Loneliness, the Bible, and Brokeback Mountain

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2005)

It's Christmas Eve as I write this article. We're all aware that in our culture, this holiday is not about Christ but rather commercialism and family. For those of us living alone with limited means the season can be torturous. But since money does not buy happiness, and many relationships have difficulties, even rich couples can feel empty. Jesus Himself was neither wealthy nor a family man. He associated with persons who were social outcasts. He loved His male disciple. Then He died painfully, abandoned by most of His friends. His experience offers solace to some, but others seek something more tangible.
Many people escape their loneliness through movies with a "Hollywood" ending. But consider It's A Wonderful Life. Were it not for his impossibly wonderful wife, would Jimmy Stewart's character have found the will to live? And are those of us without such a partner really made happy by this couple's happy ending? Frankly, as a single person, I'd more identify with a movie whose lead character handles loneliness, showing us how it can be done.
Such a movie is Brokeback Mountain. But before I can say more, we must deal with the word on the street that Brokeback is about gay cowboys lusting after each other, ruining their respective marriages in the process. Rather than condemning this homophobic view, let us recognize that many men properly fear dating the same gender precisely because sex would get in the way of genuine friendship as is too often the case between men and women.
As Apostle Paul flat out says, it is best to be single and celibate, but if one cannot control one's lust, then one should marry. While it can be debated whether the Bible explicitly condemns homosexuality (the interpretation depends on which translation one uses), marital sex is clearly not held in high esteem and is necessary only for procreation. Brokeback acknowledges this by displaying equally unpleasant sexual scenes with both same and opposite genders, but honors having children. Unlike so many "romantic" movies of today that pretend "making love" is heartfelt love, Brokeback plays it straight, pun intended.
I won't disclose the ending but the movie hints at its denouement from the opening scene with the lead character Ennis waiting for someone. Because of all the hype surrounding the alleged gay theme, I initially wondered if he was hoping for a pickup. But of course not! He's actually anticipating an employment interview. I realized that I needed to put out of my head preconceptions and grasp what I was seeing. I then understood that this movie is the story of Ennis through his own eyes. His physical involvement with a man occupies only a small portion of the screen time. Mostly Ennis copes with what he has sown, struggling to achieve salvation.
Brokeback Mountain rephrases the question "is it better to have never loved than loved and lost?" to "is it better to have never loved than lost the chance to love?". The paradox is that one can only answer either question by experiencing the consequences. Without a lover at hand, one can exist on fantasies of an entirely imaginary lover, or on fantasies of what love was or might have been like with a specific real person.
Watch Brokeback Mountain not for what the hype says, but for what it says in context. Though the word "says" is misleading. The dialog in the film is sparse as most of the context is expressed through facial expressions and body language. This is acting at its finest. Open your eyes and you shall see. Most importantly, in your lonely evenings, think about this movie until the DVD comes out, when you can then virtually visit this heaven on earth.