Dangerously Ignorant

You know, it's kind of hard not to bash a religion that invests so much wasted energy promoting homosexual hatred.

Utah Theater Cancels Brokeback Mountain

This same theater has shown numerous R (gasp!) rated movies in which hundreds of folks are randomly murdered. Yet a love story that received acclaim from nearly every critic is yanked.

Hypocricy and baseless hatred aside, doesn't the church trust all those righteous Mormon parents not to see the flick or expose susceptible youngsters (who shouldn't be seeing R-rated movies anyway) to a movie I think everyone would agree is inappropriate for children?

You don't like it? Don't go see it.. But instating a policy where you pull any movie not living up to your personal standards? And if indeed that's the policy, may as well do away with all R-rated movies cuz god says those are off limits as well..

Maybe you're afraid the fella's gayness will somehow rub off? Influence those impressionable young men to give gayness a go? Then you'll be back to sending gay young men and woman into homosexual "therapy" to "cure" them.. and that would just be a waste of tithing money that could be better spent expanding your Evil Empire. Bigots.

Justify this to me, anyone... I dare you.

Comments

[mama]

Seems to me you said to an old high school "mormon" friend awhile back you weren't "anti-mormon." Seems to me you have such a negative, resentful,feeling towards these poor lost souls, I don't know what else to call it but anti-... You have a right to say whatever you want, this is your blog, but I read it everyday and I still consider myself mormon. So was your sweet grandma Butler and grandpa Nelson, your heritage, whom without them you wouldnt't be here today. Stop with the mormon stuff and get on with other matters that are so much more important to you please. Sorry your mad about this but please have some respect for us!

[mama]

I love you Monica

[The Girl Who...]

Tell me how reaffirming my tolerance toward anothers chosen sexuality in the face of bigotry is construed as "bashing"?

Bigot is defined as: One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.

I think we can then both agree that the term "bigot" is appropriate for the theater owners in this situation.

How can you drag my grandparents into this? My feelings toward the Mormon ideology IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE do not mean I don't respect their chosen religion as it pertains to them, unless they decided to espouse homophobic rhetoric -and then I would have no trouble saying the above post to them verbatim. The fact that I don't believe in Mormonism has no bearing on how I feel about my grandparents.

Seems to me, ya'll should respect my feelings... Instead, I am apparently required to continually tiptoe around your religious beliefs - even when they promote intolerance and hatred.

That said, I love you too.

[cchild]

Ahhh, nothing better in the morning than a little family religious spat. Makes me happy in a morbid sort of way, you know just to see that I am not the only one dealing with the reverse discrimination of non-belief. I don't care what you believe, just keep it out of my face and I will keep what I believe out of your face.

[Jen]

It is ok Monica, my former religion did sort of the saem thing. At an assembely they pointed out "The Birdcage" was a movie you would NOT want to see, and if you saw it, bad things would happen to you!
As an adult, I have seen the movie, it is FUNNY AS HELL!
I also had a friend kill themselves when I was like 14. They said the movie "The Lawnmower Man" made him do it, they said it at his funeral! How crazy is that!

As I told you before, Brokeback Mountain isn't playing anywhere near me in this bible belt I call HELL! So at least you have the chance to see if you WISH!!! Hmmm I wonder if they had Brokeback Mountain at the Sundance Film Festival?? Interesting!

[Captain Dave]

That news story didn't actually say it wasn't shown because of the gay content. Maybe the owner wasn't a fan of sheep-herding... I've heard there's a lot of that in the film.

Personally, I think it's disgusting. Sheep-herding that is.

[dasi]

Ignorance kills me. Gay people do not CHOOSE the lifestyle, it is who they are. Just as black people do not choose to be black, white people do not choose to be white (well, except for Michael Jackson) etc and so on. People who ban a movie because of homosexuality are just plain IGNORANT. My boss came into work freaking out because he rented "A Shark Tale" and said he had to stop it because he didn't want his son "exposed to such blatant homosexual references." ?????? Come on, people!! Can you "become gay" from watching gay people on film? Let's put it this way - I LOVED "The Cosby Show" growing up, and (gasp!) I still haven't "become black."

