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Liberals Delude Themselves on Brokeback Mountain's Popularity
RealCearPolitics.com ^ | 2/20/06 | John Leo

Posted on 02/20/2006 11:52:55 AM PST by LdSentinal

Mickey Kaus at Kausfiles.com says that the gay-cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain has the same marketing strategy as Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Both, he says, have been hyped as blue-state movies that are reaching and changing minds in the cities of red America. He calls this the "Heartland Breakout Meme”. ("Meme" refers to a cultural copying unit that hops from brain to brain without much thought or any at all). What Kaus means is that the mainstream media keep reinforcing ideas liberals want to believe, whether they are true or not. But the alleged breakout of Fahrenheit appears to be myth, as Byron York shows by revealing some confidential movie-industry data in his new book, The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.

Kaus thinks preliminary box office numbers indicate that Brokeback isn't reaching red America either. His point is that liberals delude themselves into overconfidence and harm the Democratic Party by projecting a false view of political reality. He writes: "If you think the visceral straight male reaction against male homosexual sex has effectively disappeared...you won't spend a lot of time trying to figure out the possible deep-seated, even innate, sources of resistance to liberalization... At worst, you'll pass them off as sheer redneck bigotry-a proven way to lose the red states for good".

A version of the “Heartland Breakout Meme” appeared when Bill Clinton, under pressure from the gay lobby, agreed to accept declared homosexuals into the armed services. The polls were mixed, and if read carefully, showed that much resistance seemed strong. But liberals thought it would be a low-cost initiative for Clinton. A few howls from the right and it would all be over. Liberals were stunned when the resistance inflicted considerable political damage on the new presidency and resulted in a policy that none had even imagined -- don't-ask-don't-tell.

A related meme is that marriage is a civil right that a just society must extend to gays. "Equality in marriage" reinforces the liberal belief that an entitlement is being arbitrarily withheld from an aggrieved group; again stoking the feeling that anyone who disagrees is a redneck. But societies around the world-maybe all of them-- have disagreed with this allegedly obvious idea for thousands of years because they never concluded that an arrangement built on same-sex love qualifies as a real marriage. Polls show that tolerance and respect for gays are climbing much more rapidly than approval of gay marriage, indicating for a considerable number of Americans, the major sticking point is not bigotry, but a liberal-conservative difference on the meaning of marriage.

"Samuel Alito is out of the mainstream" was one of the strangest of recent liberal memes, relentlessly spread by the media, all with little effect. As U.C.L.A. law professor Eugene Volokh wrote, Alito's views "are majority views, by a wide margin". Legal columnist Stuart Taylor Jr., a centrist and no fan of President Bush, called attention to the large role of reporters in spreading the meme. He showed in some detail that "systematic slanting, conscious or unconscious " in many mainstream press reports "helped fuel a disingenuous campaign by liberal groups and senators to caricature Alito as a conservative ideologue”.

Even worse was the "racist response to Katrina" meme. Mostly this was aimed at George Bush, who botched the crisis badly, though not on any racial basis. The idea was to peel away growing Republican support among blacks by playing the race card. It worked. The rapid spread of the meme was the reason why a bland one-liner by entertainer Kanye West-- "George Bush doesn't care about black people"-- unexpectedly became a famous quote. And there was a broader campaign to indict whites in general, who were busy sending in most of the $1 billion in voluntary contributions to Katrina victims, for failing to care about the suffering of New Orleans blacks.

This meme was wildly promoted by the mainstream media, but ultimately it failed, as Democratic pollster Celinda Lake made clear in a recent speech. She said, "It is certainly true that people very quickly got off any analysis that...the patterns of Katrina were due to race”. One reason was that people were pointing to New Orlean's corruption and the city's incompetent black mayor as explanations for much of the post-Katrina mess. Another factor was that the power structure in this black-run city signed off on an explicit arrangement to abandon 100,000 poor residents in case of disaster. That was the city's plan and it worked. No wonder the racism meme faded. “Far from Katrina promoting very much," Lake said, "if anything Katrina is backfiring a little bit". That happens now and then to memes that the public can figure out aren't true.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: barebackmountin; brokebackmountain; browniepackers; buttpokemounted; crap; culturewars; gaycowboys; gerbilchasers; hatedit; homosexualagenda; johnleo; kaus; liberals; manmansheeplove; mayipushinyourstool; meme; movie; oscars; pillownashers; preparationh; pudding; ramrodded; rangerumpers; rodemcowboy; rumprangers; turdburglars
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To: LanaTurnerOverdrive

Brokebutt mountin'?


