Revising the Western by importing the homosexual aversion: a study of Ang Lee`s Brokeback MountainThe film Brokeback Mountain released on 2005, directed by Ang Lee and starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal is a story about two a ranch man and a rodeo cowboy who met in work in the highlands of Wyoming and unexpectedly formed a special bond that they both carried with them in the remaining years of their lives. At the date of its production, it was surrounded by much hype purportedly primarily caused by its controversial homosexual content involving the two lead characters, Ennis Delmar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal). The movie features a few love scenes, including a kissing scene between Ledger and Gyllenhaal which unsurprisingly caught the attention, if not the criticism, of many people. The viewers, from renowned film critics to ordinary citizens all over the world were inevitable caught between the two poles of reactions that can be made from the somewhat direct tackling of a mainstream movie on the phenomenon of homosexuality. Most of the reviews the film receives center its attention on the film`s “frank depiction of homosexuality” but not all, in fact actually only a number of reviews gave an obvious judgment on the film`s content itself, and not yet on the way this topic has been delivered. Although some of the film reviews made up for this safeguarding against giving overt opinions about the film`s subject matter by manifesting whatever their leaning on the film`s content is through their assessment of the film`s formal elements. In the end, basing from the mainstream criteria by which we can measure the weight and merit of the film, its seven Oscars nominations seem to be quite a proof of the more dominantly positive feedback it earned from established critics. More so, its conceivably favorable turnout in the box-office seems to indicate the likewise positive feedback from the general public.[Marcy Dermansky. Brokeback Mountain. (http://worldfilm.about.com/od/independentfilm/fr/brokeback.htm). Date retrieved: December 11, 2011.] While the movie draws a lot more attention from its homosexual content, it contains so much more than that and it would be unfair to limit one`s manner of understanding and trying to analyze the film by just focusing on its more “controversial” aspect. The film also touches the issues of marriage, living in the hard times, gender stereotypes and norms and the clichéd-as-ever love and compassion. The seemingly tepid but actually rich in detail social background and setting by which this film was situated provides as opportunities to see several other key images and motifs that do not exactly point to, but is related in one way or another to the homosexual issue. We will examine these elements vis-à-vis the underlying premise that Brokeback Mountain, as a contemporary film, also serves as a documentary and reflection of existing cultures, mentalities and sets of values not ...