Get a clue, people. Religion aside (although my Catholic upbringing taught the same intolerance) - it all comes down to just plain ignorance.

[amanda b]

No disrespect to anyone (or their grandparents!), but I really don't get the world sometimes. As you said, violent media (which often promote an unrealistic and dangerous conceptualization of violence and death, by the way), get the green light at the theaters every time. Yet a portrayal of love between two people is somehow something people shouldn't see?

I guess I can respect a theater manager's right to not promote something he/she/they find morally wrong. If a theater were to refuse to show a movie that portrayed something like rape in a positive manner, I'd be sending them thank-you cards. The bigger problem that I see is that the people of Sandy, Utah who support this film aren't making a big enough stink over not being able to see it. Or maybe there just aren't enough people there who do support it. At the end of the day, theaters will show movies that will make money. It's not really such a bold move to yank this movie in Utah or the bible belt, where support for it was bound to be weak anyway. I'm guessing it's not being yanked by the religious powers-that-be in places like New York or Miami, where theaters would stand to lose lots of money. In my opinion, that's the bigger hypocrisy.

[sandra]

I agree -- it's ridiculous to ban this (amazing) movie. But what I really don't understand is why it would make sense to ban it, even from a religious perspective. I'd venture to say that people -- Mormon or otherwise -- see a variety of things every day that aren't approved of by the church. And although I don't know much about being Mormon (although I was raised Catholic -- so I get the guilt thing a bit), I'd think that removing information from people wouldn't be the way to go. Aren't people supposed to choose to be "good"?

That said, I think people are good in general -- gay or not...and I'm not sure if my point made sense when I wrote it down, but it made sense in my head!

[JAY]

Exactly. From a religious perspective, how does removing the temptation put you a step higher on the ladder to heaven? Would the higher road (in God's eyes) be to want to see the movie, defy your temptation and choose the "right" as the mormon's say.

[Plain Jane]

For what it's worth Brokeback is my favorite movie of the year. It just won best film by the critics choice awards and I found this on cnn.com. So anyone not seeing it is missing out.

"The New York Film Critics Circle gave the film its awards for best film, best director and best actor, for Heath Ledger.

"Brokeback Mountain" already won best film from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Saturday, and it earned eight nominations for the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday."

[mama]

Just woke up....(graves) My whole point wasn't about being gay or black or the movie or whatever,( I can't wait to see the movie, hear its great) It's that you still talk about you parents religion in such a disrespectful way, knowing full well that we are what we are. Seems to me if you knew it was a touchy subject with us, just knowing that, you would not talk about it AlOT so negatively. Know what you know, believe what you believe...but think once in awhile that we are out here reading. Just see it from our side a little. I don't hear you bashing any other religion, our "tithing" or her wafer eating. Whats the difference? It's all about respect, thats all. Now that being said, I'm done with my 2 cents worth,it's your blog. Write whatever you wish and I will love you forever, no matter what you say. No one can make a slippery street, or hot cup of coffee, any simple thought, sound as beautiful and take us right there with you as my wonderfully talented daughter can.You just amaze me daily!!! Actually, now I wish I wouldn't have opened this whole can of worms, after all, you can say and feel anything you want. That's what I admire about you so much, ehh, maybe still not so much about mormonism........Love you.

[cchild]

Mama,

Pull that no good sack of poo Son of yours and get him to come snowboarding with me up to the Snowbird. Tell him I will pick up the tab, I just need him to get out and join the living folk (me).

Love,

CChild

[Oceanix]

Mama, in reading Monicas post I didn't take it disrespectful toward you I see her standing up for the gay community. You should be proud of raising such an open minded person despite the community she was raised in.

[PLD]

It's curious to gauge reactions on this film. Is it a gay movie? A love story? Would it have been different had they been unknown actors? I'm finally seeing it tonight and am so curious to see how this New Yorker article was stretched into a 2-hour film.

Also, if you (monica) don't mind, I'd like to share one of the most interesting articles I've read about the movie.

http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid23334.asp

[mama]

Case... I sooo agree with you about coming out and joining the living. But honestly, think about it, when have I ever been able to convince Big B to do ANYTHING regarding anything about anything?? His couch has a perfect mold of his ass forever ingrained in its frame...Sorry, but keep working at it , he would listen to you before he ever listened to me. Love ya!

