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Brokeback Mountain

Why I'm Glad I Saw Brokeback Mountain

03/09/2006 05:43 AM Filed in: Movies | Theology

Say what you want about Brokeback Mountain, but there’s no denying that the film has taken the national media and popular culture by storm. The movie has done more to force the homosexual agenda into the national spotlight than any other single issue, policy, or debate in the last ten years. Thursday I sat down for a free screening of the film.
Already there will be some Christians who will be upset with me. “How can you watch that?” “That movie is from the Devil himself!” “A Christian has no business seeing that filth.”
So why do most Christians feel that they shouldn’t see the film? In general I continue to hear two basic reasons:

Many Christians are (understandably) uncomfortable with the subject matter. They believe that homosexuality is sin (a belief that the Bible teaches, and that I whole-heartedly agree with) and they don’t want to see it portrayed in the cinema.
Many Christians don’t want their money to go toward what they perceive as supporting the homosexual agenda (as of the time of this writing, Brokeback had taken in nearly $79 million).

Though I understand both of these reservations, I think many of us are doing a disservice to ourselves by not seeing it. I think a logical refutation to previous arguments is as follows:
Most Christians have no problem going to see movies that portray violence, divorce, gossip, lying, profanity, drug use, or a host of other things that the Bible teaches against. Even PG and G rated films often portray some of the above. To compound the argument: gossip, divorce, and lying are preached against much more in the Bible than homosexuality is. For most of us to say that we won’t see Brokeback Mountain because of the fact that it portrays sin is hypocritical.
But why should we see the movie? Please don’t misunderstand me; I don’t think every Christian needs to see this film (although I certainly would encourage ministers to). However, I think it helps us in an area that we desperately need help in as a Christian community: coming to a point where we can, at least to some degree, understand and sympathize with homosexuals. And I believe that is the number one reason most Christians don’t want to see this movie: we want nothing to do with the homosexual community, and we certainly don’t want to sympathize with them.
[Warning: Spoilers Ahead]
The film itself is very well made. The acting is superb, and the cinematography of the Wyoming mountains and sky is breathtaking. However, the content is what has made this film so important. It portrays two young cowboys who fall in love with one another over the course of several months while keeping watch over a large flock of sheep.
When the time comes for their job to end, both men part ways, marry women, have children and begin families of their own. Over the next twenty years they see each other when they can, continuing the love affair that began when they were young men.
As a Christian, there is nothing comfortable about this subject matter. However, the film does a remarkable job of showing the pain that their relationship caused them, their wives, and their families. One man ends up divorced while the other is eventually murdered for his sexual persuasion. Unfortunately, the unspoken message that seems to come through is that if only the two men had decided to see each other exclusively from the beginning, no one would have been hurt.
No matter what your opinion on the morality of homosexuality is, this is a sad film. Two women are emotionally scarred for life; another is made to feel like it’s her fault that a serious relationship ended. Heath Ledger’s two daughters are left torn between their mother and father in a difficult divorce situation. Two men that love each other are left heart broken over the way their lives have turned out. If you say you are a kingdom of God person and that you love people, this is a sad story.
Sadder still is the fact that there are homosexuals all over the United States that feel much the same way as these men feel in the movie: sad, beaten down, disappointed. What they don’t need is for the church to come against them in anger and show them their sin while bashing gays and yelling about morality and the sanctity of marriage (more than a few critics of Christianity have noticed that, ironically, the divorce rate is higher among Christians who are screaming about the sanctity of marriage than among unbelievers). What they do need is for the church to show them the love of Jesus Christ and wrap their arms around them. We need to embrace homosexuals, not shun them.
Does that mean that we embrace homosexuality? No—not by any means. Homosexuality is not the problem, though; a fallen world that needs Christ is the problem. Homosexuality is merely one symptom. Once homosexuals or liars or drug addicts or gossipers or pornographers or murderers come to Christ, then they can worry about having Him clean them up and rescue them from their sin.
We all struggle with something whether it is homosexuality or anger or gossip. What I’m desperately tired of seeing the Christian church do is elevate the sins that most of us don’t struggle with (i.e., homosexuality, abortion) above the ones that we do (i.e., divorce, judgmentalism).
What Brokeback Mountain did for me was open my heart a little more to the homosexual community. Though we can’t and shouldn’t try to justify the sin, we should make every effort to love and understand the people. They don’t need an angry mob waving signs (honestly, has that ever worked?). Just like us, they need Jesus Christ to rescue them from a fallen condition.
I’m glad I saw the movie.

Tags: Brokeback Mountain, Homosexual Community, compassion