"Brokeback Mountain" Pulled in Utah (choices, choice, hell)

[Ðanisty]

Awful. It's an award-winning film and we need to be more progressive.

However, that's not the same thing as msnc's "censorship" option. I don't think that theater owners should be forced to show a particular movie, but I think it's also unfair to movie-goers who don't get the option of seeing the movie they want. I live in Savannah, GA and I fully expect that Brokeback Mountain won't be playing here either. Most of the movies I want to see don't play here.

[CaptainXeroid]

Originally Posted by Fluffy

Does anyone think he should have been forced legally to show the film...?

A parallel question to consider is Should anybody be forced legally to go to a theatre and watch a particular film? My answer to both is a resounding 'NO!', and for that reason I voted that it was OK because theatre owners should be able to show or not show whichever movies they choose.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the subject matter of this film, and like Ðanisty, I may not have the chance to see it in a local theatre. I wonder if this movie will do better on DVD because many people may feel uncomfortable going to see it in a theatre.

[Halcyon]

I don't think that the theatre should be forced to show or not show anything.

However, from a purely personal perspective i find their decision to pull the film disgusting. The message they are sending people is "Around here, its not ok to be gay."

Makes me feel quite sick.

[robtex]

You have to understand the decision was not made in a vacuum. We don't know if Larry Miller was personally offended by it, or if he was making a business decision thinking that the heavily mormon population would be opposed to it, many of whom are his customers. Or both. I am not a big fan of business playing politics but I realize it is there right and in some cases, good business strategy. Having said that, I don't think it is wrong for them to not show a particular flick however, if it is something I oppose (in this case anti-homosexuality), I am quick to shut the business off from my patronage and be verbal about it with friends. If I lived in Utah near that theater I would never go there again and make sure others I am around know this and why. No business is made in a vacuum and chances are it was a smart call given the population but the decision is not neutral. It has ramifiactions both ways.

[Quoth The Raven]

It may have ramifications both ways, but assuming this man is a smart businessman, he may have weighed up the pros and cons and decided that the number of people that would object to his showing the film could do a lot more damage to his bottom line should they chose to withdraw their patronage than the people who would object to him not showing it withdrawing theirs.
Does anyone know what sort of feedback was received by the theatre owners and management while they had the movie on their coming attractions list? Do we know whether regular customers expressed their distaste? As far as I'm aware, no we don't. No-one knows the basis behind the decision, so we can judge the decision all we like and put our own slant on it, but at the end of the day, the decision probably came down largely to business and the potential loss thereof.
If this was any other film and the theatre elected not to show it at the last minute, would anybody who wasn't in the immediate vicinity and wanted to see it give a toss? I would suggest that the only reason this decision is causing cries of 'Censorship!' is because of the subject matter of the film, and because of said subject matter it is very easy to paint the fact the theatre has elected not to screen it as 'Anti-Gay'.

[gnomon]

Originally Posted by Ðanisty

Awful. It's an award-winning film and we need to be more progressive.

However, that's not the same thing as msnc's "censorship" option. I don't think that theater owners should be forced to show a particular movie, but I think it's also unfair to movie-goers who don't get the option of seeing the movie they want. I live in Savannah, GA and I fully expect that Brokeback Mountain won't be playing here either. Most of the movies I want to see don't play here.

I quite easily found two cinemas in the Savannah area showing the film.

[Ðanisty]

Originally Posted by gnomon

I quite easily found two cinemas in the Savannah area showing the film.

Then it looks like I'm in luck this time. That didn't stop Savannah from keeping out a shitload of really good movies in the last few decades. Savannah, loves to keep out musicians too. We never get any decent concerts here.

[Feathers in Hair]

I picked "It's okay," but, like Halcyon, I think it's sickening that someone would do that. On one level I think that, since it's their money, they should be allowed to do what they want with it. On another, much more personal one, I find it incredibly saddening. If all it were showing was skin and lust, then I could understand, but (as far as I can tell) it's a drama and a love story at heart. There have been several recent, award-winning movies about lesbian couples lately, so I think that it sends a further message about conditional acceptance- 'being a lesbian may be okay if we can use it to bring in the dough, but being a gay man is not acceptable at all.'