Trying to fit in

Nothing is hotter right now than gay cowboys. You might even say "I wish I knew how to quit you" is the new "You had me at hello." \n"Brokeback Mountain," the Golden Globe - winning movie and eight-time Oscar nominee, about two gay men who face daunting obstacles to express their love, is apparently the most humorous film to hit theaters since "Wedding Crashers." Even David Letterman created a Top 10 list about the movie called "Top 10 Signs You Are a Gay Cowboy." Such signs include: "Sold your livestock to buy tickets to 'Mamma Mia!'" and "Native Americans refer to you as Dances With Men." Jay Leno joked, "Hey, just a week to go until Elton John's wedding. You know where Elton's honeymooning? Brokeback Mountain." \nWhile the jokes might be a step forward in terms of society reaching a certain level of tolerance, as Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation President Neil Guiliano said, the level of hilarity has taken on a distinctly homophobic feel. Take San Antonio TV anchor Chris Marrou, who commented on Reese Witherspoon's People's Choice Award by asking, "Why didn't they just give one of those guys from 'Brokeback Mountain' best actress?"\nEven President Bush, a Stetson-wearing Texas cowboy himself, has been touched by the omnipresent movie. When a Kansas State University student asked his opinion of the film, the president shrewdly shied away from the topic. "I'd be glad to talk about ranching," he said, "but I haven't seen the movie." Maybe the president should have referred the student's question to his nomination for Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Alito. From striking down a policy that protected gay students from harassment to his narrow interpretation of the Constitution's guarantee of liberty, Justice Alito surely would have had a well-pronounced opinion on a film about gays. \nLuckily producer James Schamus took the jokes rather well. "It's essentially flattering," he said. And regarding the jokes that cross the line and reek of homophobic sentiment, Schamus said, "It says more about those making the jokes than about the movie."\nAnd that's just the thing. The movie is deemed controversial simply because it is based on a love story between two people of the same sex. But maybe the controversy lies less in the film than in the reaction to it. \nNot everyone deems the film to be amusing. In a culture that continues to remain heated over gay rights, opinions on the "gay cowboy" movie are dividing the nation. Take the Megaplex theater in Sandy, Utah, for example. Hours before opening, the theater management posted a sign at the ticket window that read: "There has been a change in booking and we will not be showing 'Brokeback Mountain.' We apologize for any inconvenience." Funny how the theater had no problem screening the gruesome and bloody horror film "Hostel".\nNot only did the theater's management team make a morally questionable decision by canceling the showing, but a financially erroneous one as well. The movie broke two box office records its opening weekend and was nominated for eight Academy Awards.\nAbove all, Christian and family rights groups have claimed the movie is anti-marriage and propaganda for the so-called homosexual agenda. Actually, the film's agenda is more of a wake-up call. The underlying message of the movie shows how homosexuals, even in the present day, must do everything they can to hide or deny their sexual identities. \nSo much for "Brokeback Mountain" writer, Anne Proulx, who hoped the film would "awaken in people an empathy for diversity."\nBut it's not just the right-wing organizations that are speaking up. It's also the average Joe, dragged to the movie by his girlfriend, who is extremely uncomfortable watching two men kiss. And considering "Brokeback Mountain" is about cowboys -- the very embodiment of male virtues in American culture -- men these days are probably feeling their masculinity is on the line. \nI encourage Americans to put their stereotypes and intolerant views aside for two hours and go see what this film is all about. Maybe, just maybe, people will realize that the classification of Brokeback as "a gay cowboy movie" is a cruel simplification at best. So go see the film not because it is controversial, but because it's well-acted and well-photographed. See it because it's entertaining while at the same time tear-jerking. And see it because it's a realistic drama about "forbidden love" and unobtainable dreams.