Mr. Hsu Comes Out is like a Lifetime movie: tragically heartwarming, seriously funny. Mr. Hsu is producer Song Jingyao's geometry teacher. It's clear from fellow student interviews that his students admire and respect Mr. Hsu as a teacher and as a person; one student mentions that Mr. Hsu teaches his students to "be more open with themselves." Throughout the piece, I felt an emotional connection with Mr. Hsu because of how descriptive his interviews were. I could imagine the scene of his coming out to his father perfectly - the shock, straight denial, and finally "My father took me to a strip club to turn me straight."
If I were to change on thing, I would have left out some of the "raw" production aspects. I think Song Jingyao could cut the opening/closing ambient sounds from her interview clips. It would have quickened the pace and helped the transitions between the different student and teacher interviews.
"Mr Hsu Comes Out" is a powerful piece on self acceptance and resignation. Highly recommend!
Summary: "My father took me to a strip club to turn me straight...". A touching memoir of rejection, acceptance and forgiveness in Mr. Hsu's third period geometry class.
Mr. Hsu Comes Out
Sara Zhang
Posted on April 30, 2010 at 09:07 PM
Mr. Hsu Comes Out is like a Lifetime movie: tragically heartwarming, seriously funny. Mr. Hsu is producer Song Jingyao's geometry teacher. It's clear from fellow student interviews that his students admire and respect Mr. Hsu as a teacher and as a person; one student mentions that Mr. Hsu teaches his students to "be more open with themselves." Throughout the piece, I felt an emotional connection with Mr. Hsu because of how descriptive his interviews were. I could imagine the scene of his coming out to his father perfectly - the shock, straight denial, and finally "My father took me to a strip club to turn me straight."
If I were to change on thing, I would have left out some of the "raw" production aspects. I think Song Jingyao could cut the opening/closing ambient sounds from her interview clips. It would have quickened the pace and helped the transitions between the different student and teacher interviews.
"Mr Hsu Comes Out" is a powerful piece on self acceptance and resignation. Highly recommend!