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Before Basic Instinct, there was Al Pacino in William Friedkin's 1980 film Cruising. Pacino, a cop working undercover to find a serial killer stalking gay men, begins to question his own sexual identity. The film ends ambiguously, suggesting Pacino may have become a homosexual killer himself. The gay community vociferously protested the movie, fearing it would lead to violence against gays. Less than a year later, a minister's son gunned down two gay men outside The Ramrod, the bar where the movie was filmed, sparking more controversy.

Philadelphia (1993) was controversial simply by being the first Hollywood film to deal with AIDS. The movie also drew protest from the gay community for what some perceived to be the movie's neutered portrayal of gay people.

In the article accompanying the EW list, Jensen says that the sorts of movies selected included “important, progressive, taboo-shattering films.” On that basis, it's hard to argue any of the movies mentioned above are less qualified than several on the list. Indeed, they seem far more qualified. Nor are all of the movies EW selected controversial “classics” that have stood the test time. Several were released just this year.

That leads us to the omission of Brokeback Mountain. How controversial a movie was it?

The Roman Catholic Church labeled it “O” for “morally offensive”. Conservative websites such as Lifesite and WorldNetDaily continuously attacked the film with columns such as "The Rape of the Marlboro Man". Concerned Women for America and Focus on the Family also targeted the film for protest calling it propaganda and proof of America's moral decay.

Utah Jazz owner and Mormon Larry Milled pulled Brokeback Mountain from his suburban Salt Lake City theaters. Another theater in Poulsbo, Washington refused to show the film at all.

Fox News commentators attacked the movie, and Hollywood, claiming Brokeback was evidence that the “gay agenda” was being shoved down Middle America's throat. Bill O'Reilly was especially strong in his criticism, blaming movies like Brokeback Mountain for Hollywood's declining box-office (a common theme among conservative critics like Michael Medved).

Some Republican politicians refused to discuss it, much less see it. Even President Bush briefly found himself tangled up in a reporter's question about the movie.

The controversy over Brokeback Mountain received coverage in virtually every major media outlet in the country. If you Google “Brokeback Mountain ” and “controversy” you'll get 318,000 hits, about the same as for The Passion of the Christ.

The movie launched countless spoofs, satires, and jokes. Jay Leno even found himself embroiled in controversy when Avenue Q playwright Jeff Whitty wrote a letter criticizing Leno for his relentless jokes about the “gay-cowboy” movie.

Indeed, few films have generated such a powerful impact on popular culture.

And that was before Brokeback Mountain (the most honored film of all time) lost to Crash for Best Picture in what may be the most shocking Oscar upset ever.

Yet none of that was enough for Entertainment Weekly to include the movie on their list.

Interestingly enough, well represented on the list are Christian and religious themed movies (as they should be). The Passion of the Christ is number one. The Last Temptation of Christ is number six, The Message is number eleven, and The Da Vinci Code is number thirteen.

This is especially note-worthy as Jensen identifies himself as a Christian in the article, albeit one tolerant of pop culture. Given our current political and social climate, it's hard not to wonder if this didn't have some bearing on the movies included—and excluded.

EW's omission of Brokeback Mountain from their list matters because movies matter. If they didn't, the Catholic Church and Bill O'Reilly wouldn't react so vehemently to the existence of gay films. EW is one of the most widely read entertainment magazines in America. Lists like this are a way of writing history, deciding what place in history these movies occupy.

So when EW leaves Brokeback Mountain off of their list, they are writing it out of history. And that is too controversial to be ignored.

Entertainment Weekly: B+
"25 Most Controversial Movies in History": F

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