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.
When the movie first opens most of what we see is landscape, and simple images. Yet when Ennis emerges from the truck the camera angle changes. It zooms in on Ennis, and when Jack arrives, zooms in on Jack, then similarly throughout the rest of the thirty minutes that we watched. This helped set the opening tone of the story,but through Jack's reactions the director began to foreshadow the rest of the story. For example, the costume choices were very specific (as they mostly are in every film) but I noticed that Ennis has a white hat, while Jack has a sort of cleaner, dark, trying hard, black cowboy hat. Another example of the foreshadowing I saw was when they were walking to the bar, (one of the few shots in the beginning where both Jack and Ennis are in the same frame) Ennis is walking "behind" Jack. I might be reading too much into that but that's what I noticed. Also because of the lack of words, or communication between the two there is a lot of body language, starting with the opening scene, with Ennis's body against the door, and also with Jack's desperate attempt to kiss Ennis in their moment of passion. I also think due to the time frame of the movie vs. the time frame of the story, Ennis's character develops (as we've seen), which is why he comes off as somewhat timid, but I also think that was Heath Ledger's choice to deal with Ennis's past, because silence for him, has always been safety. What was significantly different about the film compared to the short story, was a lot of emphasis on the surroundings, landscapes and the sky (particularly when they are on Brokeback Mountain). Before the sex scene, the moon was really bright and full and also there is a lot of emphasis on the clouds, which creates a surreal atmosphere, a utopia, which ties in well with the way (in the short story) Jack and Ennis might feel about their relationship.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I noticed was the presence of alcohol, which of course was there in the short story, but in the movie surrounded almost all of their heart to heart conversations, and which also leads into the sex scene. Also with the foreshadowing, the choice to focus on Jack while Ennis was completely naked said a lot, and made the audience question why it was there. Similarly, when Ennis pushed Jack's hand away (when he was cleaning his wound), the audience again is forced to question Ennis's intentions, character, and emotional state. The only time where I was really aware of alcohol in the story was when they were at the bar, but in the movie alcohol almost comforts them, intensifies their feelings for each other and seems to allow them to pursue their subconscious (or conscious?) motives. I think Lee used a similar choice when creating Brokeback mountain, and also Lee stuck to a lot of the dialogue in the short story, for example the line about the beans and Ennis's description of his future with Alma. I think Lee used the difficult time frame well, by orienting us right from the start at what year it was, by the white letters but it wasn't cheesy and he captured the feeling of an endless summer by choosing to show us parts of days, and not saying or showing how many days had passed. Another similarity that I noticed was Jake's choice to jump around, scream, dance and always be the one talking, which I think brought out Jack's character more in the film, where in the short story one could interpret it from Ennis's point of view, and in the film their screen time is almost even (even though we do meet Ennis first). Also Heath Ledger is more handsome then I imagined Ennis to be, and also both of them are much cleaner then they are in the short story. It seems like the same story to me, except it feels like we are seeing just a little bit more, and the characters have more fire in them, then I imagined. One other thing that I found interesting was the use of colors in the film, and nature imagery. Yes they are on a mountain, and therefore living away from society but Lee didn't let the audience forget that and captured both the ugly and pretty parts of nature. I feel like this movie seems to be the same tone into the beginning in order to build up anticipation but also orient the audience to feel like they are on the mountain too and its simplicity in the images and their relationship leaves a lot open for the audience to interpret.
ReplyDeleteI think that what we have to notice is the way that Ang Lee choose to suddenly hint at the relationship that exists between Ennis and Jack. When Ms. Connell asked us to talk about the text last week, she wanted us to look at the choices the author made and their effects. I think that the little references that Ang Lee choose to make, made me realize that yes, Ennis and Jack had deeply rooted feelings for one another. When I first read the text I felt as though their relationship was built on lust and then turned into romance, and while there was an instance where I still felt that way, I feel like Ang Lee changed my mind. The choices: Jack shaving at the beginning, them shooting the moose, the glances that Jack would give Ennis, the way that Jack tried to make Ennis smiled were all hints at their inner feelings.
