On Listology: Brokeback Mountain, Jaws, and Caterpillars

AJDaGreat on Brokeback Mountain:

Ya know, everyone keeps making these assertions that if you make Brokeback Mountain into a straight love story, it would suck. As if we're all supposed to acknowledge that everything people associate with homosexuality is exactly the same as what people associate with heterosexuality. The fact is, gay love story does not equal straight love story. A major component of the film is the social stigmas attached to homosexuality, especially in Wyoming/Texas in the 1960s. The ideas about homosexuality are omnipresent in the film, in both the two main gay characters and also the people they interact with. It's a very important part of this movie. If you made Jack Twist into a girl, then yes, this aspect would be lost, and the movie might suck. I think if you changed the shark in Jaws into a caterpillar, Jaws would suck too.

Great post, but the last line is the clincher.