'Brokeback' canceled at Utah theater; shrieking harridans applaud the move

Of course, you should probably do the dropping sometime BEFORE it's too
late, not after. In Miller's case, it was too late to change the ads in
Friday's paper, and patrons showed up at Jordan Commons on Friday
expecting to see the movie.

But here's the funny part: Larry Miller, who owns not just Jordan
Commons but the Gateway Megaplex downtown, DIDN'T KNOW what "Brokeback
Mountain" was about?! What kind of bubble do you live in to not have
heard AT LEAST the basic two-word summary that everyone uses to
describe the film? (It's the "gay cowboy" movie.) Even your everyday
citizens have surely heard about the film, but this guy -- who OWNS
MOVIE THEATERS -- hasn't? I think that's hilarious.

Naturally, Utah's Eagle Forum was quick to applaud the decision. The
Eagle Forum is run locally by Gayle Ruzicka, an ultra-conservative
activist who wields enormous influence over Utah politicians despite
holding no elected office. She speaks quickly and harshly against
anything that cannot be squeezed into her very narrow, very
black-and-white, very religious worldview. (Being religious is not a
problem, of course. But expecting everyone around you to follow the
same rules is.) She's so conservative -- and so outspoken about it --
that even some of the conservative Mormons around her say, "Dang, she's
really conservative."

One of the better examples of her hyperbole and fear-mongering was
during the 2002 Winter Olympics, when she spoke out against the Salt
Lake Organizing Committee's having condoms available to athletes, free
for the asking, at the Olympic Village health center. "Where are the
athletes ... getting their sex partners?" she asked. "Are they bringing
their own with them ... or are they going out on the streets of Salt
Lake City looking for our sons and daughters? Are we giving them
permission to do this with the distribution of
condoms?!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!" [extra hysterical punctuation added])

Anyway, here's what Gayle said about the decision not to show "Brokeback Mountain" at Jordan Commons:

"I think it sets an example for all the people in Utah and, like I said
before, he's my new hero.... It's such a terrible show, and it is such
a horrible message. I just think (pulling it) tells the young people
especially that maybe there is something wrong with this show."

Some points:

POINT NO. 1: It's not a "show," Gayle, it's a movie. Shows are on TV or
in live theatrical or concert venues. If it's been filmed and is now
being projected on a screen, it's a movie.

POINT NO. 2: How do you know it's such a terrible movie, Gayle? Have
you seen it? I would bet money that you have not. I suspect you're
relying on your legions of flying monkeys to report back to you on its
content -- "It has men in love with each other!" -- and that's as far
as you went. You can dislike a film's message, as gleaned from outside
sources, but don't call a movie "terrible" unless you've actually seen
it.

POINT NO. 3: If you HAVE seen it, shame on you. It's rated R.

POINT
NO. 4: Gayle, you hypocritical gargoyle, do you know what movies DID
open at Jordan Commons on Friday? "Grandma's Boy" and "Hostel." If
we're talking just about content, and not dealing with matters of
artistic or entertainment merit, both films are far more graphic and
potentially damaging to the community than "Brokeback Mountain." Unlike
"Brokeback Mountain," which has one brief, fully clothed sex scene
between two men and a few brief scenes of heterosexual married sex
later on, "Grandma's Boy" and "Hostel" feature wall-to-wall profanity,
sexual vulgarity, nudity, very graphic illicit sexual activity, and
rampant drug use. On top of that, "Hostel" also has gruesome, horrific
violence and gore.

And that's just the onscreen content! If we get into the ideas or
"themes" of the films, it's much more disturbing. We have premarital
sex being encouraged, promiscuous young people being lionized, drug use
being championed, and sadistic torturers of human beings being granted
a free pass.

But don't worry, Gayle! "Grandma's Boy" and "Hostel" may be depraved,
degrading and salacious -- but at least don't have any implications of
adult men being in love with each other! So they're totally fine, and
Larry Miller can still be your new hero even though he's showing them.
I wonder, though. If pulling "Brokeback Mountain" tells young people
that there's something wrong with the movie, does NOT pulling "Hostel"
or "Grandma's Boy" tell young people that there's NOT something wrong
with them? If one move is a condemnation, then the other, logically,
has to be an endorsement.

(By the way, last weekend the Broadway Centre's box office for
"Brokeback Mountain" was 12th-highest among the 300-plus theaters that
were showing it. I'm sure the folks at the Broadway are happy to have
Jordan Commons cancel it, because it means more audiences for them.)

Sources:
<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3379572">The Salt Lake Tribune</a>
<a href="http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635174579,00.html">Deseret Morning News</a>