Audience Laughter During the Gay Scenes in Brokeback Mountain?- Page 2

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 10:54am

You can't consider much of the public to be the great unwashed who need to have their minds changed about gay people by seeing this movie and then complain about them behaving like the great unwashed.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 10:58am

By the way, what was it that Jake's father-in-law said that made him say "Sit down you old son of a bitch before I knock your ignorant ass into next week"? The sound quality was horrible.

[DG]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 11:00am

CS - something along the 'party line' of men needing football/sports in their lives.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 11:08am

people always laugh when nervous, it's normal. No one laughed when I saw it. People that leave are the ones that piss me off.....especially during the first intimate scene

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 11:18am

I wouldn't grind away too hard on audiences laughter at BBM...

...think about this (and it's Broadway-related!!!)...

When "A Streetcar Named Desire" first went into previews, Blanche's violent rape scene got laughs as well. LAUGHS. Marlon Brando was beside himself. He was certain it was his fault and that he just pretty much sucked in the part. He was extremely frustrated and tortured about it. Why could they possibly be laughing at something so RAW like this??? His co-star Jessica Tandy explained it to him this way: She said they were nervous, and caught off-guard, and didn't know WHAT to do with their emotions. People laugh, almost as a knee-jerk reaction... a defense mechanism when they can't figure out what else to do. They're trying to "process" what they are watching and their own confused and mixed feelings all at the same time. And they laugh, and even smirk.

Brando said that for MOST of the run of "Streetcar" (don't forget this was the late '40s), the rape seen ALWAYS had people in the audience letting loose with "nervous laughter."

Granted the laughter you hear while watching BBM may not sound "nervous" to you... but that's exactly what they're doing... they're "laughing it off" because they haven't really figured out how to react to seeing (and possibly "caring" about) two gay cowboys in a movie.

I wouldn't get angry or upset by it. Hey, they were interested enough (for whatever their reasons) to buy a ticket and see this film. I give 'em points for that. The laughter is immature, yes... but it's a valid and honest reaction to something very new and unsettling to them. I would cut them some slack, and not stew too much about it. Give them a chance, and be patient. It's a small step in the right direction, at the very least, that they showed up at all.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 11:24am

I also hear similar stories from people who heard a lot of hysterical laughter during Schindler's List.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 11:33am

Well, I never heard "hysterical laughter" during Schindler's List, but I remember people openly sobbing during it. I mean LOUD, gut-wrenching sobs. A few had to leave the theatre to collect themselves.

Human emotions are very complex and powerful. And we (all) can lose control of them at times.

I'm sure the guys who laughed or snickered during BBM are thinking about it still. I'd bet money on it. That movie stays with you, long after it's over. It's one of the best things about it.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 11:36am

She said they were nervous, and caught off-guard, and didn't know WHAT to do with their emotions. People laugh, almost as a knee-jerk reaction... a defense mechanism when they can't figure out what else to do.

No, no, no, that makes too much sense. I have it on good authority that the people laughing are "stupid, immature idiots."

[OddExoticCreature]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 11:39am

I laughed out loud during the scene where Jack shot at the coyote, missed completely, it jumped and ran away.

This is coming from someone who wanted to move to Montana and save the wolves as a child, and also who played way too much Oregon Trail.

[JACXR71]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 11:54am

I agree with Emcee, that a lot of the laughter comes out of the irony. A lot of time, my first instinct was to laugh (though I usually didn't), not because I thought the scene was funny, but rather because, I don't know, it was like "aww sh*t, look what's going to happen now." The same nervous laughter that occurs in other movies, not because you're uncomfortable in a homophobic way, but because you're legitimately invested in what's going on on screen, and you're uncomfortable due to the conflict the scene has created. Some people's natural reaction to that type of discomfort is laughter. So I don't think the laughter can be written off as ignorance or homophobia.

Did that make sense? Doesn't look like it did - hopefully I got my point across, though.


ETA - And I also just saw that what I just said has already been said, and much more eloquently, at that...guess I should learn not to skim

Updated On: 1/22/06 at 11:54 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:07pm

JACXR71 --- The "nervous laughter" is from something short circuiting inside them emotionally. It can be homophobia, repulsion, arousal, fear, or anything else... I'm not trying to say what's going on inside ALL individuals heads and hearts while they're watching this. Everyone is different. They're all trying to process some sudden emotion at this point in the story... and it's short-circuiting on them... because many people in our society haven't dealt with how they feel about watching and/or caring about two gay lead characters in a film (in this case).

But the bottom line it that it's "nervous laughter." What's the cause of it? Many different reasons, for many different people. And yeah, stupidity might be one of them... but those people are not laughing because it's genuinely funny... they're laughing because they can't figure out what else to do inside their (underdeveloped) heads. But those are the same geniuses that laugh at train wrecks and murders.

Updated On: 1/22/06 at 12:07 PM

[Broadway_Baby]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:15pm

I am happy to say that I had a very respectful and courteous audience. No snide remarks, no laughter and not a single person left before the movie finished.


I was pleased.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:21pm

I'm having a problem in understanding laughing at someone in real pain. I hope it never happens to me.

Cruel-love your av. He's an idol of mine!

