Plot: Set in the early 1960s, Brokeback Mountain tells the story of two men hired to herd sheep for the summer. These men, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, develop a romantic and sexual relationship, but break apart at the end of the summer. They both eventually end up marrying women, but their relationship continues throughout their lives.
Brokeback Mountain, released in 2005, was far from the first instance of a homosexual couple in Hollywood films. However, critics hailed the film as a shift in queer representation in films made for mainstream society. As critic B. Ruby Rich pointed out, the film had well-known director Ang Lee and famous stars such as Anne Hathaway, Heath Ledger, and Jake Gyllenhaal – these were all conducive to a palatable package for a general audience. The film and its actors, however, received criticism from queer audiences for their resistance of publicly describing the story as gay. These audiences also questioned why the trailer shows a heterosexual love scene, but not a kiss between the two men. Nonetheless, Brokeback Mountain represented LGBTQ+ relationships in a major Hollywood film, pushing a progressive notion previously unseen.
Rich, B. Ruby. “Brokeback Mountain: Hello Cowboy.” The Guardian, 22 Sept. 2005. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/sep/23/3