Consuming Passions: “Educating Desire” in Brokeback Mountain

摘要

The archetypal cowboy is a staple trope of U.S. culture and, increasingly, of global culture as well. Brokeback Mountain, the so-called “gay cowboy movie,” has been variously hailed and condemned for breaking new ground for sexual politics, and in so doing, subverting the sacred character of the cowboy. In this essay, however, I apprehend the film in terms of its significance for cultural politics more broadly, arguing that while the film unsettles the cowboy ethos, it is reanimated rather than subverted. I identify how, within the broader historical and cultural context of the frontier myth of origin and the cowboy ethos, Brokeback Mountain revitalizes this powerful narrative for contemporary U.S. audiences—including and especially for current economic times—in salient ways. Specifically, I argue that this film “educates desire” in strategic ways that offer rhetorical redress for contemporary cultural tensions entailed by consumption.View full textDownload full textKeywordsCowboy, Western, Sexuality, Desire, ConsumptionRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2010.514932