Brokeback Mountain Move Controversies - Essay Example

Teacher The article highlights the controversies associated with the release of the move ‘Brokeback Mountain’, in the 1060’s, in the Bahamas. The Control Board expressed deep disagreement of playing this film in playhouses. The text has criticized this behavior, of the control board, as not having the authority of working independent of society, and that they are leading society into a backward era. The writer has quoted how well “God and the Naked Nigger”-the play did, despite receiving much criticism from the control board, to suggest that even when the control board has its reservations about a particular issue, the general public may not be in full agreement of them. The purpose of writing such a text was basically to open minds and indicate that times have changed and that society has moved forward. What may have been unacceptable to people in the past, may not be criticized today. The prevalence of democracy and freedom of expression allows individuals to make decisions based on their own judgment, without having restrictions placed on social activities, events, or in this case, screening of movies. The writers’ style of writing is highly argumentative, where he presents various points in support of his idea that there should be freedom of media that should not, in any way, be restricted by control boards. The author displays confidence when he argues for his point of view. His style of writing can easily persuade readers into supporting what he has to say about this particular issue The text is written in a tone that is bridging on bringing about a revolution and is trying to broaden the horizons of the readers’ thoughts. This tone gains strength as the text progresses towards the end. For example, in the 14th paragraph, we can see the writer speak about how control boards should extend their control beyond playhouses and theaters, if they really want to suppress an issue that they have deep reservations about. This argument is taken a step further by the author in paragraph 15 where he cautions about being careful when imposing such restrictions on society. In paragraph 16, he also goes on to state how people should not miss out on an opportunity to speak out their views about what they think is right or wrong, because freedom of speech is now a very significant part of the society, and to a greater extent, the world we live in. In order to support his argument, the author has cited the example of “God and the Naked Nigger”, and the audiences’ favorable response to the play, despite the lack of decency and modesty in it. Some may criticize the lack of documentation of events in the text, but since the text quotes how well the play was received, it may seem to convince the reader that perhaps this instance is correctly cited by the writer. However, for those readers, who do not believe in fallacies, unless presented with facts, this text may seem to be weak when trying to convince them with the evidence that the author has presented. Of course such readers may question the validity of the example the author has quoted in term of statistics (how well “God and the Naked Nigger” was received in numbers, how many places the play was shown at to determine how well it did, etc.). Furthermore, some readers might also find this unconvincing because “God and the Naked Nigger”- the play, is just one example quoted by the author of a well received play that was on the censor boards list to prevent it from being presented. Perhaps the core paragraph of this text is the 15th paragraph, where the writer reiterates the presence of ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’. This core paragraph can later be seen, being supported by the 23rd, 24th and 25th paragraph, where an emphasis on how the public should be given liberty to participate in social events of their own choice, and that if a movie such as ‘Brokeback Mountain’ received so much opposition because of its theme, and it questions what steps are authorities such as control boards are planning to take, to get rid of issues that are more profound in society. The writer highlights the themes of ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ throughout the text, even without overusing the keywords to prove his point. His style of backing his argument with an example, makes his argument more convincing than one which would simple display a person’s views on ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’, when related to the screening of a movie We can see the writer bringing about his emotional attachment to this issue in some of the words he uses in the text. His emphasis on the word ‘backward’ shows how he highly disapproves of the control boards’ activities of deeming what is an acceptable, according to their own standards. His use of the example of olden days, when illiteracy forced people to crowd around one radio, shows how he fears that once again such situations may arise, but now in a different context i.e. the public succumbing to the disapprovals of the control boards, without making their own judgments, even when they are given the freedom. By the end of the text, the writer seems to get very emotional about the argument that he has presented, though his claim of society ‘crowding around a radio’ once again, may seem to be a little extreme, since not all sections of society give in, to the views of others. Rather, they prefer to pay heed to what their own judgments are. Such sections of society may not be large in number, but this point does show that the author has presented a very extreme view of how society is moving ‘backward’. This, overall, is a powerful article. It helps broaden a person’s mind and tries to make them understand the importance of using the freedom they have to the best of their advantage, without having authorities, such as control boards clouding their judgment and forcing them to behave in a manner that is decided by only those who make up a certain committee in society. The writer wants the public to take their own judgment into consideration and decide what is right and wrong for themselves, rather than having someone else tell it to them. I think this is a rational argument based on the fact that there has been a lot of change in the way society operates these days and how democracy and freedom are key elements in the world today. However, in my opinion, I would have preferred the citation of one or two more examples to provide a stable and sound backing to the author’s argument. Such a text can be recommended to those who are confused about what they should do when such situations arise. However, if these individuals are convinced, based on facts, rather than some ones personal opinion, this text may just fail to convince them, since it does fall short on evidence to back it up. Read More