Gramps house 2 how to#

Jesse pines away in the library reading about the lived experiences of his family member. He too lusts after the adventures of his great grandfather. Jesse is visibly a wimp, his girlfriend laughs at him with her boss and even his parents gave him up for adoption. House II takes it one step further with its emasculation of the leading man. When later confronted by his (literal) demons, Roger is emasculated by Ben (Richard Moll) who states that Roger “hits like a little girl”. Thus, Ben is captured and tortured to death and left to haunt Roger. While in battle, Roger never took the lead, and when his buddy Ben was mortally wounded in battle Roger refuses to put his friend out of his misery. His impotence as a man seems rooted in his failure to perform in Vietnam. His son is kidnapped (by the house), his wife leaves, his books are failing, and he is left sitting alone in his library surrounded by the great stories of other greater men. However, we quickly gather that Roger is failing at life, love, and being a man.

Roger Cobb ( House) is a once famous author who presumably loses his wife after his son disappears. If you are a wimp, you will lose your family.

Gramps house 2 how to#

Cue up your Betamax and your VHS as we are going to revisit the 1980s version of how to become a man. Similarly in House II Jesse (Arye Gross) isn’t even worthy enough to have a family until he butches up.

In House, Roger Cobb (William Katt) has to overcome his failures in Vietnam to become man enough to have his family back. The narratives are different but the trajectory of the leading man is the same. Within both films I noticed a not so subtle description of what passes for appropriate masculinity. These texts are just as rich with gender ideals as uncovering a 1950s Ladies Home Journal. What I unearthed instead was an instruction manual for becoming a man in the 1980’s. I initially delved into these movies with the aim of revisiting some great horror comedy.