Ten years ago the groundbreaking film Brokeback Mountain debuted in theaters across the country to rave reviews and became
an instant classic. The film, which stars the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal focus' on two cowboys who have secret and forbidden love affair which
carries on throughout their lives. Not
only did the film capture a truly moving love story, but it also introduced the
world to the fact that gay cowboys do exist, despite the cultural
hypermasculinity that exists in the American West. Based on a short story by Annie Proulx, the
film was adapted for the screen and produced by Larry McMurtry and his longtime writing and producing partner, Diana Ossana. The two of them won the
Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, a Golden Globe Award, and a Writers Guild of
America Award (among many others) for Brokeback
Mountain, and they both join me today to talk all about the film and the
impact it has had.
Kristen Green grew up in Prince Edward County, Va., the
only community in the nation to close its schools for five years rather than
desegregate following the Brown vs. Board
of Education decision. She attended an all-white academy, which was founded
in 1959 by her grandparents and other white leaders when the public school
doors were locked and the private school did not admit black students until
1986, when she was in the eighth grade.
The situation in Prince Edward County, Va was so bad in 1963 that US Attorney General
Robert F. Kennedy, once said that “The
only places on earth not to provide free public education are communist China,
North Vietnam, Sarawak, Singapore, British Honduras—and Prince Edward County,
Virginia.” In her new book Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Right Battle, Kristen
Green details this little known event in American history and tries to come to
terms with her own families involvement in the resistance to integration. Kristen joins us today to talk all about the
book. You can also follow Kristen on twitter.
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