[DG]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:29pm

B-Baby - While I agree that snide remarks (or the 'puking noises' that Jerby referenced) would be disrespectful, I'm still not in agreeance that a response of laughter can automatically be placed in the same category.

As I said earlier, my own response of laughter had mostly to do with how I responded to the film-maker's choice of presentation (which I believe Auggie commented on with typical astuteness.) While I may not have had the response that many others seem to have had to the film, in no way do I think I was being disrespectful to my fellow movie-goers, and I'm quite willing to give that consideration to the other patrons.

I think it's difficult at best, and dangerous at worst, to assume what's going on in someone's head based on such limited information as a response of laughter.

[LaurenB]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:32pm

Your assumption is that laughter is aimed AT someone, which is an incorrect assumption.

Didn't you ever talk to someone who fought in Vietnam? One guy I know said that when the bullets were hitting the ground right next to him (and yes, he was shot), his first reaction was, "Gee, just like a John Wayne movie." He could see the humor of the situation. Updated On: 1/31/06 at 12:32 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:34pm

I think it's difficult at best, and dangerous at worst, to assume what's going on in someone's head based on such limited information as a response of laughter. ~DG

Very well said. (and probably more clearly than I did)

While I think the response was "nervous laughter" and a short-circuiting of emotions, even in your case, the reason for it is going to vary widely from person to person.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:35pm

LaurenB, I agree that we laugh at many horrific incidents later, much later after they happened. We're able to look back and laugh. But to laugh while they are happening-well, I just don't have as much understanding as some of you do. I don't get it.

[DG]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:38pm

Jane - my initial reaction to your post was the same as Lauren's. If someone asked me directly, "Do you REALLY think it's funny that Ms. William's character is being used, abused and mistreated like that?", my reaction would be, "Of course not!" But, if someone asked, "So, do you think Mr. Lee's choice to present that aspect of Mr. Ledger's situation in that way was funny?", I would answer, "Why, yes I did - that's why I laughed."

It goes back to that assumption of why people are responding with laughter in the first place - and then a judgement of character being made based on the fact they laughed. I just don't think it's that simple.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:44pm

DG-I'm not even talking about the film. I consider laughing at parts of a film which are meant to be taken seriously much less hurtful than seeing a person in real pain and laughing right at that moment. To me, that might be more hurtful than the pain. I have no understanding of that whatsoever.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:46pm

much less hurtful, but still hurtful?

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:47pm

Laugther can be a terrific defense mechanism... and a very good one to keep one's "perceived" sanity. These people in the theatre are experiencing something they're not used to and it's throwing them off. Laughter is their way

Two random examples...

Ever watch M*A*S*H? The doctors (as characters) aren't joking in the operating room just to be cocky or to entertain us as the audience. Or because they think that someone arriving in the O.R. with bullets in them, or a leg shot off, is the right time to crack a joke. They're using (sometimes WAY twisted) humor at that moment just to keep their sanity. (Brilliant writing choice, by the way.)

Bonnie Hunt has often said that when she was working as a nurse with terminally ill patients that they had the BEST senses of humor... over everyone she's ever met, watched or worked with. These people knew FUNNY. They could and did laugh about anything, even the most irreverent or taboo stuff. Just to keep their sanity while they were slowly dying. She said that she learned the most from them... about humor, and about life.

Humor is a very powerful human tool.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:48pm

As long as they stay, and their laughter is directed at moments they themselves are not emotionally prepared to handle, I see it meremly as part of a learning curve. Many straight Americans support gay rights conceptually, but never or rarely, see actual gay love. The first reaction to seeing two men make love, at least for me, was some discomfort, because it was something I was not used to see or desireing. But within a couple of moments, it seemed natural. I just had to re-wire my internal boundaries to recognize that although this was not natural for me, it was natural, and then I was fine. I might giggle or cringe at first sight - just because it was something that I was not used to seeing (Now please don't yell at me for being honest).

There has always been a disconnect bewteen agreeing that gay love is normal, and actually watching it in action. For many years, I would just tell my gay best friend, "I am glad your in love, but please, no pillow talk" because I was not mature enough to recognize that his physical enactment of love was just as normal as mine. It took all of about three minutes of watching two gay men in love to get over this mental mind block on my part.

That is why I say if they giggled or squirmed and stayed in the theater - they probably had never seen it before, so cut them some slack. Tbey are learning, and their own internal boudaries are being re-wired to understand that this is normal and right.

If they walked out, treated it as a spectator sport and yelled, or otherwise intentionally distracted from the viewing of the movie, well, then, they are just asses.

[DG]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:51pm

Jane - if you're talking in just a general sense - in the REAL world with REAL people in REAL pain - then I'm pretty much with you completely. I felt very 'out of the loop' during the "Schadenfreude" number in AVENUE Q, as I just don't get laughing at the misfortune of others.

[Jane2]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:52pm

Yes, Papa, still hurtful. It does bother me if I'm into a film and totally get the meaning but other people are laughing. I hate that. But to stand and watch someone writhing in pain and LAUGH at it-I can't think anything more cruel. It's called sadism.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/22/06 at 12:53pm

YouWantitWhen???? --- Bravo! A very Yoda-wise post.



I'm glad to read this. The "theory" of gay acceptance and the "practice" of it, are two different things, and it's tough for people to own up to it. Thanks for being so honest here.

(...said the "homo" to the "straight.")