121 posted on 02/20/2006 2:05:37 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (Peace Begins in the Womb)
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To: LdSentinal
have disagreed with this allegedly obvious idea for thousands of years because they never concluded that an arrangement built on same-sex love qualifies as a real marriage

It drives me crazy. It's same sex "sex", or sexual attraction.

122 posted on 02/20/2006 2:09:21 PM PST by DouglasKC
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To: wizardoz

Why would you pay to watch a movie about two faggots?


123 posted on 02/20/2006 2:15:34 PM PST by Godebert
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To: Psycho_Bunny
" I haven't seen March of the Penguins myself. It seems like the type of where liking it or hating it hinges on a bong-hit."

Only if you're a dope addict.

124 posted on 02/20/2006 2:20:43 PM PST by Godebert
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To: d-back
Ping.

("Meme" refers to a cultural copying unit that hops from brain to brain without much thought or any at all).

Is this scary stuff or what.

125 posted on 02/20/2006 2:34:17 PM PST by NJ Freeper
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To: NaughtiusMaximus

I can relate with your wife :)


126 posted on 02/20/2006 2:50:43 PM PST by 1035rep
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To: VeritatisSplendor
Movie Data from "The Numbers - Box Office Data, Movie Stars, Idle Speculation"

at: http://www.the-numbers.com/charts/daily/2006/20060217.html

The Top Movies of Friday, February 10, 2006

    Movie Distributor Genre Gross Change Thtrs. Per Thtr. Total Gross Days
1 (new) Final Destination 3 New Line Horror $7,200,000   2,880 $2,500 $7,200,000 1
2 (new) The Pink Panther MGM/UA Comedy $5,892,787   3,447 $1,710 $5,892,787 1
3 (new) Firewall Warner Bros. Action/Adventure $4,331,159   2,840 $1,525 $4,331,159 1
4 (new) Curious George Universal Comedy $3,759,190   2,566 $1,465 $3,759,190 1
5 (1) When a Stranger Calls Sony Pictures Horror $3,235,539 +340.02% 3,004 $1,077 $28,081,941 8
6 (3) Big Momma's House 2 20th Century Fox Comedy $1,863,302 +237.17% 2,733 $682 $49,840,590 15
7 (2) Brokeback Mountain Focus Features Drama $1,200,000 +110.53% 1,966 $610 $63,600,000 64
8 (5) Nanny McPhee Universal Comedy $1,159,920 +227.58% 2,148 $540 $29,175,560 15
9 (8) Something New Focus Features Drama $700,000 +180.00% 1,265 $553 $6,700,000 8
10 (4) Underworld: Evolution Sony Pictures Action/Adventure $682,559 +61.92% 1,835 $372 $55,428,452 22
11 (re-entry) Hoodwinked Weinstein Co. Comedy $488,956   2,085 $235 $45,352,176 57

The Top Movies of Friday, February 17, 2006

    Movie Distributor Genre Gross Change Thtrs. Per Thtr. Total Gross Days
1 (new) Date Movie 20th Century Fox Comedy $6,900,000   2,896 $2,383 $6,900,000 1
2 (new) Eight Below Buena Vista Action/Adventure $5,000,000   3,066 $1,631 $5,000,000 1
3 (2) The Pink Panther MGM/UA Comedy $3,900,000 +267.41% 3,447 $1,131 $29,600,000 8
4 (1) Final Destination 3 New Line Horror $2,900,000 +164.84% 2,880 $1,007 $28,600,000 8
5 (4) Curious George Universal Comedy $2,400,000 +228.18% 2,570 $934 $20,600,000 8
6 (3) Firewall Warner Bros. Action/Adventure $2,400,000 +162.57% 2,840 $845 $20,700,000 8
7 (new) Freedomland Paramount Pictures Drama $1,800,000   2,361 $762 $1,800,000 1
8 (5) When a Stranger Calls Sony Pictures Horror $1,500,000 +227.84% 2,629 $571 $37,800,000 15
9 (7) Big Momma's House 2 20th Century Fox Comedy $1,100,000 +215.30% 2,039 $539 $58,000,000 22
10 (8) Nanny McPhee Universal Comedy $900,000 +249.16% 1,995 $451 $35,000,000 22

127 posted on 02/20/2006 2:50:44 PM PST by Wuli
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To: Pookyhead
"Most people just don't give a crap about homos and wish they would just STFU."

