Brokeback Mountain
We saw Brokeback Mountain on Friday and we left the theater in tears, and with the kind of heavy feeling that only comes around when it seems like some sort of injustice has won. Even though the movie was incredibly sad and frustrating at times, it also left us with the feeling that we are blessed to be living in this new millennium when homophobia doesn't have quite the power that it used to.
On the way out of the theater I said it seems like most gay people still struggle with feeling closeted to some degree; if not on a grand scale then at the very least like we can't be truly open around certain family members, co-workers, or even other Christians. It's funny that the fear of what another Christian might think has the power to keep us from being completely honest with ourselves and with one another. It seems better as a Christian to encourage complete honesty, embrace one another no matter what, and trust in God's ability to put us each on the path that will produce the most spiritually positive results. Our lives should be about openly sharing the truth that God has planted in us, but instead we often tailor that truth to please those around us. But it's easy to sit here and blog about how things ought to be in a perfect world. In reality, fear is a powerful motivator and it can keep us from reaching out beyond our comfort levels. When we don't work to overcome fear it keeps us tightly restrained and stationary, and the movie painted that picture with vivid clarity.
I loved the movie's ending. I won't give it away, but I have to say that it was a powerful reminder about just how eternal and all-encompassing love is. No matter how closeted we can be at times and no matter how persistently we allow that to interfere with our own potential happiness, love remains in the end. Perhaps I should say love survives. And it serves as proof enough that the relationships we enter into during the course of our lives have profound meaning and that they are inherently good at the core. It was great to see Brokeback Mountain give that sentiment a voice.
On the way out of the theater I said it seems like most gay people still struggle with feeling closeted to some degree; if not on a grand scale then at the very least like we can't be truly open around certain family members, co-workers, or even other Christians. It's funny that the fear of what another Christian might think has the power to keep us from being completely honest with ourselves and with one another. It seems better as a Christian to encourage complete honesty, embrace one another no matter what, and trust in God's ability to put us each on the path that will produce the most spiritually positive results. Our lives should be about openly sharing the truth that God has planted in us, but instead we often tailor that truth to please those around us. But it's easy to sit here and blog about how things ought to be in a perfect world. In reality, fear is a powerful motivator and it can keep us from reaching out beyond our comfort levels. When we don't work to overcome fear it keeps us tightly restrained and stationary, and the movie painted that picture with vivid clarity.
I loved the movie's ending. I won't give it away, but I have to say that it was a powerful reminder about just how eternal and all-encompassing love is. No matter how closeted we can be at times and no matter how persistently we allow that to interfere with our own potential happiness, love remains in the end. Perhaps I should say love survives. And it serves as proof enough that the relationships we enter into during the course of our lives have profound meaning and that they are inherently good at the core. It was great to see Brokeback Mountain give that sentiment a voice.
posted by Jen Austin at 3:24 PM
3 Comments:
I enjoyed your thoughtful and very well written post. Can I direct you to one I read by another woman at this link:
http://fetchmemyaxe.blogspot.com/2005/12/saw-brokeback-mountain-last-night.html#links
C and I saw Brokeback Mountain and we had the same reaction . . . we loved the movie and we too feel blessed to be living in these times. It is a powerful film and I hope people make time to see it!
I loved the film also. And while I agree with you about feeling blessed to live "in these times," rather than just 20 years ago, I remember that the Matthew Shepard incident was only 7 years ago. How far have we really come? Sometimes it's hard to know for sure.
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