Queer Theory and Brokeback Mountain Discussion Questions Part I 1. How and When Did Sexology and Psychoanalysis Emerge to Explai

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Queer Theory and Brokeback Mountain Discussion Questions Part I 1. How and when did sexology and psychoanalysis emerge to explain human sexuality? 2. What assumptions about human sexuality do sexology and psychoanalysis make? 3. How did the writings of Michel Foucault respond to the theories of psychoanalysis? 4. How did Foucault theorize the relation between language and gender/sexuality in institutions such as medicine and the law? 5. What are the distinctions between sex, sexuality and gender? 6. How does queer theory relate to feminism? 7. What did Eve Sedgwick mean by “homosociality” and how does it relate to homosexuality? 8. How does queer theory explain human sexuality in relation to practices such as marriage, reproduction, child-rearing, labor, and leisure? 9. What does Judith Butler mean when she describes human sexuality and gender as performative? 10. Why is cinema important for queer theory’s explanations of sexuality and gender? Part II 1. What aspects of the lives of Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist would queer theorists focus upon in order to make sense of the intimacy and sexual contact between them? 2. Why does the historical era in which Brokeback Mountain is set matter to its depictions of same-sex sexuality? 3. How would Michel Foucault’s ideas about biopolitics serve to explain the genders and sexualities we see at work in Brokeback Mountain? 4. What does Brokeback Mountain suggest about the lives of women in the historical period it depicts and how might feminism and queer theory explain these depictions? 5. How is the relation between Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist homosocial and homosexual? 6. How are masculinity and femininity performative in Brokeback Mountain? 7. How does the history of the Hollywood Western film shape the narrative of Brokeback Mountain? 8. Why is the ambiguity around the circumstances of Jack Twist’s death important for understanding Ennis del Mar’s and Lureen Twist’s responses to this event? .

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United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Case 1:07-cv-00098-RMU Document 52 Filed 11/15/07 Page 1 of 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JANICE SCOTT-BLANTON, : : Plaintiff, : Civil Action No.: 07-0098 (RMU) : v. : Document Nos.: 30, 32 : UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS : PRODUCTIONS LLLP et al., : : Defendants. : MEMORANDUM OPINION DENYING THE PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO PERMIT DISCOVERY PURSUANT TO RULE 56(F) I. INTRODUCTION The plaintiff, Janice Scott-Blanton, proceeding pro se, alleges that her novel, My Husband Is On The Down Low and I Know About It (“Down Low”), is the creative source for the award-winning film Brokeback Mountain. She requests that the court permit discovery pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f), because it would be premature for the court to decide the defendants’ outstanding motion for summary judgment without a period of discovery. While the plaintiff identifies specific facts she seeks to recover in discovery that would defeat the defendants’ summary judgment motion, she fails to show a reasonable basis to suggest that discovery would create a triable issue of fact. As a result, the court denies the plaintiff’s motion to permit discovery. Case 1:07-cv-00098-RMU Document 52 Filed 11/15/07 Page 2 of 10 II. BACKGROUND A. Factual History Annie Proulx (“Proulx”) wrote the short story Brokeback Mountain in 1997, which The New Yorker published and registered for copyright protection in October of that year. Am. Compl. ¶ 38; Decl. of Marc E. Mayer (“Mayer”) (D.D.C. Mar. 7, 2007) (“Mayer Decl.”), Ex. A. Shortly thereafter, Proulx agreed to allow two screenwriters, Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, to adapt the story into a screenplay.
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Sara Martín Alegre Universitat Autònoma De Barcelona
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