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Brokeback Mountain banned in States in US...
I actually went to see this film yesterday and thought it was really really good. Obviously I enjoyed seeing Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal kissing 
but also found it very moving and believe that it raised a number of important issues. (For anyone who doesn't know, it's the gay cowboy film!)
I was outraged to read in the Independent yesterday morning that cinemas in Washington and Utah in the US have banned the film. (Although I wasn't particularly surprised). Do you think the "American Christian Right" as they are called in the newspaper have too much influence on American politics? And should we be worried that the US administration takes a religious view on issues such as homosexuality, abortion etc? Isn't this just backward for a so called "leader of the free world"?
but also found it very moving and believe that it raised a number of important issues. (For anyone who doesn't know, it's the gay cowboy film!)I was outraged to read in the Independent yesterday morning that cinemas in Washington and Utah in the US have banned the film. (Although I wasn't particularly surprised). Do you think the "American Christian Right" as they are called in the newspaper have too much influence on American politics? And should we be worried that the US administration takes a religious view on issues such as homosexuality, abortion etc? Isn't this just backward for a so called "leader of the free world"?
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So, at least the US doesn't flog homosexuals (Iran), give them life sentences (Saudi Arabia), give them 5 years hard labour (Egypt), etc.
You say that 'cinemas' have banned the film. Was it the choice of the cinemas, or a higher directive?
I wouldn't trust the Independent till I checked all the facts for myself. It's a rag.
You say that 'cinemas' have banned the film. Was it the choice of the cinemas, or a higher directive?
I wouldn't trust the Independent till I checked all the facts for myself. It's a rag.
mellow-yellow
I actually went to see this film yesterday and thought it was really really good. Obviously I enjoyed seeing Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal kissing but also found it very moving and believe that it raised a number of important issues. (For anyone who doesn't know, it's the gay cowboy film!)
I was outraged to read in the Independent yesterday morning that cinemas in Washington and Utah in the US have banned the film. (Although I wasn't particularly surprised). Do you think the "American Christian Right" as they are called in the newspaper have too much influence on American politics? And should we be worried that the US administration takes a religious view on issues such as homosexuality, abortion etc? Isn't this just backward for a so called "leader of the free world"?
but also found it very moving and believe that it raised a number of important issues. (For anyone who doesn't know, it's the gay cowboy film!)I was outraged to read in the Independent yesterday morning that cinemas in Washington and Utah in the US have banned the film. (Although I wasn't particularly surprised). Do you think the "American Christian Right" as they are called in the newspaper have too much influence on American politics? And should we be worried that the US administration takes a religious view on issues such as homosexuality, abortion etc? Isn't this just backward for a so called "leader of the free world"?
The fundamentalists in Utah are Mormons, who have absolutely no connection to Bush and his evangelical Protestants.
The thing i find facinating is the way in which the film industry has in effect self-censored this film; if you listen to (or even see) the trailers the studio has released, you are left with almost no idea what it is about....
Bismarck
Why provoke a backlash from anti-gay groups, which would probably harm the theaters much more than they stand to gain from showing this movie. Why do you suppose McDonald's doesn't sell food made from pork in Muslim countries? Is it because it's stupid? I think not.
I understand why they did it, i'm just sad they had to...
Most ironic thing is this will probably benefit the sensible side in the long run. I think moves like this will cause people who previously had sympathies both ways to take a step towards the more liberal side.
Also, I doubt the movie would be banned in any US state. If it was it would only be a question of time before the ban was ripped to shred in court. You can say what you want about the yankees, but they tend to be pretty harsh when it comes to violations of the constitution.
Also, I doubt the movie would be banned in any US state. If it was it would only be a question of time before the ban was ripped to shred in court. You can say what you want about the yankees, but they tend to be pretty harsh when it comes to violations of the constitution.
Bismarck
The fundamentalists in Utah are Mormons, who have absolutely no connection to Bush and his evangelical Protestants.
I do understand that.. I was making a general point (obviously not very clearly) that America's fundamentalist religious population is often very closely linked with the government's own views. The owner of the cinema in Utah, for example, would most likely hold similar views on homosexuality as Mr Bush!
All I was saying is that this worries me. How can an apparantly forward-looking country remain so scarily bigoted?! Both the population at large, and the government.
