Analysis of ’Brokeback Mountain’

One short story that was adapted into film is “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx, who is also the author of ‘Bad Dirt.’ ‘Brokeback Mountain’ is a masterful short story that has made many people not able to quit Jack Twist and Ennis del Mar, especially because of the sweet love affair that they had. The short story was adapted into a film of the same name and was released in 2005. The director was Ang Lee, screenplay written by Larry McMurtry and starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. This essay intends to explain how the addition of narrative elements to this short story has enriched it.

For a 30 page story to fit 134 minutes of featuring, there has to be some expanding of the story. Therefore, some characters who had just been sketched in the short story are made into longer parts and more story added so as to pass time. This makes it more interesting and easier to understand. Some instances that have been narrated in detail in the movie more than in the book include the marriages of the men and how they relate with their wives and the families of their wives like Jack’s sojourns to Mexico (Kim, Nam, et al, 1). Moreover, the moment that these men are not together is given more attention. Also, the lovemaking session between Ennis and Jack at the mountain of Brokeback is another addition and it may imply that men should commit to their relationship.

Generally, the addition of narrative in a film makes it more appealing to the viewer. When Brokeback Mountain was released, it has since won many awards as well as many hearts. It clearly depicts manhood and masculinity to the viewer without any contradiction.

Question 2

I think filmmakers should be given liberties in form of visuals, creativity, costumes, and way of telling the story. This is because if a filmmaker has to make something that will attract many people to watch it, then there is a need to glorify it and make its visuals appealing. It might, however, depend on whether the film is a historical retelling or a novel-type drawing on history. Some occurrences cannot be challenged, for instance, the Holocaust. But again, some histories have different versions and if a filmmaker can bring it in the most convincing way, then there is no problem with that as long as facts are kept intact. Events of the history and its results could be different among writers so as long as facts have not been distorted, then there is nothing wrong with writing or filming it in a different version because the conclusion is always the same in all versions (Rosenstone and Robert, 56).

However, it should not be done for personal purposes like money or for distortion. The filmmakers should not be allowed to twist facts, the sensitivity of the history or its romanticism, or modify characters so as to sell more tickets or make more profits. This is wholly being self-centered for the filmmakers and denying the viewers the chance to get real facts of the history. Those filmmakers who completely deviate from the facts for monetary or other purposes should be made to explain why. It is necessary for a film to retain its origin essence, bravery, and all the qualities that the history is respected and worshipped for.

Works Cited

Kim, Nam Wook, et al. ”Visualizing Nonlinear Narratives with Story Curves.” IEEE Transactions on Visualization & Computer Graphics 1 (2018): 1-1.

Rosenstone, Robert A. History on film/film on history. Routledge, (2014): 56