why, possibly because he is embarrassed he got hurt, or doesn't want Jack to touch him or care for him because he likes Jack). Also, it seems that the only times Ennis talks to Jack he is telling him some major or important story about his family or life. He is a very quiet person, so I don't think staying outside with a bunch of sheep in silence would really phase him, so I do think it means a lot that he talks to Jack, especially about important things.

I think of the story in short story form as more of a montage because it is so short, and the actions seem very abridged. The movie, however, is pretty lackadaisical. There are a lot of panned shots of sheep, many view of the expansive southern skies and fields, mountains, and breaks of them relaxing separately or doing things slowly (like cooking). That all adds to the feel of the time, I think, because it draws everything out much more than it is done in the story. It also gives us the feeling of unending days, undefined time, and "puts" us there with the characters.

Even though the story is the same, I like how the use of focus and other tools gives me the film Ennis' drawn out mumbly-drawl-feel that the short story's brevity couldn't always give me.

Brokeback Schedule, from 2/14 until the paper is due:

BROKEBACK SCHEDULE:

Monday 2/14 – Watch Movie. HW: Blog post (see blog for details)

Tuesday 2/15 – No Class.

Wednesday 2/16 – Watch Movie.  HW:  Blog post (same question as first blog).  Essay question handed out – start formulating essay.

Thursday 2/17 – PERIOD SIX AND SEVEN – Watch Movie.

Friday 2/18 – Watch Movie.  HW: Essay.  First draft due Wednesday OR Thursday

Wednesday 2/23 – Peer editing.  Essay drafts due from (sign up for Wed or Thurs):

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Thursday 2/24 Peer editing.  Essay drafts due from:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Friday 2/25 – No Class

Monday 2/28 – Brokeback Mountain Paper Due

Valentine's Day Homework (to complete by midnight, please)

Consider and write about the first half hour of Brokeback Mountain.


The "barely did your homework" version:
Sign up as a contributor to the blog, if you haven't.  COMMENT ON CHOICES you saw Lee and the cast/crew of BM making, both in terms of film technique and storytelling.

The "did a respectable job" version:
Do the above, but also consider: What EFFECT would you describe as a result of those choices?

The "really nicely done" version:
Do all of the above, but also begin to discuss what we saw today in comparison/contrast to Proulx's short story.  Where did Lee use a similar choice?  Where did Proulx and Lee use different choices to achieve similar effects?  How does each use techniques specific to his/her medium to tell the same story?  Does it SEEM like the same story? (p.s. -- starting to think this way will help you with the upcoming paper).

The "hallelujah, this is why we have a blog" version:
Do the above, and read the comments of your classmates.  Comment on/agree with/disagree with/support or add nuance to their arguments/observations...ALWAYS RESPECTFULLY.

Welcome to the Adaptation Blog

Hi All,

I'm going to ask each of us (me included) to blog ONCE PER CYCLE for the rest of the year. Each blog post should be between 400 and 1,100 words long. We should think of this as an opportunity to share or expand upon an idea that comes out of our reading, our viewing, our class discussions, or a response to someone else's blog post. We are free to post links to other sources or online articles we'd like to draw into our discussion.

In addition to POSTING, we should plan to COMMENT at least once per cycle, on a different day than you comment. Please note: this is intended, in part, as practice for INFORMAL BUT INFORMED ONLINE WRITING. You can be more relaxed than you would be in your average paper, but should pay attention to spelling, sentence structure, etc. Have some fun, but keep in mind that this is an academic forum.

The schedule for posting will be as follows:

DAY ONE (after class): Amanda, Henry, Catherine

DAY TWO (after class): Naomi, Christina, Michael

DAY THREE (after class): Sophie, Lauren, Ean

DAY FOUR (after class) Joe, Melina, Jenny

DAY FIVE (after class) Hannah, Molly, Colin

If you want feedback on your blogs, come visit with me.