Bismarck
And you do know that there are 48 states in the US which did show that movie, right?
Yes, and we have moved on substantially from homosexuality being illegal and gay murders overlooked, but isn't it sad that even one cinema can ban this film?
--------------
TKR
from what i hear the film gives a pretty horrific view of what it's like to be gay!
Well it was set in the 1960/70s. And to put this into context you could still be put into prison for being gay in the UK until 1967!
TKR
i was more thinking about the whole
rough sex
issue....
rough sex
issue....
Hehe! I see.. well yeh! But then there's the whole looove thing as well, so it kinda balances out (ish).
Ah yes, not really surprising. Let's just thank God that it is this very country which is now promoting its own particular brand of "freedom" through military force. I want to see the film; I've not yet seen a bad review.
mellow-yellow
I do understand that.. I was making a general point (obviously not very clearly) that America's fundamentalist religious population is often very closely linked with the government's own views. The owner of the cinema in Utah, for example, would most likely hold similar views on homosexuality as Mr Bush!
Most people in Utah also believe that aliens created the earth and that they will become gods once they die. What's your point? Hitler believed in unemployment compensation. Tony Blair believes in unemployment compensation. Therefore, Hitler = Blair?
All I was saying is that this worries me. How can an apparantly forward-looking country remain so scarily bigoted?! Both the population at large, and the government.
Nice of you to make such generalizations from something that happened in the most fundamentalist state in the country.
--------------
mellow-yellow
Yes, and we have moved on substantially from homosexuality being illegal and gay murders overlooked, but isn't it sad that even one cinema can ban this film?
The objective of movie theaters is to make money, not to further the social agenda.
--------------
englishstudent
Ah yes, not really surprising. Let's just thank God that it is this very country which is now promoting its own particular brand of "freedom" through military force. I want to see the film; I've not yet seen a bad review.
Do you want to remind me which government official enacted this ban?
Bismarck
Do you want to remind me which government official enacted this ban?
Do you want to remind me which government official enacted this ban?
It was a government official was it, wow - well I didn't know that.
One can learn a lot about a country and its ideals from the way it attempts to repress its art (or indeed its press). More indeed than one can from looking at official governmental policies enshrouded in layers of deceit and false pretence. The fact is that I doubt many of the 44% of Americans (the president included?) who believe the world is 10,000 years old approve of this film and I would venture to say that many of them would have it banned. This is not the type of freedom I want to see being spread across the globe.
englishstudent
It was a government official was it, wow - well I didn't know that.
One can learn a lot about a country and its ideals from the way it attempts to repress its art (or indeed its press). More indeed than one can from looking at official governmental policies enshrouded in layers of deceit and false pretence. The fact is that I doubt many of the 44% of Americans (the president included?) who believe the world is 10,000 years old approve of this film and I would venture to say that many of them would have it banned. This is not the type of freedom I want to see being spread across the globe.
One can learn a lot about a country and its ideals from the way it attempts to repress its art (or indeed its press). More indeed than one can from looking at official governmental policies enshrouded in layers of deceit and false pretence. The fact is that I doubt many of the 44% of Americans (the president included?) who believe the world is 10,000 years old approve of this film and I would venture to say that many of them would have it banned. This is not the type of freedom I want to see being spread across the globe.
You could think whatever you want, but I see no evidence of Bush or 44% of Americans trying to get this film banned. If you directed this kind of irrational empathy towards any country other than America, you would no doubt be called a racist.
I think what people are concerned about is this: they feel that this ban betrays an underlying presence - even dominance - of religious nuts in the US. I disagree. I think the other 48 states are pretty strong evidence that the fundamentalists are not running the country yet. If this was happening in states that did NOT previously have a reputation for religious wacko-ness, THEN there'd be cause for alarm.
englishstudent
One can learn a lot about a country and its ideals from the way it attempts to repress its art (or indeed its press).
Or you can look at it another way:
One can learn a lot about a country and its ideals from the way that thousands of people funded, produced, directed, acted in and generally worked together to make a film about gay cowboys.
Why can't you judge on the basis of that, why do you have to say that we can draw conclusions from the reactionary stances of a couple of states? Why can't we draw our conclusions from the thousands of people involved in making the film, and all the people who went and paid money to view it?
Cumulative takings on the film in the US have been more than $25million.
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