Each culture is so different from the next. Culture involves the beliefs, social rules, and material traits of a group of people. This includes the group’s shared values, goals, and practices. The differences between the American and Hmong cultures are displayed throughout Clint Eastwood’s production of Gran Torino. A key difference is the way both groups treat their elderly members. The film portrays the Hmong as treating their elders which much more respect than the Americans, yet both the Hmong children and Walt’s own grandchildren back-talk him throughout the movie. From the jump of Gran Torino, the main character, Walt, is mourning the loss of his wife at her funeral. He watches as each of his grandchildren approach the altar of the Catholic church with blatant disrespect. One child makes a crass comment when doing the traditional triad for the Son, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. His granddaughter, Ashley, is shown disrespecting Walt throughout the movie. She attends the funeral in an immodest outfit that shows off her belly button ring. …show more content…
The main comparing characteristic is the back talk seen throughout the movie. For example, Walt’s granddaughter talks back to her mother at the memorial service when she is asked to help her grandfather. Even though Sue and Thao respect Walt, they still make remarks back to him. Walt humorously appreciates this retaliation because the Hmong children show him much more respect and regard than his family does. We do not see Sue and Thao talk back to their mother and grandmother. This may just be an indication that the Hmong children are code-switching from Hmong dialect to American because of the different relationship they have with Walt. Code-switching occurs when an individual alternates between dialects during a conversation, or further, when they use different dialects with different conversation