RASPBERRIES ON BROKEBACK
December 11, 2005
To the Editor:
I expected a backlash to “Brokeback Mountain” from the evangelical right, but certainly not from the gay press. Ioannis Mookas seems to be under the impression that the off-screen behavior and comments of a film’s actors and the politics its corporate parent have something to do with the ultimate quality of the film itself. They don’t.
“Brokeback Mountain,” a moving adaptation of Annie Proulx’s brilliant story, is an instant classic, something that readers of Mr. Mookas’ ill-tempered diatribe would never know.
Joel Conarroe
Greenwich Village
December 11, 2005
To the Editor:
Did Ioannis Mookas really have to go and blab the ending of “Bareback Mountain”? At least Tray Butler in the Blade had the common courtesy to warn his readers that he was about to spill some details. Nevertheless, I am going to fork over eight bucks and see it, and if it makes GE that much richer, I’ll just try to live without a toaster for the next year to expiate my sin.
Patrick M. Tenney
Clifton, New Jersey
December 12, 2005
To the Editor:
Let’s assume for arguments sake that that Ioannis Mookas’ piece about “Brokeback Mountain” is a review and no just an article. And yet Mookas says nothing about the performances in “Brokeback,” the direction, or even the photography. Instead his call to arms is that the gay community should boycott the film simply because it was put out by General Electric, a company who has a long history of polluting our environment. “Brokeback Mountain” is a well done film with an exceptional performance by Heath Ledger, and a strong message that is neither shoved down our throats or banged into our heads. Love is love no matter what two human beings are exchanging it and the pressure to marry and have children is just as strong now as it was in the time of the film.
It stands to reason that the makers of the film are trying to market it to a larger audience than the gay community: it’s called good business sense. The day I saw it the theater was packed with men and women of every age; and it’s nice to see that this film is breaking ground.
I would venture a guess that Ledger doesn’t have to prove his masculinity or his sexuality by having a child with a woman at this time of the film’s release. However you slice it, it took a lot of courage for the two lead characters in “Brokeback” to play the parts they played.
John Elari
Upper West Side
December 12, 2005
To the Editor:
Ioannis Mookas in his review of “Brokeback Mountain” committed the cardinal sin by a reviewer when he divulged the plot of this film. My interest in seeing the movie evaporated after reading that…. Trust me, the rest of the film review and the entire issue of Gay City News went right into the circular file. Boo to Mr. Mookas and boo to his editor, too.
Richard de Thuin
Upper West Side
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