Film Analysis: Broke Back Mountain

The film, Broke Back Mountain, begins in the sumer of 1963 in Wyoming. To men, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, start a job protecting and transporting sheep on Broke Back Mountain. They are hypermasculine rustic cowboys which is what their society has said they are suppose to be. Soon, however they discover they have feelings for each other. The society completely forbids homosexuality and is brutal to those who engage in such activities. These circumstances affect the communication between Jack and Ennis insurmountably. The film explores how the two try to maintain a relationship while Ennis struggles with breaches what is normal in their culture. The two main social and cultural identies that emerge in this film are sexual identity and

Jack Twist uses more of a low-contect means of communciation. He expresses his feelings for Ennis and says what he means. Most of the meaning in what Jack says is expressed clearly. He is very direct in his communication especially in his feelings for Ennis. His desires and intentions are clearly expressed through his emotions. On the contrary, Ennis uses more of a high-contect means of communication. He doesn’t express his feelings as openly as Jack. He is a man of few words who internalizes the information before he speaks of it. Most of the meaning is in his actions. He uses the indirect method of communication primarily because he is trying to supress his desires and has not come to terms with them yet. He doesn’t ever directly tell Jack how he feels but in his actions it is implicated. He uses the uderstated style of communication when he is unsure of his feelings or how will wants to react to them, he just remains

Straight individuals have more power than gay individuals. Males also have more power than females. Being that Jack and Ennis were gay men this was an eminent issue throughout the movie. Without the power being in the hands of heterosexual males, Jack and Ennis might nont have had to hide their relationship throughout their lives. Straight men set the standard of how other men should act in their society and how their lives should look. We see this power when Jack and Ennis both marry and try to maintain a normal looking life, regardless of their desires. We also see a heirarchy when Jack is killed because he isn’t a straight male. It was simply not socially acceptable to have relations with another