Masculine guardianship in family systems: decoding cinematic discourses of protection, abuse and institutional failure in Chithha movie

Introduction The Tamil film Chithha (2023) addresses the growing relevance of child sexual abuse in native cinema contexts. The study examines how narratives about care, trust and abuse create and disrupt the portrayal of masculine guardian roles. Methods Using critical discourse analysis, key scenes were selected and interpreted through Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory to connect individual experiences of harm with broader family, community, and institutional structures. Results The narrative explores multiple layers of theoretical approaches for analyzing child sexual abuse with intricate relationships between the environmental factors that contribute to a child's development, fostering more complex and equitable narratives within the cinematic realm. Conclusion The findings demonstrate that child sexual abuse is presented in Chithha as an ecological and familial transgression shaped by the perpetrator's proximity, kinship trust, gendered silence and institutional constraints within interconnected social systems. A key finding is the demonstration of secondary victimization in the exosystem through procedural delays, community scrutiny and fractured support mechanisms that compound the child's trauma, extending beyond the abusive event itself. Policy Implication The study contributes to family sociology by showing how cinematic discourse can function as a cultural site for understanding the intersections of gender, caregiving, and family violence with implications for public awareness and policy conversations related to child safety, gender equality, and social justice.