Structure

Title

The title of the short film “I Don’t Make the Rules” by Law Chen has both a literal and a symbolic meaning.

In the literal sense, the title is a direct reference to one of Stephen’s lines. When confronting the drunk man in front of the nightclub, Stephen tells him “I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them” (3:06). Through this, Stephen tries to communicate to Nathan that he is not in charge of the club’s dress code policy, but it is his job as a bouncer to make sure that the code is followed. Stephen repeats this line when impersonating a security agent at the law firm. Stephen tells Carl “I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them” (11:00) in an attempt to make Carl comply with his request and leave the premises without drawing attention to himself.

In a symbolic sense, the title reflects Stephen’s lack of power. Stephen did not complete his education, he has health problems, and he struggles financially. His career as a professional football player also ended abruptly. Nathan’s friend reports that Stephen played for the Cleveland Browns until “they cut him” (04:00-04:05). This suggests that Stephen did not decide to leave but was instead fired. He had troub...