Gran Torino: Challenging Stereotypes Essay

After watching the movie Crash in class it was immediately added to the list of my favorite movies. I have always been a huge fan of mystery movies. When I say mysteries I don’t always mean murders or crime but those that don’t quite make complete sense until the end. Crash is that type of movie.

Stereotyping is a major issue in the world today, however, mostly in the United States. It is known as fixed impressions, exaggerated or preconceived ideas about particular social groups, usually based solely on physical appearance (The New York Company). Crash is a great example because it shows others stereotyping individuals in many ways. According to Schingel, it is the perfect analogy of how we as a human race deal with life, people and our own experiences. The movie, released in 2005, shows each character's point of view, rather it be from an African-American, Caucasian, or a Latino. It follows each character throughout the movie to show how they live their daily lives.

Walter struggles in understanding who he needs to be for his family. He wants to take his place as the patriarch of the family, but he feels incapable of providing them with the lifestyle they deserve. This concern is always at the forefront of his mind, and it affects his attitude and outlook. The anxiety that Walter is dealing with creates confrontation with his sister. He fears that her dream will interfere with his own agenda of making a better life for his family. The severity of the tension becomes more and more apparent with Walter’s unwise investment. Walter is dealing with the burden that he has let his family down, while Beneatha is flabbergasted by the reality that her future has been snatched away from her, and she had no control over it. While reflecting on the situation, Beneatha remarks, “ I sound like a human who just had her future taken right out of my hands! While I was sleeping….things were happening in this world that directly concerned me and nobody consulted me—they just went out and did things—and changed my life” (Hansberry 3.15). Walter and Beneatha’s individual issues with the outcome of the situation cause them to find fault with one another during a time when their family needs to pull together to get through such a financial hardship. Walter is in an emotional pit; his turning to alcohol and music instead of his family for support expands the

The movie “Gran Torino” is an excellent example of how our own moral values define who we are as a person. We make decisions based on what we think is right or wrong. The film starts off with Walt Kowalski who is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighbourhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy an old man, who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbours, a Korean War veteran whose prize

In his film ‘Gran Torino’, Clint Eastwood tells the story of an unlikely relationship between Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski and his Hmong neighbours Thao and Sue. The film explores the possibility of redemption, “second chances”, and the hope that comes from having a positive future. Both Walt and Thao experience redemption in the film. Walt is saved from the guilt of murder and broken relationships. Ultimately, Walt finds “peace” with himself, with others and with God. Walt’s young neighbour Thao is rescued from a future of crime and violence, and the shame of attempted theft. Ultimately, Thao gains a future as a

When people first see me, they make assumptions about be because I am a girl, and because I am Jewish and they relate me to all the negative stereotypes without even getting to know me. First of all, since I wear a bow every day, people assume that I am a girly girl and that i’m not allowed to like anything that boys like, and that I can't throw a ball. Another stereotype that I am associated with is Jews. Just because I am a Jew, and I go to a Jewish day school, people assume that I go to shul every saturday morning and pray, or that I wear long skirts every day. All of these stereotypes are false, but people don’t know that because they don’t know me, they have only seen what I look like. This reminds me of the book The Outsiders, in chapter

134). In Gran Torino, the concept of social categorization is depicted by Walt’s ignorance of Sue’s (Tao’s sister) ethnic background, in which he asks her, “What is a... where is Hmong or whatever?” she responds by saying, “Wow! You’re so enlightened. Hmong isn’t a place, it’s a people. Hmong people come from different parts of Laos and Thailand and China” (Eastwood et al., & Eastwood, 2008). Another example of social categorization is shown by Walter’s misconceptions about Sue’s and other Asian-Americans ethnic backgrounds when he said, “What in the hell’s the matter with you? I thought all you Asian girls were supposed to be so smart. That’s how you end up in the obituaries, that is, if they can identify your body once they pull it out of the goddamned river” (Eastwood et al., & Eastwood, 2008).

For example, Dale Harding’s wife, Vera, dominates over Harding. When Vera visits Harding in the ward, he refers to her as his “nemesis” (183). He feels inferior to her, which is the reason he is in the ward. Vera points out his flaws by saying “Dale, when are you going to learn to laugh instead of making that mousy little squeak?” (183-184). She lowers his self-esteem and makes him too nervous to function in society. Not only does Vera Harding overpower her husband, but Mrs. Bromden does as well. When she married Chief’s father, he took her last name (214). Mrs. Bromden challenged the traditional patriarchy, showing that she is the dominant person in their relationship. When Chief tells McMurphy about his mother, he claims “My Papa… was real big when I was a kid. My mother got twice his size… Bigger than Papa and me together” (219). Chief uses size to represent power and strength, so he means his mother became significantly more powerful than his father. Chief continued the conversation with “He fought it a long time till my mother made him too little to fight anymore and he gave up” (220). Mrs. Bromden had worked hard enough on breaking her husband down that he wore away. She even forced him into selling the reservation land to the government, the land that he had lived on his whole life (214). Mrs. Bromden stole her husband’s confidence and power to accomplish her goals. Nurse Ratched

