Gran Torino Sociology

The aim of this paper is to study the interpersonal communication taking place in a cultured shocked neighborhood. The findings of these studies are applied to the film Grand Torino. In addition, this study will discuss the communication styles applied by the characters of the movie. I believe they are essential to understanding the reasons why in general individuals are racists, stereotypical and unable to adapt to different cultures as well as living with those who are different to us. We will first examine how Walt’s character adapts to the cultural

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

‘Identify critical moments in the film Gran Torino where Walt Kowalski is transformed from a racist tormented character to a compassionate father figure.‘

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

The movie Gran Torino is a film rife of depicting and promoting white male masculinity while on the other hand underrating some members of the other group and revealing them as weak, powerless and dependent on the whites for survival and protection. The movie also reveals failure of some characters to live up to social expectations by fulfilling the responsibilities that have been naturally assigned to them as parents or grandparents.

The movie, Gran Torino, took place in 21st century Detroit, Michigan. The geographical location was an urban setting. The culture was a diverse neighborhood filled with lower to middle class families. The historical setting was a neighborhood that was once filled with an abundance of White families, with freshly mowed lawns, and nice houses. Now, the original people from the neighborhood have moved out, and the houses are chipping with paint, and the laws are un-kept and dry. As time has progressed over the years, the neighborhood has became more diverse, and some of the people that were first there, have had a hard time adapting to the change. Additionally, some neighborhood gang violence has emerged among racial groups.

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 usage of racial stereotypes constructs an unreliable generalization of all members of a race. Racial stereotypes fail to recognize the individual differences that lie within a race. Haggis demonstrates several racial stereotypes that Asians and African Americans encounter. For example, Asians are stereotyped as “Asian drivers”. The film opens with Detective Rita, who is involved in a car accident, exchanging racial slurs with the other driver. Rita blames the other driver for causing the accident because she is an “Asian driver.” This stems from stereotypes that Asians do not know how to drive. Furthermore, the absence of Asian factions throughout the film parallels Asians being the perpetual foreigner. There were only 3 instances in which Asian characters were present: an older, Asian woman is involved in a car accident with

The Clone Republic relates closely to Gran Torino on racial discrimination. Racial discrimination in both The Clone Republic and Gran Torino is from a majority towards a minority. Ezer Kri is a majority Japanese and Walt is part of the white majority of America, and some members of both majorities have lashed out violently towards other ethnic groups on the basis that they aren’t part of their majority. The Japanese majority in The Clone Republic have constructed bans and boycotts of businesses owned by non Japanese individuals. That is singling out one individual on the basis on their race, by someone of a majority. Walt has a clear disdain towards Asians, being visually disgruntled when he discovered his old doctor had retired and his position had been taken over by a young Asian lady and mumbling something under his breath. As well as purposefully getting Thao’s name wrong and calling him “Toad” and calling countless others “gooks” and “chinks”. The main character of The Clone Republic Wayson Harris and his friend Vince Lee were roaming about the town so the people knew that the military had presence where they were stationed. Nearly every bar they went to turned them away or never serviced them and were completely composed of Japanese patrons. They even retired their military

Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino (2008) is a portrayal of human sacrifice and the racial intolerance that still exists in modern America. The film is set in a poor neighbourhood of Detroit. Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a war veteran who has brooded over his experiences in the war for decades. Past trauma has caused him to believe that he cannot trust anyone, and he has therefore developed a deep racism. Eastwood uses many different techniques, including lighting, camera angles, and dialogue to show how the man Walt Kowalski develops throughout the film. Kowalski begins as an angry,

Since the fundamental of the American dream is “the idea that they can live peacefully together without abandoning the culture of origin that is, the belief in cultural pluralism, multi-ethnicity, or multiculturalism.( Diana) , racism become the first obstacle to this dream. In the film the Gran Torino, racism was manifested by the hatred among people. People lived together without love. Each racial group considered other groups as enemy. For example there was a detestation between Kowalski and the grandmother which was manifested by discriminatory gestures and offensive words (the Gran Torino) In addition, the absence of unity was the other proof of racism. People did not consider themselves as American, but as Black American, Asian American or white. Because they considered other group to be stranger for them, the towns were configured based on racial

The film Gran Torino directed by Client Eastwood challenges The issues of stereotypes through the attributes of contemporary assumptions of status, gender and ethnicity. Exploring the themes of absence of a male dominate figure, enabling protagonist Theo to be a feminine figure exploits the idea of gender portrays the Hmong men to be stereotyped.Ethnicity and status also express multiple meanings through the cinematography and the Hollywood narrative style illustrates many representation  of the western and eastern cultures These key terms gender, ethnicity  and status all intertwine with each other during the entire film. The Hmong culture have been stereotyped by the western culture concerning that the American way is the only way which

‘Identify critical moments in the film Gran Torino where Walt Kowalski is transformed from a racist tormented character to a compassionate father figure.‘

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