Not That There's Anything Wrong With That

Mickey Kaus, one of the best left-of-center bloggers, has a hysterical set of posts that help explain why straight males are unlikely to go see Brokeback Mountain, which will likely win several awards but could fail to garner a substantial audience...

Reader C. E., reacting to an earlier "Brokeback" post, emails:

If I follow your logic, I should be genetically repelled from such films as Out of Africa, The Princess Bride, The Notebook, Wuthering Heights, The Big Easy, and basically every Hollywood romance ever made except Brokeback Mountain because I couldn't possibly enjoy a story about people who are not like myself.

Er, no. If a gay man, say, goes to see "Wuthering Heights," there is at least one romantic lead of the sex he's interested in! In "Brokeback Mountain," neither of the two romantic leads is of a sex I'm interested in. ... My wild hypothesis is that more people will go see a movie if it features an actor or actress they find attractive! If heterosexual men in heartland America don't flock to see "Brokeback Mountain" it's not because they're bigoted. It's because they're heterosexual. "Heterosexuals Attracted to Members of the Opposite Sex"--for those cultural critics wondering what a commerical disappointment for this much-heralded movie will Tell Us About America Today, there's your headline.

Kaus captures the essence of the issue. I'm a little skeptical about the rave reviews the film is garnering, because a part of me wonders whether people who are commenting on the movie are also emotionally invested in seeing it succeed, because it is consistent with their political views. But I can't comment on whether the movie's overrated, underrated, or whatever, since I haven't seen it.

Do I plan to see it? Look, I barely get to go to the movies as it is. I saw Million Dollar Baby last year, mostly because it had such strong Oscar buzz, and I came to regret that decision. It was a fine movie in many ways, but the ending was so insanely depressing that I swore up and down that I'd never watch that movie again (and for the record, the movie was overrated and anyone pitching this as the greatest sports movie of all time is missing the boat -- this doesn't even register as one of the top two boxing movies of all time).

By contrast, the story in Brokeback Mountain probably isn't depressing, but I don't like watching most movies featuring heterosexual love stories. Can I appreciate that they're good movies? Sure, but my taste in entertainment doesn't gravitate toward romantic movies. That probably says that I'm a shallow guy in some ways, but it doesn't make me homophobic if I fail to see Brokeback Mountain. Similarly, if I fail to see a critically accaimed movie about the experience of African-Americans in the U.S., it doesn't make me a racist.

Most people go to the movies to escape from reality to a place they'd like to go. Most heterosexual guys don't want to escape to Brokeback Mountain. We also don't want to visit Beaches, or hang out with The Prince of Tides. There's nothing wrong with those movies (except for Barbra Streisand), but there's nothing wrong with guys not seeing them either.