--- Sarah Murray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Hi all...
> Having recently been mesmerized by two viewings of the film
> masterpiece "Brokeback Mountain", I've decided that when it comes out
> on DVD, I will use it as a teaching supplement in my Family and
> Sexuality course, as well as my Violence course (which includes hate
> crimes and homophobia, as well as rural violence.)
>
> I mentioned it to my current class, and a couple of the young men
> indicated (good-naturedly but sincerely), that they would not sign up
> for any course in which that movie would be shown -- and we're 15
> minutes from Manhattan! (Of course, my own husband and brother - in
> - law refused to see it as well.)
>
> Any thoughts?
>
Sarah,
I thought it was a great movie (and if wasn't for Philip Seymour
Hoffman's performance in Capote, I would say that Heath Ledger should
get an Oscar) and I don't think you should worry too much about people
not taking courses because you're going to show a particular movie or,
for that matter, addressing a topic that people find distasteful.
While I believe you shouldn't provoke people for the sake of
provocation, it's college not politics - i.e. students and teachers
have to deal with ideas, concepts, people that they might not like.
That said, I don't know if it's the perfect film for either class. I
think it would work pretty well in Family and Sexuality (especially
since it takes place over 20 years), but there might be something
shorter (or a couple of clips) that would make the points you need to
make more succintly. And I would really hesitate to use it for a
violence class - I think there's much better clips/readings etc. that
deal the issue.
Just my $.02
Evan Cooper
> Sarah Murray, adjunct
> William Paterson U of NJ
>
