Brokeback Mountain (2005) & Open Range (2003)

Essay Outline
My introduction paragraph starts my essay talking about how in history, western movies often center around the stereotypical masculine cowboy archetype. Usually, the protagonist is a courageous hero seeking justice or revenge, such as in ‘Open Range’ (2003) directed by Kevin Costner. In this film, the close friendship between Charley and Boss remains strictly platonic, and Charley lives happily ever after with his wife, Sue. Challenging the western genre and films like ‘Open Range’ comes ‘Brokeback Mountain’ (2005). This award winning film revolves around rugged cowboys Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar and tells the story of their forbidden love. A Hollywood film like this, for its time, was incredibly bold, as it sparked conversations around LGBTQ+ representation in genres typically dominated by plots with a heterosexual romance.
In my second paragraph I’ll dive a little deeper into the type of analysis used in relation to the brief plot summary of ‘Brokeback Mountain’. By combining queer theory and existential analysis I’ll talk about how the film was a powerful critique of societal and gender norms, as well as human identity in relation to same-sex love.
My third paragraph will center around one example of each of the technical aspects of the film such as structure, mise en scene, camera movement and editing, and how those elements drive the story forward, while relating them to the most climactic scenes such as Jack and Ennis’s first kiss, Alma discovering the men’s secret affair, and Ennis receiving the news that Jack has died.
The main idea in the fourth paragraph will include how the symbolism, plot twists, red herrings and easter eggs advance the film’s themes and purpose such as the symbolism of the shirts, and the way Ennis imagines Jack dying.
My conclusion paragraph restates my thesis, and wraps up my points, all while keeping the whole essay under 1000 words – which will be difficult, I love this movie so much I could talk about it for days.