Brokeback Mountain Genre Analysis (A Contemporary Western?)
Brokeback Mountain (2005) directed by Ang Lee starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, follows the lives of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist over the course of many years and their routine retreats to the mountains to have their secret, tormented affair under the guise of annual fishing or hunting trips. Brokeback has been the star of many debates, some dubbing the film a “gay western” (The Washington Post 1; White 66), while others, most notably, Director Lee vehemently reject the idea that the film fits into the western genre by stating that in doing so can be limiting. The purpose of this essay is concerned with viewing Brokeback as a contemporary western, with borrowed themes of melodrama.
Buscombe in “The Idea of Genre in the American Cinema”, expand on Wellek and Warren’s theory on how genre could be conceived by using either outer/extrinsic (rooted in structure) forms or inner/intrinsic forms (attitude, tone, purpose — more crudely, subject and audience) when grouping literary texts (qtd. in Buscombe 36; “Theory of Literature”, 73,139). He notes that it is restrictive to group films based on their narrative structure, since although films belonging to a certain genre share specific plot themes, it would be unlikely for it to be identical, and could lead to creating a numerous amount sub genres (Buscombe 36).
Instead Buscombe proposes to examine outer form based on visual elements/iconography such as through setting, clothing, depiction of male and female characters, tools used, and “miscellaneous physical objects which recur and thereby take on a formal function” (36–37). He suggests that through, these visual elements, the audience then can be able to draw conclusions regarding the subject matter of the film and in doing so place it in accordingly.
In Altman’s “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre”, he states that using either an inclusive or exclusive list of films can help in determining how a corpus of genres are grouped. The inclusive list uses the “tautological definition of genre” which for example would be considering films based in the American West to be considered a Western film (6–7). The exclusive list considers using a select number of films which have been regarded to being a superior representation of the genre, and therefore the basis on which other films are compared to (Altman 7). If a film were to share characteristics with the group of select films, then it could be grouped under that specific genre (Altman 7). This however has led to certain films being simultaneously included and excluded from the same genre (Altman 7). For example, based on the tautological definition of genre given by Jean Mitry (qtd. in Altman 10), Brokeback would be excluded from the Western genre seeing how it isn’t set between the 1840–1900 time period, however Marc Vernet’s exclusive list inspired by Buscombe (qtd. in Altman 10) based on semantics and analysing iconography suggest differently.
As previously mentioned, Buscombe posits that certain iconography such as open frontier lands (mountains, deserts), wide brimmed hats, boots, guns, horses, etc. are some common visual elements present in western films (36–37). In Brokeback, both Ennis and Jack are often seen riding horses, sporting wide brimmed hats and boots with spurs, and operating guns to shoot wild animals as well as taking trips up to the mountains and even the western music that would play during scenes. Based on viewing these elements, it is apparent that Brokeback has borrowed a fair bit of iconography from Westerns. Buscombe adds that it is possible to take a step further by considering the nature of how men are depicted in Westerns. They are often seen as “taciturn, tough, uncomplicated” (38). Ennis fits into this genre cliché with Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the prototypical ‘Western man’. Ennis remains reserved throughout the film barely speaking more than a couple sentences and putting on a stoic face similar whereas Jack is seen as the more outgoing and expressive of the two. In doing so, the film draws similarities to the stone-faced Sundance and gregarious Butch from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969) as seen in the pictures below; both Butch and Ennis maintain their reserved, tough demeanour. These similarities allow for Brokeback to be grouped under the western genre, albeit a contemporary take on the genre.
Altman adds that solely following the semantic approach allows for a single genre to be broadly applicable to a wider range of films (11) as evidenced by how the semantic approach would allow Brokeback to easily fall under the umbrella of the Western genre. He adds that a syntactic approach to viewing genre through analysing the vocabulary given from the semantics and including a films narrative structure could help the issue. Altman’s stance contradicts with Boscombe’s view that grouping films based on narrative structure opens the door for many sub genres. Altman proposes a dual approach using both semantics and syntactics when it came to viewing genres (11).
