Mac Bledsoe was the kind of man you don't see much anymore.Uncle Frank · 2020 — Chapter 13 of 17 · 2'56" · B2
Mac Bledsoe's Eulogy and Threats, Explained: turn his back on you
A eulogy praises Mac Bledsoe as a devoted husband and father, then cuts to a memory of him threatening his own son over a relationship: "I'll kill you both." The scene holds the public saint and the private cruelty side by side, then ends in prayer.
What happens
At Mac Bledsoe's funeral, the eulogy describes him as a devoted husband and a loving father and Christian, and insists that doing the right thing was always his duty. The scene then cuts to a flashback of Mac threatening his own son over a relationship, before returning to the funeral and the Lord's Prayer.
Listen for
turn his back on youthe difference between right and wrongdo the right thingopen yourself up to something
00:00 / 02:56Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
turn his back on you
to abandon or reject someone
旧录音里父亲威胁说，God hisself will turn his back on you，把上帝也拉来当抛弃他的帮凶。
I will not turn my back on a friend in trouble.
Also in this scene
- the difference between right and wrong
the line between good and bad behaviour
- do the right thing
to act according to what is morally right
- open yourself up to something
to make oneself vulnerable to something
Everything marked in this scene
28 notes across 37 lines
Dedicated husband.Loving father.to act according to what is morally right
A man for whom doing the right thing,preposition + whom
A man for whom doing the right thing,it wasn't a choice.It was his duty.the line between good and bad behaviour
It was his duty to teach his children the difference between right and wrong.it + infinitive
It was his duty to teach his children the difference between right and wrong.in the same path of righteousness as Mac.liaison
If I find out you are, I'll kill you both.You're gambling with your very soul, son.to make oneself vulnerable to something
Opening yourself up to that sickness.You want to be a queer, hm?You want to be a queer, hm?A faggot?to abandon or reject someone
God hisself will turn his back on you.dialect reflexive hisself
God hisself will turn his back on you.elision
God hisself will turn his back on you.God hisself will turn his back on you.Cast you into the lake of fire.It's what God expected of Mac, and it's what God now expects of us.Let us pray.and forgive us our trespasses,liaison
and forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us.Lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.Mac Bledsoe's Eulogy and Threats, explained
What's really going on
The scene builds its judgment out of contrast. The eulogy is a catalogue of virtues — dedicated husband, loving father, good Christian — and it repeats one word until it becomes an accusation: duty. The flashback shows what that duty looked like at home, a father telling his son, "I'll kill you both," and damning him to hell for who he is. Nothing in the funeral speech is factually false; that is what makes it chilling. The same man who is praised as righteous is the one whose righteousness drove his son away. By returning to the Lord's Prayer, the scene lets the family's public faith cover over what the private memory has just shown, and leaves the audience to hold both.
Theme
FaithThe family's religion is praised in the eulogy and used as a weapon in the flashback against the son.
Family conflictA father's duty and his cruelty are the same force, and the funeral hides what the memory reveals.
What you'll learn
- Use turn one's back on for abandonment
- Hear lake of fire as biblical hell
- Catch duty and righteousness in eulogies
- Hear gambling with your soul as risk
- Follow thy and trespass in the Lord's Prayer
Listen for
- find out — liaison
- turn his back on — elision
- forgive us our — liaison
Mac Bledsoe was the kind of man you don't see much anymore.The eulogy's opening line, praising him as a vanishing type — the frame the flashback will quietly break.
It was his duty to teach his children the difference between right and wrong.The virtue being praised, which the memory reframes as the source of his cruelty.
It's what God expected of Mac, and it's what God now expects of us.The eulogy handing the dead man's standards to the living, closing off any challenge.
You're gambling with your very soul, son.The father's threat in the flashback, framing his son's identity as a bet against eternal punishment.
Questions about this scene
Who is Mac Bledsoe?
The deceased, praised in the eulogy as a devoted husband and loving father. The flashback reveals that same man threatening his son over a relationship.
Why does the scene cut to a flashback?
It sets the praise against the truth. The eulogy calls Mac righteous; the memory shows what that righteousness did to his own son.
Why does the speech keep repeating the word duty?
It turns Mac's strictness into a virtue and hands the same standard to the family. The repetition is meant to leave no room to question him.
What does turn his back on you mean?
It means to reject or abandon someone completely. In the flashback it is used as a threat about God, adding religious fear to the father's anger.
How does the scene end?
It returns to the funeral and moves into the Lord's Prayer, which the group recites together. The prayer brings the scene back to the family's public face.
Uncle Frank · 17 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 14the female frontAunt Butch Grills Frank at the Wake
Chapter 1pick on someoneDaddy Mac Mocks Frank's Gift
Chapter 2get to chooseFrank Lets Beth Rename Herself
Chapter 3slave awayCharlotte Meets Frank's Family
Chapter 4try meBruce and Beth Meet at College
Chapter 5take no for an answerFrank Comes Out to Beth
Chapter 6in my bloodWally Pushes Frank to Come Out
Chapter 7push someone awayFrank Pushes Wally Away After the Call
Chapter 8worth the troubleBeth Opens Up to Frank
Chapter 9there for meWally Shows Up at Frank's Door
Chapter 10Nice always hides somethingWally Asks Beth About Frank
Chapter 11kept in touchMike Apologizes to Frank
Chapter 12make up her own mindBeth Defends Staying at the Motel
Watching · Chapter 13turn his back on youMac Bledsoe's Eulogy and Threats
Chapter 14the female frontAunt Butch Grills Frank at the Wake
Chapter 15nothing but disgustThe Will Humiliates Frank
Chapter 16say it to my faceFrank Breaks Down at the Graveside
Chapter 17so much in commonFrank Introduces Wally to the FamilyChapter 13 of 17 · about 13 min to go