Men Of Their House Film Analysis

In the scene “Men of Their Houses,” the use of character dialogue and cinematography demonstrates how Sue motivates Thao’s actions in a negative way and distorts the views his family had for him and emasculates him. As Thao washes dishes in the background his grandmother and uncle talk about him in the foreground. She discusses her frustrations of wanting her daughter to marry a real man and have a “man of the house” (Gran Torino). The grandmother rejects the notion that Thao could be that simply because he does whatever Sue orders him to do, which is usually her chores that men typically do not do. This camera angle and staging of the characters illustrates how Thao is an outcast from his own family. The family looks unfavorably upon him because he is so easily influenced by what his sister says rather than doing what real men do. The
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She doesn’t wait to see what Thao wants; instead she makes the decisions for him being over protective and controlling. Each time her response to Fong ends, the camera shifts back to Phong for his response, but the angle points just above Sue’s head where it looks as if she is looking down on Thao and Phong. This camera angle shows Sue’s dominance over them. This displays Thao as small and weak, lacking the strength to stand up to his cousin. The dialogue from Phong demeans Thao. Phong first asks him why he is doing a woman’s job which emasculates Thao. Fong then proceeds to call him little man and pat his head as if Thao is a child. This scene shows that Thao doesn’t get to speak for himself because his sister is such a dominating force that prevents him from doing what he wants. The entire family knows this which results in them demeaning him and view him as not good enough unable to be a true man. Sue’s actions, though with good intentions, leave Thao unable to become a true man and lead him to become an outcast within his own