There are certain syntactical patterns that have emerged when analysing genres, and these can be seen as structured narratives. Steve Neale in “Genre and Hollywood”, mentions that some syntactical patterns in westerns, could be the narrative of border structure and how the ‘frontier’ acts as a border creating tension between civilisation and nature/wilderness, the myth of the ‘Alpha’ male or even the oppression of freedom (126). Westerns often show their male characters repress their true feelings, and instead direct them as acts of aggression (eg: a gun showdown). Interestingly Brokeback, does follow these syntactic patterns, however, does so by providing a queer take on it. Brokeback is able to show western themes such as the barrier between nature (their freedom to love) and civilisation (society), the mountains play the role as the frontier and being behind the mountains, remains the only isolated place where Ennis and Jack are free to love without being held back by the chains of society, their respective families, and duties as men. Ennis throughout the film remains the character most at war with his own desires, and the most aggressive out of the two, often starting fights with anyone that would get in his way, including his love interest Jack. That being said, there remains a clear divide between the film being viewed as a western, since most of the semantic elements that make the film ‘western’ (open spaces, wilderness, horses), are only shown in detail for perhaps the first 20 minutes of the film, before the film chooses to take on a more melodramatic reading.
Brokeback’s overarching narrative theme ultimately is the love between Jack and Ennis, and this fuels the major plot of the film, therefore warranting it to be mentioned. In “Genre Trajectories: Identifying, Mapping, Projecting”, the validity of melodrama as a genre, remains debatable (Dowd and Rulyova 167). Furthermore, when looking at the corpus of other melodrama films, for example: Adrift (Baltasar Kormákur, 2018), All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk, 1955), The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann, 2013), etc., it is clear that these films have little correlation to each another, aside from the central themes and certain semantics, such as their use of music, or brewing tension between characters as well as how themes in the narrative are structured to enhance and evoke emotion.
Brokeback uses music to build on the existing emotion or to give the audience a false sense of security. The strumming of the guitar during moments Jack and Ennis share in the mountains, especially during their last moments together leave the audience wanting more, there is the tension often seen in melodrama’s between Jack and Ennis and their ongoing struggle to maintain relationships with their respective wives, families and continue keeping their love a secret, which keeps building and soon reaches its peak when Ennis mentions he is unable to visit for another 6 months, resulting in a gruesome fight, with a bittersweet resolution, only to be shortly followed by the melancholic death of Jack. This particular trajectory of the narrative structure along with the semantics it borrows from the previously mentioned films, further cements Brokeback’s relevance as a melodrama.
Altman in “Conclusion: A semantic/syntactic/pragmatic approach to genre”, added onto his previous semantic/syntactic approach by introducing a pragmatic way of viewing genre (207). This pragmatic view focuses on how different audiences can perceive and interpret semantic and syntactic elements differently (Altman, 209). As Altman puts it, “Genre has here been presented as multivalent term… valorised by diverse user groups” (214). The onus on determining genre was now up to the audiences and the discussions they engage in after watching a film.
To conclude, by incorporating Altman’s pragmatic approach with his semantic/syntactic approach to Brokeback, it is clear that depending on the audience’s unique perceptions, i.e., a queer audience viewing the film likely interpreting the film as a tragic melodrama, whereas a heteronormative viewer interpreting the film as a ‘gay/contemporary western’; Brokeback can be simultaneously grouped in both categories, or even a hybrid between the two. This can be attributed to the film borrowing themes, semantics and narratives from both genres and giving the audience the freedom to interpret accordingly.
References
Altman, Rick. “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre.” Cinema Journal, vol. 23, no. 3, 1984, pp. 6–11. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1225093.
Altman, Rick. “Conclusion: A Semantic/Syntactic/Pragmatic Approach to Film Genre.” Film/Genre, British Film Institute, pp. 207–214.
Buscombe, Edward. “The Idea of Genre in the American Cinema.” Screen, vol. 11, no. 2, 1970, pp. 36–38, https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/11.2.33.
Dowd, Garin, and Natalia Rulyova. Genre Trajectories: Identifying, Mapping, Projecting. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
Hunter, Stephen. “Out in the West: Reexamining A Genre Saddled With Subtext”.
The Washington Post. Fred Ryan, 2005, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/2005/12/25/out-in-the-westreexamining-a-genre-saddled-with-subtext/b2eb2a79-32e9-4047-9d5a-6f302b73ffad/.
Neale, Stephen. Genre And Hollywood. Routledge, 1999.
Wellek, René, and Austin Warren. Theory of Literature [by] René Wellek and Austin Warren. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1956.
White, Richard. “Brokeback Mountain: A Western.” Montana The Magazine of Western History, vol. 56, no. 2, 2006, pp. 65–66. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4520793