gigireece16

[gigireece16]

will graham gives off slime puppy vibes when you think about it

[gigireece16]

hi guys!! i am soooooo sorry for not publishing an essay in three weeks. i’ve been unmotivated lately, but i was finally able to manage to finish writing this last night!! this week over on substack, i dive into gillian flynn’s “gone girl” and the questions around her infamous cool girl monologue.

like always, i apologize for any grammar errors or anything that’s noticeable. it’s four in the morning!! if you see any, let me know so i can fix them later. but anyways, i hope you enjoy reading this essay!! if you have any thoughts, please comment. i love hearing from everybody!!

[gigireece16]

watched broke mountain earlier and ended up writing almost three pages of notes before turning it into a little analysis for letterboxd. thought y’all might like it. happy belated pride month :)

in said notes, i started off by complimenting the cinematography. the scenery was more than beautiful. i loved how it represented how secluded, deeply frustrated, and confused jack and ennis felt. i was also impressed by the direction with how subtle and restrained it was. ang lee did a fantastic job.

one of my favorite aspects of this movie was the symbolism. the shirts, mountains, horses, and cigarettes. i loved how every little small thing became so devastatingly intimate. out of all things that could have viciously broken me, it was the shirts in the closet. you could feel ennis’ regret and desperation to have jack return from the grave. it was truly the most gentle kind of agony i’ve ever seen in a film.

another favorite detail of mine was in the pre-sex scene between ennis and alma. the way he flips her onto her stomach, most likely thinking about jack. it’s a quick, almost subconscious move, but it says so much. you can instantly tell that ennis is so ashamed by himself that he can’t even face his own wife while attempting to chase the feeling he yearns to have again. and you can definitely see his exhilaration once he reunited with jack. (thank you michelle williams)

i could write a 10-paged essay about jack and ennis (i almost did) yet what really stuck with me was jack’s viewpoint of the relationship. so many people talk about the “i wish i knew how to quit you” but never “you measure the short fuckin' leash you keep me on.”

i believe one of the most bleak moments in this movie is jack’s slow realization that he will always love ennis more than ennis loves him. he was willing to give up everything, whereas ennis continued to be at arm’s length despite being the one who kept coming back and promising jack more of what he could give him. as somebody who’s been in jack’s place too many times, this was so heartbreaking on many levels. he had so much hope in his heart, and to witness that die was unbearable.

the most ironic part of all this is how most people’s reactions when it first came out in 2005 completely proved the movie’s point. all the ongoing jests about the “gay cowboys” were rooted in homophobia. i don’t know how people watched that flashback from ennis’ childhood, where his father showed him the beaten, murdered rancher, and still missed the entire point. those kinds of reactions are exactly what made ennis so disgusted with himself. not only does it contribute to the mindset that being gay’s like some circus act, but also something shameful and dirty.

when you explore queerness, you have to bring up how it affects masculinity and femininity. in my opinion, this film did marvelous work regarding it. every time ennis and jack were wrestling, ennis tends to be more violent before giving into his desires, whilst jack is playful. it’s a brilliant metaphor of their relationship.
it shows how jack is the complete opposite of ennis. he’s more emotionally open and willing to love ennis as openly as he can, despite the fact his lover can’t meet him there. ennis is deeply terrified that loving jack out loud would mean he’ll become the dead rancher in the ditch. and by the end of the film, even after everything, ennis is still hiding behind his internalized homophobia.

this film was utterly remarkable and heart-rending. it left me with so much to think about (clearly). no matter how old this gets, it will always remain important. its outstanding, plaintive script and acting will stay with me. heath and jake really acted their hearts out in this and it shows. next time i watch this, i’ll make sure i have a glass of wine or something 😭

[gigireece16]

buy me a coffee, substack, ao3, letterboxd, pinterest, spotify, shelf, and carrd!!

hi, i'm gigi!! aspiring author & #1 jack antonoff enthusiast!! part time stubstack writer, full time shoe whore. i have a tendency to be inconsistent with my posting. but i'll try my best to update regularly! i publish weekly essays over on stubstack. full masterlist: here!

