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  • Essay / The issue of discrimination in the film "Brokeback Mountain"

    The issue of discrimination has developed over the last century and can be seen represented in a series of multimodal texts. Ang Lee's 2000s romantic western Brokeback Mountain features rodeo cowboys Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar hired as sheepherders in Wyoming in the 1960s. A night on Brokeback Mountain, the place where they were hired, Jack expresses his sexual and emotional feelings towards Ennis which are ultimately reciprocated. For 20 years, the two men continued their secret affair while pretending to live a “normal” life by having heterosexual relationships and their own family. The film mainly focuses on the evolution of the characters and their complex relationships that they keep hidden from a society with traditional values ​​which shows how homosexuals were treated in the 1960s. The "Elevator" advertisement is released by the Australian Commission of Human Rights, a national human rights institution, and is part of “Racism. It stops with me.” Both visual texts draw on multiple modes to reflect society's views and depict the issue of discrimination relevant to American society in the 1960s and Australian society in 2017, Say No to Plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayBrokeback Mountain represents the issue of discrimination, in this case, against homosexuals through the use of setting and of dialogue. The film reflects aspects of the historical context, such as the "Lavender Scare" which sought to persecute people accused of being homosexual while working in government, schools, the military, and many other professions during The main setting of the film is the iconic Brokeback Mountain which exemplifies pure freedom of romantic and sexual expression. This is demonstrated through the use of long shots showing the vast mountain range and lush greenery which shows the mountain as being the place where Jack and Ennis can express themselves freely and where it is distanced from the conservative views of society. During a conversation between the men, Ennis says, "If we're together and this thing gets a hold of us at the wrong time, in the wrong place, we're dead." » The dialogue reflects the homophobic attitudes of the time, which held that if people had sexual relations with someone of the same sex, they risked being killed, fired from their jobs, and ostracized by society. The "Elevator" ad also represents the issue of discrimination, but it is aimed more at racial minorities through the combined use of close-ups, facial expressions and cuts. It was also developed in a different context, during the 2010s, where racism was fought through riots and protests such as the "March for Black Women" which took place in 2017 in Washington, United States. -United States, and Australia's Racial Discrimination Act to protect black women. those who are in the minority. The advert attempts to highlight the 21% of complaints under the Racial Discrimination Act regarding employment, as it is set in a working environment shown through the long shot of the building in which the advert takes place. During the commercial, the camera focuses on the man holding the elevator for a white woman, and through the close-up of his pleased facial expression, the viewer shows that he is happy to do so. Once the woman is inside the elevator, another woman runs towards.