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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 24, 2022

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Brokebuck Mountain making $178 mill on an $11 mill budget way back in the 00s suggests there was at least some audience for watching gay cowboys eat pudding, or at least Heath Ledger's ass.

Brokeback Mountain was seen as having serious artistic cred and was trendy to see as a result. It also had Gyllenhaal, a much bigger star than anyone in this movie.

It was also more than a decade and a half ago, and the entire structure of the movie business has changed; streaming has introduced a lot more competition for eyeballs. Movies like that - and Bros- now more often end up on streaming instead of hoovering up the huge box office.

Sure, absolutely. But I think at the very least the success of Brokeback Mountain proves that the reason Bros didn't do well is more complex than the lazy "people are bigots" excuse that Eichman reached for.