For my Visual Rhetoric class this quarter we used Brokeback Mountain to discuss the theory of the sublime and for this discussion we read Davin Grindstaff’s article “The Fist and the Corpse: Taming the Queer Sublime in Brokeback Mountain” from the Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies journal. This article had incredible insights into the film I hadn’t thought of previously, mainly it showed how the film could be viewed through the lens of the sublime (being horrific yet wonderful simultaneously) and more specifically what Grindstaff calls the “queer sublime” (Grindstaff, 255). I agree with Grindstaff that the film uses the code of a classic western film to make the story more palatable.

To me, no film can push homophobic viewers to overcome their thoughts on homosexuality. I have dealt with some truly horrific hatred towards gay and lesbians and I don’t know if any movie could convince them otherwise. The film does however confront the viewer with a beautiful love story and I think it moves them to consider their own views on homosexuality and homophobia - what Grindstaff calls “the queer corpse” (Grindstaff, 231).