twhy, I have to disagree about some of these arts that you say aren't as much about politics. Grapes of Wrath is about the human spirit, but the whole idea is not abandoning that because of politics. It puts the human spirit into politics, or political issues. I think that is every bit as important as isolating the human spirit alone. Huckleberry Finn is about politics because it portrayed as human a person of a race that had been dehumanized for hundreds of years in the U.S. As for what is wrong with 19th century values... I would say the idea that slavery is ok would be one thing. Adding to that list I would throw in Ragtime, A Face in the Crowd, Sullivan's travels, Dr. Strangelove, all as dealing with politics and being fine pieces of art.
YYYEEESSS!!! Greg Olson Inducted 2004 When one thinks of gay rodeo, many dynamic competitors come to mind. Among fans of gay rodeo, a trademark polka dot shirt looms large even today. This gentleman, and he truly was a gentleman, was the epitome of sportsmanship both inside and outside the arena. He brought many new competitors to his home association in Phoenix and a higher level of competition to gay rodeo. Consistently scoring in the 600-800 point range, he was an eight-time All Around winner - including the one year we had co-all around champions. Never one to pass up the opportunity to be of assistance to a "newbie", he did his best to help someone beat him at his own game. And he was more excited at being beaten by someone he was helping get started in rodeo than he was to win an event himself. He even purchased a new dually truck and six-horse trailer so he could haul horses to other rodeos for his association teammates. Together with his great horse JJ, he won more awards, ribbons and titles than can be mentioned here. If you ever saw his impersonation of Dolly, you will remember that he even brought a new level to "camp drag". Although he passed away in the mid-1990s, he will never be forgotten.
Let me add a couple plays to the list of artwork that is political and still holds its character. The Hairy Ape - Eugene O'Neil Waiting for Lefty - Clifford Odets Another book I just thought of was Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"
you guys need to realize that twhy77 is looking for absolutes. one day he'll realize there are no such things and that only some cowboys are gay.
To days of inspiration Playing hooky, making something out of nothing The need to express - To communicate, To going against the grain, Going insane Going mad To loving tension, no pension To more than one dimension, To starving for attention, Hating convention, hating pretension Not to mention of course, Hating dear old mom and dad To riding your bike, Midday past the three piece suits To fruits - to no absolutes - To Absolut - to choice - To the Village Voice - To any passing fad La vie Boheme
Actual "gayness" of the movie aside, that is with out a doubt the gayest title for a movie I have ever heard. Hell I bet (with little to no knowledge on the subject) that there aren't gay pornos out there with less gay names than this. Jeez, Brokeback Mountain, that's GAY!!!! /no offense of course
Maybe my argument hasn't been all together clear. I am not saying that art cannot be about politics. Heck, reading Aristotle's Politics would be pretty pointless. My point is this, when art is concerned with the didactic teaching of a certain political truth, i.e. gay is good, or abortion is bad; whatever the issue, it is cheapens the art. I wish I had the quote from Tolstoy because he's infinitely more eloquent than I. Capice?
You cannot judge a civilization based on ancient text. A lot of Greek mythology and stories have some "not so straight" elements, but you cannot judge the current Greek culture because of that.
Here's a good link to what I'm talking about in regards to greek mythology: Mythology of same-sex love
I haven't seen the movie but my understanding is that it neither posits that being gay is good nor bad; it simply is. And the notices have all said that one of the interesting things about the film is that it is intrisically non-political. I can see how you might differ with that, being from a school of thought that states that homosexuality is bad. But the movie, as I understand it, only says that there are gay people in this world, they sometimes fall in love and that that is difficult for them. Calling that political art while dismissing the broad socio-political implications of the great many works of art mentioned in this thread is as much a paper tiger as calling equal rights "special" ones.
I never once mentioned anything specific to this movie except that I haven't seen it! Gosh! All I said was; art isn't that great when its chief object is to push home a political message. Take it this way, Wizard of Oz; really a populist analogy running throughout the whole movie. If I watched the movie just thinking about those themes, I wouldn't like it very much, in fact when I do it the thing pretty much sucks; but if I watch it and think about witches and getting courage, and how power can corrupt; I end up liking the movie more. Never said anything about this movie because I haven't seen it.
Okay, I read you wrong twhy. Sorry about that. I thought you were arguing that this movie was political. If not, my bad. To anyone who is making the argument that this movie pushes a political agenda, I'd be interested to hear why you think that.
A rare opportunity to laugh in the D&D. My brother and I put this together today. Bear Back Mountain Episode One
You might be right and I might've misheard Givens on that story. That still doesn't change that there have and very likely still are gay pro-atheletes.
I was wondering about that. I don't recall seeing the sort of PDA that you describe in China, Hong Kong, Singapore or Japan. Indonesia, Thai and Malays may hold hands in public with those of the same gender but I don't recall seeing rubbing chests. A lot of Chinese in SE Asia are considered uptight and hesitant about showing PDA even between those of different genders. I know my parents were very loathe to show PDA and some GF's of mine have accused me of being too Chinese when I don't show enough PDA.