ReplyDeleteAs far as applying semiotics to the film. I noticed how Ang Lee incorporated a lot of cutting especially at the beginning during the bar scene. I also noticed his use of asynchronous as he worked with sound. He also worked with focus.
Naturally this "Brokeback Mountain" encompasses a bunch of scenes. A few of the themes that were touched upon were nature, societal norms, masculinity, and religion. In the movie, it was interesting to see the way that Ang Lee worked with nature. She used weather to foreshadow Ennis' and Jack's relationship. I liked the way that he worked with masculinity. It was interesting the way Ang Lee tried to hint that Jack was masculine because he shaved, he could tame a horse, etc. I also liked the reference to religion. Where Ennis and Jack were talking about being Methodist and Pentecostal. And lastly I also noticed his use of color, like the weather, to foreshadow what was to come.
As soon as the movie begins the panoramic scenes are prolonged to emphasize the mountains and deserted town that is introduced when Ennis reaches the work station. The director used panning and tracking to follow characters while they walked across an interesting scene. The director also played around with angles and focuses in order to capture the rare moments where Jack and Ennis look at each other indirectly such as the scene where Jack is shaving using the side mirror of his car and looks at Ennis. This effect gives a foreshadowing clue an audience that has read Proulx's story but to others it is simply a glance. The characters, as I expected, are a little more exaggerated in personality since Ennis is more troubled than he was portrayed in the story such as the scene in the work station where Ennis keeps his hands in his pockets in a tight stance, where as Jack was more relaxed in manner.
ReplyDeleteI especially enjoyed the soft asynchronous sounds that followed the heard of sheep along with Ennis and Jack. This scene with the music gave Brokeback Mountain an almost angelic presence, the mountains were beautiful, the flock of sheep were eye-pleasing, and the occasional synchronous sounds of water or trees blowing depicted the mountains just the way Prouxl would have liked-- ageless, peaceful, and safe. The effects leave a memorable impression of the mountains, making it easier for the audience to remember it when made references to later on in the story.
The scene where Jack and Ennis become intimate lost a bit of Prouxl's original intention within the story. The director seemed as though he was trying to make a homosexual sex scene as less uncomfortable as he possibly could. In doing this, he portrayed the characters drunk (passed the point where they could not walk straight), and had them wrestle each other away before intimacy. In the original story there was less opposition and less restraining but I assume it was to make the audience less uncomfortable by showing Jack and Ennis's incident as an unprocessed moment.
From the time that Jack and Ennis are first introduced to us until the end we continue to try and classify one as the more feminine in their relationship. Although Jack is generally the gentler of the two, neither of them are really the female. Lee does choose to make Jack seem like the more compassionate of the two. Jack carries the lambs when they are first making their way to Brokeback Mountain whereas Ennis just puts the lambs in a sling like thing that he hangs from his horse. It’s small things like this that tell us a lot more about the characters than we could learn from them speaking. Even though Proulx didn’t specifically say anything about how Jack and Ennis treat the sheep they feel like choices she would have made if it were a much longer story.
ReplyDeleteThe first time we see them together in Ang Lee’s adaptation they are both waiting outside a trailer. Jack is shaving in his car mirror and Ennis can be seen in the reflection. If Jack notices, he doesn’t acknowledge him. He certainly doesn’t swoon or immediately turn around and stare. Lee chooses not to have there be an immediate bond between them. In Proulx’s story the first time they even see each other is in the office when they are given their instructions what they are supposed to do that summer. Lee could have made their first encounter into a big production where they introduce themselves in the parking lot outside of the trailer, but not only would that be incredibly unfaithful to the story, it would also be out of character. He is able to keep and air of distance between them until they go to the bar and loosen up from the beers they are drinking. Even when they are drinking in the bar and talking about their lives Ennis still seems incredibly uncomfortable and is looking at his hands the entire time instead of Jack. Jack, on the other hand, constantly tries to make eye contact.
A good deal later on when Jack and Ennis are camping out Ennis decides to wash himself. In the story Jack can’t help but notice that Ennis isn’t wearing underwear or socks. The fact that he knows this about Ennis implies that he has peeked at least once. In Lee’s adaptation when Ennis washing himself he is out of focus and in the background and Jack is in the foreground, not peeking, and in focus.