The movie Crash accurately portrayed many forms of racism such as the scene when the two officers pull over the African American couple. The officer had no reason to pull them over and search them just as many people get pulled over due to their color and wrongfully searched without probable cause. Koppelman (2014) says "racist behavior occurs when someone acts upon his or her racial prejudices by saying or doing something degrading or harmful toward a person or group"(p. 184). Implicit racism is indirect whereas explicit racism is direct messages reinforcing white superiority (Koppelman, 2014). One example of explicit racism shown in the movie Crash was when the shop owner verbally lashed out on the locksmith and his race. He was basically

It is vital to bring up that Anderson, who is from the zone and has felt this sort of displeasure towards others, has altered his opinion. He now trusts that scorn and bias aren't right. The motion picture endeavors to appear, with this illustration, that even the individuals who have been raised with disdain and bias in their souls can alter their way of life. He was the person who was against Agent Ward acquiring many specialists and the media to the territory. This activity only heightened the dedication of the Klan. The lesson here is that individuals are characteristically impervious to change. The change must be continuous in nature. He likewise demonstrated that, with a specific end goal to change the convictions of these individuals, one should first start to comprehend them, and after that he or she should invalidate their convictions through discourse and data

The key point in Clint Eastwood’s film, “Gran Torino” is all about the necessities of becoming a man and being important to society. The characters in “Gran Torino” undergo changes within the film that were caused by traumatic events that occur in the film. Thao gains confidence and becomes a man, finally realising his usefulness in the world. Walt gains new views and perceptions of the world around him and even learns to let go of his past. However, character development doesn’t extend out to all characters within the film, but situates on the most important individuals within the movie.

In addition to being an award winning and highly regarded film, Gran Torino is filled with concepts of social society within it’s gritty plot. For our paper, we decided to analyze three separate scenes, each of which demonstrating a different social psychology concept that is prevalent to the scenes in review.

The movie Gran Torino, is an American film directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars as the main character. The movie was set in Highland Park, Michigan which was a nearby suburb of Detroit. In prior years, Highland Park was populated by white families that had come to the area to work in the Ford car factories, but over time, “the damn chinks” moved into the neighborhood as Walt Kowalski would say. This show was the first American film to show Hmong Americans, which were war refugees that had resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975 (Yuen). The main character, Clint Eastwood is a widowed Korean War veteran who often shows bursts of racism and anger towards people of different race, especially the Asian immigrants in his neighborhood. His neighbor, Thao Vang Lor, a young Hmong teenager becomes a key character in the movie after he gets pressured into stealing Walt’s 1972 Gran Torino in an attempt to be initiated into a Hmong gang in which his cousin is involved with. While attempting to steal the car, Walt catches Thao and is sure to prove a point that he is not going to take any slack from him and or the Hmong gang members.

The 2008 movie “Gran Torino” starring Clint Eastwood is filled with an abundance of cultural diversity, which is met with much resistance, stereotype, and prejudice by the movies’ main character, Walt Kowalski. Walt’s world is changing; his Detroit neighborhood is decaying, his relationship with his sons is distant, and his Korean War memories continue to destroy his ability to fully enjoy life. Through an unlikely bond with the Hmong children next door, Walt finally receives redemption by coming face-to-face with the same destructive prejudices consuming neighborhood teenage gang members

Many people say that old people fear change as they have grown so accustomed to their old ways, however, in Clint Eastwood’s meaningful and captivating drama Gran Torino, it is exemplified that anyone is capable of change. Gran Torino shares a story about tolerance and cultural differences, but also one about hope, self-sacrifice, and unlikely relationships. In the film, an abundance of cultural diversity is met with much resistance, stereotype, and prejudice by the movies’ main character, Walt Kowalski. Walt’s world is changing; his wife has died, his Detroit neighbourhood is deteriorating, his relationship with his two sons is distant, and his Korean War memories continue to affect his ability to fully enjoy life. Through an unlikely bond with the Hmong family next door, Walt finally receives redemption by coming face-to-face with the same destructive prejudices consuming neighbourhood teenage gang members that have consumed him. Through the devices of characterisation, symbolism, and dialogue the viewers will witness Walt emerge as a more compassionate individual who becomes more accepting of other cultures and ethnic backgrounds around him.