PER S P £ C T I V E
In Memonam
by Miles Christian Daniels
Heath Ledger: More than that *gay cowboy*
It’s funny how we remember famous people.
Tammy Faye Bakker will always be remem
bered for her eyelashes. Richard Nixon for
Watergate. Luciano Pavarotti for his sprawling
tenor voice. And, if headlines are any indica
tion, Heath Ledger for his Oscar-nominated
performance in “Brokeback Mountain.”
Celebrities, for the most part, have litde or
no say in how they’ll be thought of They put
themselves out there and whether it’s baseball.
Heath Ledger at the Berlin Film Festival
in 2006. Photo Credit: Howie Berlin
singing, televangelism or acting, we decide
their legacy.
I’ll admit. I wasn’t a huge fan of the “gay
cowboy” film. Maybe it was the hype. I saw it
late in its release and was expecting — I don’t
know — something more. Could be I had
accepted my sexuality years before and so
much of the pain I had experienced through
that process had been tucked away in my clos
et of now-fading memories.
Whatever the reason, I left thinking the
film was just okay.
What I did come away with, however, was
an appreciation for the bravery of both Ledger
and Jake Gyllenhaal for accepting the roles
many of their counterparts had rejected for
fear it might just ruin their respective careers.
And in spite of my disappointment with
the film. Ledger and Gyllenhaal helped chal
lenge a notion many of us in the gay commu
nity have battled with since our coming out:
that we’re all effeminate, fashion gurus whose
sexuality is defined entirely by stereotype —
and even worse — by choice. This is why I
have never been attracted to shows like “Will
and Grace” or “Queer Eye for the Straight GuyT
These, in my opinion, only confirm what
LINC
Lesbian Social Organization
Fayetteville, N.C.
www.lmcoffayetteville.org
many already assume.
In a 2006 interview with Fordham
University’s The Observer, an unassuming
Ledger said “... [we] wanted to tell a story of
someone who transcends the label of straight
or gay; he’s a soul that falls in love with anoth
er soul within the vessel of a man.”
Ledger went on to say that his character,
Ennis Del Mar, “was the most complex and
internal character I’ve been offered to play and
it would take a very mature performance out
of me to complete this character.” .
Ledger received a Golden Globe and an
Oscar nomination for his career-defining per
formance in “Brokeback Mountain.” But,
beyond the accolades (and whether he meant
to or not). Ledger also helped those like my
father, three brothers and friends I’ve known
since grade school come one step closer to
understanding that being gay has nothing to
do with stereotype and everything to do with
love. Because of this, my hope is that Heath
Ledger will be remembered as an individual
who made life just a little bit easier for folks
like me. >
— Miles Christian Daniels lives in New York
City and is the director of the documentary
film, “Dixie Queen,” which features North
Carolina drag queen, Tara Nicole. His columns
have appeared in more than one hundred
newspapers and magazines.
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FEBRUARY 9.2008 • Q-NOTES 15