[mama]

oceanix, I am sooo proud of her, completely. Sorry, everyone for monopolizing all your space, and being such a downer. I apologize. Now everyone, lets go back to being our fun, happy,gay, spirited selves..... ready? GO.....

[Deb]

Oh my GAWD! There’s a cure of homosexuality? I need to get myself to the doctor. I’ve been to churches where they said, “Oh God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.” Great…Now I have engraved in my head, “God hates”… Lovely.

As a Christian lesbian, I “believe” that God loves all of us—regardless of “who we love”. I think it’s a shame that we have a lot of close-minded people trying to tell us what’s right and what’s wrong. For everybody falls short, right? Hypocrites. That’s what they are. They’re intimidated by the unknown. Then you have a lot of the ‘parents’ of their ~straight children~ against this movie, because they want their child to live a ‘normal life’. What the hell is normal anyway? Do we really want to be “normal”? Then I see some parents’ points of views as, “Well I wanna see my girl get married and have kids.” BUT---then my rational side of my brain says, “It’s not your life—you have no right to choose who they love!”

Okay, as far the movie, I haven’t seen it. I have heard a lot of ‘talk’ about it, and people against it. Just like a controversial blog that people bash---DON’T SEE IT! And if they’re worried about their children viewing it—you know something---be worried about your child getting in with the wrong crowd; be worried about your child doing drugs or getting an STD. There are so many other harmful things out there.

These people are clueless. Thanks for sharing this post. I loved it! Very well put!

[Another Monica]

Utah isn't the only place this movie isn't being shown. There are theaters all over the country that have chosen not to show this film.

It;s sad really. How messed up is our society when "Hostel" (an extremely violent film with sexual torture) is the #1 movie in the country and a really beautiful movie like "Brokeback Mountain" can't be seen by those who want to see it because someone else has decided they shouldn't.

[jenny]

There is a great deal of tolerance for christians of all sorts in western society. One tolerates them because they often affect the tone of "I'm just bumbling along, doing my best -- I may 'sin' by beating my wife every now and then, by having temper tantrums, and basically being unable to control myself, but underneath it all, I'm a good guy..and humble too!"

[Laura]

My goodness! i love how strong everyones opinions are on this. i loved Brokeback mountain, which i saw on a hot date with my gay best friend and his boyfriend (they were kind enough to allow a third wheel), as detailed in my blog. i'm never completely shocked by the Mormons (i grew up amongst them with a Mormon childhood best friend), so the Brokeback news wasn't really that upsetting. We live in a weird country, where despite our claims of freedom for all, certain things remain taboo and very off-limits. I miss the Brits, that's for sure. I'm so glad the movie was made, though!

[Chiacchierare]

What's being overlooked is that the theater owner appears to have breached a contract that he had with the distributor to show the film. If that's the case, the distributor clearly has grounds to sue.

That being said...Basta.

No one "banned" anything here. If you live in Sandy, Utah, and you wish to see the film, you still have that opportunity. That choice has not been taken away from you, contrary to what the gay rights advocate said in the article. I took the time to check MovieFone, and 3 of the first 15 listed theaters in that area are showing the film. What of the others in the area that are not showing it? Are they all run by intolerant homophobes as well? Contract breach aside, why aren't they getting the flak that this one theater is getting?

And out of curiosity, I checked MovieFone listings for my area -– a metropolitan area with a population at least 3 times that of Salt Lake City, with a substantial gay population and far, far fewer Mormons –- and...Brokeback Mountain is showing in 3 theaters. Just three. Can it possibly be that numerous theater owners don't expect the film, critically acclaimed or not, to do well at the box office? As of last weekend it only grossed 22.5 million -– more than it cost to make, but that total would barely put it in the top 100 grossing of films 2005 (behind several films with plenty of violence).

It's not always about what's going on in people's heads or hearts –- it's often about what's going in their pockets.

[Sisarie]

Mama you know what you are talking about:)

[Sisarie]

Monica, I love you and the whole celeb spotting bit just cracks me up. You are cute!