Your comments were well stated. As a Christian I don't hate homosexuals. I detest their sin. Everyone is a child of God. Not all of us accept the Spirit coming into our lives. That's an issue we all will have to face one day.

128 posted on 02/20/2006 2:52:58 PM PST by bcsco ("He who is wedded to the spirit of the age is soon a widower" - Anonymous)
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To: VeritatisSplendor
When you're movie is 8 places BELOW the Dukes of Hazzard I think it's safe to say it's a flop.
129 posted on 02/20/2006 2:57:51 PM PST by highlander_UW (I don't know what my future holds, but I know Who holds my future)
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To: highlander_UW
That chart only takes into account the money taken in. As of today both have grossed $110 million, domestic and overseas. But "Dukes" cost $50 million to make. "Brokeback" cost $14 million. The former is the flop, not the latter.
130 posted on 02/20/2006 3:08:04 PM PST by CaptainK
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To: LdSentinal

The last movie that I saw in a theatre was Team America.

That was only because of so many FReepers giving it a thumbs up!

I refuse to contribute $$$ to the Hollywood agenda.

Well, I do have HBO, but thats different.


131 posted on 02/20/2006 3:15:53 PM PST by Radix (I really love the liberals, they put the FUN in funerals.)
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To: DirtyHarryY2K; DBeers

Just in case you haven't seen this one yet.


132 posted on 02/20/2006 3:21:09 PM PST by little jeremiah
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To: CaptainK
That chart only takes into account the money taken in. As of today both have grossed $110 million, domestic and overseas. But "Dukes" cost $50 million to make. "Brokeback" cost $14 million. The former is the flop, not the latter.

You're talking profit from the movie, I'm talking popularity, which can somewhat be determined by how many tickets they're selling. And, if one thinks about it, since it's primary ticket sales was in high ticket cost markets, such as NY and SF it actually might represent fewer tickets sold.

In my book, they're both flops. But the media is trying to present the gay sheepherder movie as a big splashy hit, which is false. Would the same media dare publish the sentence "Brokeback Mountain"...so popular that it's only 8 places below the smash hit Dukes of Hazzard?

133 posted on 02/20/2006 3:23:06 PM PST by highlander_UW (I don't know what my future holds, but I know Who holds my future)
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who added the keyword "TURD BURGLARS"......LOL!!!!!!!!!!


134 posted on 02/20/2006 3:28:30 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite (There's nothing "Mainstream" about the Orwellian Media!!!)
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To: little jeremiah
Just in case you haven't seen this one yet.

LOL - YES! I have been laughing at all the liberal 'acclaim' hoisted upon the artistic treatment of cowpoke mountain love and adultery the last day or two... The film is truly a monumental achievement reminiscent of both Gore's and Kerry's political campaigns -ALL talk no substance...

135 posted on 02/20/2006 3:30:37 PM PST by DBeers (†)
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To: LdSentinal

Bump


136 posted on 02/20/2006 3:34:19 PM PST by A. Pole (Dzerzhinsky: There are no innocent people.There are only such who weren't examined in the proper way)
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To: LdSentinal
Methinks they should rename it, "Bareback Mountain" doncha think?

I'll go hide now.

137 posted on 02/20/2006 3:38:23 PM PST by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are truly evil.)
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To: DBeers

BTW Casloy's still here. Why isn't he getting the zot, I wonder. He's classic.


138 posted on 02/20/2006 3:41:51 PM PST by little jeremiah
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To: Old Professer
Do you have any idea how long it takes to teach full-body massage to a stupid sheep??!!

You gotta admit that once you do, that warm 'n fuzzy feeling makes it all worth while.

139 posted on 02/20/2006 4:01:36 PM PST by Erasmus (One fine day, sad to say, we'll all be Democrat voters.)
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To: subterfuge
The media has supported the meme that "there were no weapons of mass destruction." Correct?

CORRECTIMUNDO!


140 posted on 02/20/2006 4:28:48 PM PST by RightWingAtheist (Creationism Is Not Conservative!)
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