I wasn’t particularly affected by Brokeback Mountain when I watched the film last year but when I saw this book I felt it was a beautiful opportunity to revisit it. I enjoyed comparing the short story with the screenplay, and then again with the images from the film in my head. Giving Annie Proulx and the two screenwriters, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, the space to write about their experience bringing the story to life was the perfect way to round off the book. I found myself much more affected by the sadness that permeates the story this time around. Like Diana said, revisiting the story gave me the chance to see how everyone was unhappy not just Jack and Ennis.
I’ve never been to Wyoming - I couldn’t be further from there - but I am from a rural area reliant on farming. While society is much more accepting now than when Brokeback is set, parts of it still ring true. Annie Proulx’s love for her home came through so strongly and it made me consider my own home too. Seeing queer stories play out in rural communities is something so close to my heart. We shouldn’t have to go to cities to feel like we’re allowed to exist. Obviously that isn’t what happens in Brokeback, the very opposite in fact, but the very acknowledgment of our existence in this setting is important.