'Brokeback Mountain' the ultimate Japanese 'chick flick'

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]

'Brokeback Mountain' might be ultimate 'chick flick' in Japan, says literature expert
Washington University in St. Louis News & Information, March 1, 2006 --America's conflicted cultural obsession with the gay cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain" might seem old-fashioned in Japan where stories of love and romance between beautiful young men have been entertaining women for more than a decade, suggests a Japanese studies professor at Washington University in St. Louis....
"Stories about male-male homosexuality have been extremely popular with Japanese women for decades," says Rebecca Copeland, Ph.D., an associate professor of Japanese language and literature in Arts & Sciences at Washington University.
In Japan, a movie like "Brokeback Mountain" might be the ultimate "chick flick," suggests Copeland, noting that mainstream Japanese theaters attract huge, mostly female audiences for romantic stories of troubled love between sensitive and impossibly beautiful young men, known as bishonen...more...

[Catoneinutica]

Our old friend Steve Schultze from the late, lamented "Tokyo Damage Report" could have predicted this. He had noted the popularity of "yayoi" manga (stories involving romances between pretty boys) among a certain coterie of female nerd.
PS: Anyone - what's the term for a female otaku? Otome?

[Taro Toporific]

...PS: Anyone - what's the term for a female otaku?

The term is "Typical."

Atypical is the US publisher is twisting cowboy love with a Wild West manga they call an "Old West yaoi one-shot: STALLION".

[ichigo partygirl]

Well i wont be going to see it for sure. I hate love stories regardless of who it is about....blah. Most guys get really turned on by the girl on girl thing, but generally (in most other countries any way :P) it doesnt work the other way. I figure this movie is marketed at snobs, arty movie lovers, and liberals out of Japan, but thats an interesting point about the Manga crossover popularity within Japan.

[homesweethome]

Well i wont be going to see it for sure. I hate love stories regardless of who it is about....blah. Most guys get really turned on by the girl on girl thing, but generally (in most other countries any way :P) it doesnt work the other way. I figure this movie is marketed at snobs, arty movie lovers, and liberals out of Japan, but thats an interesting point about the Manga crossover popularity within Japan.

Even though I haven't seen it (and don't plan to), I thought it sounded like a K.B. ripoff.

[amdg]

Ehh, I’m looking forward to see it. Ang Lee is a great film maker, regardless of genre (Ice Storm, Hulk, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), he just flat out knows how to make a good movie. Although the title is a bit comedic (busted anus mountain anyone?). Anyway, I agree with Ichigo that most girls I know are not into guy/guy romances: my GF certainly doesn’t want to see it.

A Kill Bill ripoff? How so, sir?

[Socratesabroad]

[amdg]

But a gay cowboy love story? Yeah, steeped in reality.

So your criterion for a good movie is that it must be ‘]Socratesabroad[/b], and let’s judge them for how ‘steeped’ in reality they are?

[Big Booger]

I won't see it... I am not interested in a gay cowboy movie... but this one:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492487/

seems interesting to me.

[Socratesabroad]

So your criterion for a good movie is that it must be ‘]Socratesabroad[/b], and let’s judge them for how ‘steeped’ in reality they are?

What I'm saying is this - by virtue of its theme, a gay cowboy movie seems inherently designed to tweak the proverbial nose of the American public.

Offending traditional/middle-class sensibilities just to do so is a pretty weak basis for a work, which explains why I'm not a John Waters fan (and detest screeds like the play Cloud Nine).
For a realistic view of gay relationships in small towns, have a look at the gay marriage documentary Tying the Knot.

And as for my favorite films:
Big Sleep
Citizen X
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Lawrence of Arabia
Heat
Young Frankenstein
Airplane
Scent of a Woman
Manhunter
Good Will Hunting

That's just off the top of my head - I'm sure I'm forgetting some great films - Casablanca, Dirty Dozen, Caddyshack, The Professional/Leon, Animal House, 7 Samurai, Shawshank Redemption, Princess Bride, All Quiet on the Western Front, Unforgiven, Full Metal Jacket, Bridge on the River Kwai, LA Confidential, Hamburger Hill, Star Wars....

Off my original list, two films are somwhat based in fact and the remainder - excluding comedies - aren't that far off. So, amdg, care to play?

[maraboutslim]

Do Japanese women like gay male stuff for the same reasons (gender reversed of course) that some straight American men like or don't mind lesbian stuff? (that there are two objects to desire in the shot and/or one can picture himself as one of the participants and still be getting it on with a girl?)

Of are they comfortable with soft gay men because they pretty much resemble straight Japanese men? I mean, when was the last time any male lead in a Japanese tv drama or variety show was a manly man with muscles and anything rough around the edges at all? All I see are 120 lb., no muscle, pretty hair, fancy pants wearing wimpy fem types.

[Socratesabroad]

Oscar Results In:

Brokeback Mountain goes down
Brokeback Mountain gets the short end
Brokeback Mountain takes one
Brokeback Mountain got beat



Honestly, I could care less about oscars, Brokeback, or anything related. I'm just glad to see that not everyone sees the "enlightenment" or "wisdom" inherent in trashing perennial American icons.

Hurting the cowboy image?

Kaycee playwright Sandy Dixon doesn't care to open her mind to the story line of “Brokeback Mountain,” she said.

A lifelong Wyomingite, Dixon said she has never encountered a gay cowboy, and doesn't think it's right for Proulx and Hollywood to portray Wyoming as a state with gay cowboys.

Her message to the writers of “Brokeback Mountain” is this: “Don't try and take what we had, which was wonderful -- the cowboys that settled the state and made it what it was -- don't ruin that image just to sell a book.”