[gigireece16]

masterlist

of every substack essay of mine!!

upcoming: a textual affair

7/5/25: the cool girl myth

6/14/25: ex in the city

5/31/25: the virgin, the whore, and the homosexual

5/25/25: my summer of lovelorn and lunacy

5/19/25: the dead man in my house

5/9/25: in bed with vogue and girls

5/3/25: sour patches and scissoring

4/27/25: girl, ghosted

4/13/25: slime puppy daughter

4/6/25: princess and the praise kink

3/24/25: shoes or children?

3/15/25: the straight girl dilemma

3/7/25: bad haircuts and madonna

3/2/25: letters to a dead person

2/22/25: with friends like these….

2/14/25: are we in love, or just keeping score?

[gigireece16]

hii everyone!! i just uploaded a new essay over on substack!! i deeply apologize for the 15 day drought but i hope this makes it up for everything. this week, i decided to write the mystery of our exes and the myth of never moving on.

i am also apologizing for any grammar errors or anything that’s noticeable. it’s four in the morning and my laptop crashed out on me multiple times!! if you see any of them, let me know so i can fix them later. but anyways i hope you enjoy this reading this essay!! if you have any thoughts, please comment. i love hearing from everybody!!

[gigireece16]

a little song written by me :))

[gigireece16]

hi guys! i just published a new essay over on substack!! this week, i wrote about religion and homosexuality’s complex relationship. despite opening old wounds, i really enjoyed writing this piece. i’d love to hear from y’all! feel free to leave any comments or buy me a coffee. i hope you guys like it, thank you!

[gigireece16]

from my most recent essay over on substack!!

[gigireece16]

hi guys!!! i just published a new essay over on my substack! this week, i dive into how to navigate trauma, friendship fallout, and finding moments of unexpected hope. like always, this is a super personal piece. i really enjoyed writing this piece. but i’d love to hear from y’all! feel free to leave any comments or buy me a coffee. i hope you guys like it, thank you!

[gigireece16]

hi guys!! apologies for the ten day silence! i’ve been sooo busy but i just published a new essay over on substack. this week, i discuss about my grief, my father, and abigail hobbs of course. i know i say the same thing about all of my essays but this one is actually super personal. if there’s any errors in the writing, please ignore it! it is 1am and my laptop glitched 3 times in a row. like always, i hope you guys enjoy reading it :) if you have any thoughts, feel free to comment!! i’d love to hear from y’all!

[gigireece16]

hello guys!! i just wanted to tell y'all that i have a buy me coffee! since i don't want to put my essays up behind a paywall, i thought this was a better option. i'll attach the link to all of my past essays soon but for now, here's the link! if you do buy me a coffee, i'll always be forever grateful. i am unfortunately a broke college student (i only have $144 in my bank account right now) and cannot work due to my disability. so thank you in advance!! love u guys.

[gigireece16]

a man just called me a pussy on substack for making a joke like i guess you are what you eat 😭😭

[gigireece16]

hi guys!! i just published a new essay over on substack! this week, i discuss body image issues and lesbianism! this one was super personal, and it felt good to finally get it off my chest. since it touches on some sensitive topics, there’s absolutely no pressure to read if you’re not in the right headspace. but if you do, i hope you enjoy it—and please feel free to leave a comment! i love hearing from you all.

[gigireece16]

my substack is so pretty <33

[gigireece16]

from my new essay over on substack!

[gigireece16]

hi guys!!! i just published a new essay over on my substack! i know i posted my last one not even a week ago but i’ve been dying to write about this. this week, i dive into the shame surrounding lesbian sex and why it’s time we unlearn it. i really enjoyed writing about this topic and i’d love to hear from y’all! feel free to leave any comments! i hope you guys like it, thank you!