Why Was Brokeback Mountain So Controversial?

Brokeback Mountain is a story that takes place over the course of twenty years from 1963-1983. It is about two cowboys who were sheep herding on Brokeback Mountain and they discover that their friendship is more deeper than friends. The story tells of how the two cowboys loved one another, but tried to live normal lives by getting married and having children. The two cowboys do not see each other for awhile, but when they do meet again, the find that their love had never died. This movie deals with the topic of homosexuality and is very controversial in nature.  It was controversial because there has never been a movie such as Brokeback Mountain that showed what it was like to be gay back in the 1960s and 1970s. Many people were offended that they would put a movie on the big screen with such scenes as two men making love. Therefore, this is what makes it so controversial.