She added, “There's nothing better than plain old cowboys and the plain old history without embellishing it to suit everyone.”

Regarding the reaction of Wyoming people to the film, Dixon said it depends on the viewer: “Those that want to make a queer story out of it, they will, and those that know real cowboys will say it's all hogwash.”

[Mulboyne]

Honestly, I could care less about oscars, Brokeback, or anything related. I'm just glad to see that not everyone sees the "enlightenment" or "wisdom" inherent in trashing perennial American icons.

Socrates, I sense some internal contradiction. "I could care less" doesn't fit with your other contention that the film is "trashing perennial American icons".

Are you not guilty of saying "I haven't seen the film but I know it trashes perennial American Icons so I won't see it"? That reminds me of the Satanic Verses saga: "I haven't read the book it but I know it insults Mohammed so I won't read it"

There is no doubt that the film has an agenda, no matter what the filmakers may maintain. The book had an agenda so that's no surprise. But how can you know what a film does until you see it? I haven't seen it yet but my reluctance is that it seems like too earnest a film...too eager to make a point. With so many good films around to see, I've put this one to the bottom of the list. And yet so many film lovers recommend it, I think I should watch it soon to have an informed opinion. Keep that DVD of yours, take a look and then tell us what you think it does to your icons.

[Greji]

Socrates, I sense some internal contradiction. "I could care less" doesn't fit with your other contention that the film is "trashing perennial American icons".

Never had a cowboy. I guess there's always a first time. Here's my recomendation!

[Greji]

Back-broke Mountain only got two Oscars, but Memoirs of a Geisha got three, which I read to mean that the Guild is saying we guys should shag that Oriental beaver and leave the cowboys alone!

Complete list of winners at the 78th annual Academy Awards, presented

Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles:

Best Picture: "Crash."



Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote."

Actress: Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line."

Supporting Actor: George Clooney, "Syriana."

Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener."

Director: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain."

Foreign Film: "Tsotsi," South Africa.

Adapted Screenplay: Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, "Brokeback Mountain."

Original Screenplay: Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, "Crash."

Animated Feature Film: "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were- Rabbit."

Art Direction: "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Cinematography: "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Sound Mixing: "King Kong."

Sound Editing: "King Kong."

Original Score: "Brokeback Mountain," Gustavo Santaolalla.

Original Song: "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" from "Hustle & Flow," Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard.

Costume: "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Documentary Feature: "March of the Penguins."

Documentary (short subject): "A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin."

Film Editing: "Crash."

Makeup: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Animated Short Film: "The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation."

Live Action Short Film: "Six Shooter."

Visual Effects: "King Kong."

___

Oscar winners previously announced this year:

Honorary Academy Award (Oscar statuette): Robert Altman.

The Gordon E. Sawyer award for technical achievement (Oscar statuette): Gary Demos.

[kamome]

i was only able to catch the Q&A after the awards. I've never seen such cloying, fawning behavior over another human being. The multiple inane questions about their clothes, their "feeling" when they won the award, the softball questions about their kids or their preparation for the event. Is there anyone else who just wants to either strangle the actors or the tabloid reporters at the Oscars?

One colleague of mine made a good point though; it's really the consumers who drive this kind of thing. So if people weren't such celebrity-worshippers they wouldn't be asking these questions. I personally couldn't care less what these people do in their personal lives. I'm always surprised at the market for it.

[Greji]

Is there anyone else who just wants to either strangle the actors or the tabloid reporters at the Oscars?

Ship'em to a sheep ranch in Wyoming and let them coo with the ewes?

[inthebubble]

Brokeback was actually a very good story and well shot movie. It was a forbidden love movie more than anything else. It showed struggle in man and life when someone is not where they want to be. The love story actually could have been any two people, just happened to be two cowboys, could have been firemen, lawyers or anyone else. It was the time in history that forbid them from being together. It is a love story that many will like. See it and you might understand.

[American Oyaji]

I aint watchin no movie bout no faggoty cowboys.

[Socratesabroad]

Brokeback was actually a very good story and well shot movie. It was a forbidden love movie more than anything else. It showed struggle in man and life when someone is not where they want to be. The love story actually could have been any two people, just happened to be two cowboys, could have been firemen, lawyers or anyone else. It was the time in history that forbid them from being together. It is a love story that many will like. See it and you might understand.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Oh, sorry, I seem to have fallen asleep at my keyboard. As for Brokeback, uh, yeah, I'll put that on my To Watch list right up there with other great "love movies" like Bridges of Madison County.

[inthebubble]

Whatever. It's sad that so many people are so close minded in life.

[American Oyaji]

It is better to be selectively closeminded than to be completely open minded and let filth and garbage in.

[Greji]

Whatever. It's sad that so many people are so close minded in life.

What is close minded about it? Some people like to poke cow pokes and some don't!

Some people like to go to SM places and pay big money to have some dominate hooker in sleak form fitting rubber underwear take a bull whip and beat them into a messy little pile of teeth, hair and eyeballs.

I don't particularly care for that. So does that make me close minded?

[Mulboyne]

Japan has always been more relaxed about these things.

[Socratesabroad]

Japan has always been more relaxed about these things.

True

[amdg]

[Socratesabroad]

[amdg]

[homesweethome]

[PrivateGaijin]

Not to be snide, but that attitude is sort of what irks me - people seeing a decidedly fictional movie and thinking it somehow represents a general trend/tendency.

Who said that there were a "Large number of Gay Cowboys", but to say that there were NO Gay cowboys ever, IMHO, is equally stupid. Gay tendencies are not partial to race, religion, profession or language. There always have been, and always will be homosexuals in every walk of life. Be they priests or cowboys. To accept it and move on(if you don't like it) is the only smart thing to do.