Critics have called Brokeback Mountain revolutionary for creating a story that breaks through our stereotypes of gay men. Yet, even while it shatters our prejudices on one level, it reveals the tendency to rely on our same old habits on others.
Most images of Black people in the media rely on and perpetuate stereotypes rooted in history. Enslaved Black people were valued for their bodies, so now they dominate practically every professional sport. Black women were made into the sex slaves of their masters, so now many women make careers of playing out the sexual fantasies of men as "video hos". Even in seemingly honorable roles, Black characters often support the story of white main characters and are usually the first to die, portraying them as important only in relation to others and largely dispensable.
The vast majority of images of queer people also rely on stereotypes. Gay men are either effeminately flamboyant as seen on Bravo’s fashion and makeover show, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy or are sympathetic because they have HIV/AIDS, as in the 1993 film, Philadelphia. In all these stereotypical scenarios, it seems that our society is attempting to keep these images alive for some reason, perhaps because we feel a need to distance ourselves from seeing these identities as whole people and shattering these myths would mean changing the way we think.

In a queer media climate such as this, Brokeback Mountain is a groundbreaking breath of fresh air. The film marks the first time that Hollywood has taken on a project with a high profile director and all-star cast and set out to truthfully portray the story of a same-gender-loving relationship between two masculine men. It has garnered much attention from anti-gay groups but critics have praised the movie for its poetic dialogue and picturesque cinematography, winning it recognition at several international film festivals and two Golden Globes for "Best Picture" and "Best Director" for 2005.
Based on the short story by Annie Proulx and directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), the movie follows the lives of Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) who meet one summer while herding sheep in the mountains of Wyoming.  During their time on Brokeback Mountain, they begin a love affair that spans three decades. After this passion-filled summer, the men go on to live in different states and pass for straight, but continue their relationship on mountain get-a-ways a few times a year. From the beginning of their 30 year affair, Jack is open with his emotions while Ennis maintains an emotional wall against anything that threatens his fragile sense of masculinity. At age nine, Ennis’s father takes him to see the body of a dead man who was brutally murdered because he was gay. Jack constantly voices the desires of them both, suggesting that they live together on a secluded ranch, but the fear that was instilled in Ennis at a young age will not allow him to conceive of this possibility.
This homophobic fear poisons everyone in the film. Although both men  marry women, it is clear that they remain in love with each other.  Ennis’s wife, Alma discovers their relationship early on, yet stays in the marriage and becomes depressed, eventually divorcing him and remaining bitter for the rest of the movie. His daughter constantly attempts to make an emotional connection with her father but is turned away and learns to keep her feelings bottled up the same way Ennis does. Jack’s marriage to a business woman quickly loses emotion and he himself says that it could be carried out “over the phone.” It is clear were fear not a factor, the lives of all the characters would have been different. Brokeback challenges audiences to feel the universal human emotions of love and pain and, for many of us, see parts of ourselves in non-straight characters for the first time.
One of the most remarkable elements that make this emotional connection possible is the story’s insularity. Brokeback takes place in the small Texas and Wyoming towns where the men live but the story always goes back to the secluded Brokeback Mountain where they first met. Other than a few short references to “the army” there is very little that puts the story in the context of time and there is practically no reference to the world outside of their immediate surroundings. The other characters in the film are much less developed, existing in the film only in  relation to Jack and Ennis, making the men's relationship the centerpiece. While class is an issue, (Ennis is poor and Jack upper-class), it is not addressed in relation to the larger society.

The absence of complications such as racial issues, international affairs, and city life compels the audience to become totally immersed in their love affair. In these ways, the setting is as close to a blank page as possible. This is perhaps the only way we could become so fully involved in a queer story.

When Jack Twist first enters the screen, he stands out in his black pick-up truck, with his black hair, sporting black shoes and black boots. Throughout the history of film, especially before interracial casting became acceptable, white-identified actors with darker hair, skin and eyes have been cast in roles as villans to contrast them with the good guys who usually have lighter eyes and lighter hair such as in The Ten Commandments (1956)with Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Rameses. Our tendency to reserve evil and despicable roles reflects our reliance on the beliefs that darkness is bad while whiteness good. There are only a few people of color in the film whose roles are as miniscule as the herd of sheep making it, essentially, a white cast. In contrast to Ennis Del Mar’s blonde hair, blue eyes and earth-toned attire, Jack is immediately visualized as the dark character.
            This role fully develops as the love affair begins. In the scene that has everyone talking, Jack initiates the first intimate moment where Ennis struggles and attempts to push Jack away but eventually gives in to his attraction. It is notable that the act of initiating gay sex, something that many regard as wrong and even evil, is reserved for the darker character. In this moment, Jack Twist fully develops as he takes on the submissive role in their sexual relationship.
For the rest of the film, Jack is clearly the more feminine and compromising character. He always makes the journey from Texas to Wyoming. He always works around Ennis’s schedule. He pleads with Ennis about leaving their miserable lives and making a life together the way both have always desired. All the while, Ennis keeps Jack in limbo, only openly giving or feeling anything on those rare trips to Brokeback. While both men are queer and endure the emotional anguish of homophobia and heterosexism, Ennis holds the power of change and it is his decision that keeps them from ever pursuing their love.
Just as women and people of color are often abused and controlled by their masculine counterparts in real life and on the big screen, Ennis keeps Jack at bay and suffering until the end. Eventually, Jack becomes so fed up with waiting for something that Ennis cannot give, he leaves his wife and moves to a ranch with another man. Soon after however, it is revealed that Jack is lynched by a group of men, likely for the same reasons the man was killed in Ennis’s childhood. Once Jack attempts to become empowered and take his life into his own hands, he becomes a victim in the way Ennis has always feared.
As a society, we do not know how to conceive of a realistic gay relationship on film. In order to relate to the story of two men, it had to look like things we already know about. The character of Jack Twist is a symbol for oppressed identities. Although he is a white man, he embodies the struggle and role that people of color, women, and other marginalized groups are perceived to suffer. He is an ever-struggling victim and martyr whose fate was always out of his control.

Brokeback Mountainis to be celebrated for its powerful portrayal of love and pain for gay men in our society. It also makes it painfully clear that the struggle to end oppression on the basis of sexuality and also gender and race is an ongoing journey. It is important for anyone who is dedicated to social change to celebrate our accomplishments and reflect what remains to be done with open eyes and an open heart.