Problem
Readings: Brokeback Mountain, by Annie Proulx
Choose one Film to View: Boys Don't Cry, Brokeback Mountain, Milk, Transamerica (You are responsible for locating and viewing one of these films. Contact your facilitator early if you are having trouble obtaining access to one of these films.)
Stonewall Riot Online Archive at Columbia University
I. Which film did you choose to watch this week? What was most thought-provoking about the film? Pay particular attention to the ways that the film redefines, resists, or perhaps fails to achieve a version of the American Dream. What were the particular struggles that the protagonist faced in accessing his or her "dream," based on his or her sexual and/or gender identity?
II. Discuss your experience reading Brokeback Mountain. Jack Twist proposes a scenario to Ennis del Mar that would provide them with a piece of the traditional American Dream. What was Ennis' reaction to the proposal? Was it justified? Why did he feel the way that he felt about Jack's proposal?
III. Have you known (or known of) anyone who has been discriminated against because of their sexual identity? What were the circumstances? Was the discrimination justified? Are there areas of life that are particularly fiercely protected from people who do not fit into the dominant heterosexual binary? How does that sort of ideological discrimination compare to the kinds of discrimination we have studied thus far (racial, class-based, religious, or gender discrimination)? Do you think sexual identity is a barrier to the American Dream?