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Gran Torino Political Themes

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There has been a lot of literature that touches on different aspects of public culture and history. Particularly political agenda, which has played a significant role in shaping the arts and literature industry as a whole, both because of how the work is perceived and how it was written in the context of the generation that produced it and its themes. The piece of art I have chosen to analyze the themes of political structure is the film Gran Torino, directed by Clint Eastwood, which deals with various political issues. "Gran Torino" touches upon political themes in a subtle and nuanced manner. The movie is set against the backdrop of a changing American society, where issues of race, immigration, and economic inequality are salient. The film …show more content…

Walt Kowalski is a retired Korean War veteran with racial biases against ethnic minority groups, especially the individuals in his poor American neighborhood. Walt doesn't express his racism towards a specific group of individuals, but he is perturbed and most resentful of the Hmong immigrants, the Vang Lors, that moved into his neighborhood and are being oppressed by the gangs in the area. His subjectivity towards the Vang Lords specifically started with the son, Thao, being forced to steal his Ford Gran Torino by the neighborhood gang. Throughout the film, the film highlights the difficulties of assimilation and cultural misunderstandings and portrays the Hmong people as victims of discrimination and racism but also as a resilient community that has managed to preserve their traditions and values despite being forced to leave their …show more content…

The film portrays the complexities of white masculinity, as Walt embodies both traditional and modern ideals of masculinity. He's stoic, tough, and physically capable. Walt's struggles to come to terms with his prejudices and connect with those who are different from him are a poignant commentary on the challenges of white masculinity in a changing world. Walt has been described as being incapable of having conversations with anyone who is not white and relying on racism as the fix for his problem. Walt embodies both traditional and modern ideals of masculinity, and the film examines the tensions between these two perspectives. Walt's struggles to connect with his own emotions and form relationships with those who are different from him reflect broader debates around masculinity and gender roles. He also portrays characteristics of toxic masculinity and male gender norms, as he has a garage full of guns and war memorabilia, and has a proud aura of his time in the military. Aging and mortality are also important themes in the film. Walt is confronted with his mortality, and the film explores the challenges of growing old and coming to terms with one's legacy. Walt is portrayed as the savior of the Vang Lors, as he saved the family from the urban gangs, specifically Thao and Sue, and continues to protect them and build a relationship with them after his

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The film entitled Gran Torino defines many aspects of not only an iconic American muscle car but, a man who in current times has American non-traditional values. Walt Kowalski is a elderly decorated Korean war veteran who is living in a predominantly non white neighborhood. Struggling to recover from his wife suddenly passing away, Walt finds himself in a situation where he reluctantly befriends his next door neighbor who happens to be Hmong and also tried to steal his beloved Gran Torino. In this event, Walt soon finds out that he has more in common with his neighbors than his own family. In relation to Dan Flory’s theory in the article “Spike Lee and the Sympathetic Racist” the character of Walt Kowalski does not function as a “sympathetic racist” because the viewer cannot easily admire or relate with him due to his behavior and choice in verbal repugnancy to people of other races.

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Walter is a young adolescent, merely fourteen years old who is left stranded at the home of his two uncles in Texas, quite literally in the middle of nowhere. Viewers' first impression of Walter is that he is actually a very timid and hesitant character unsure of the situation he has been put in. Walter has undergone hurt and hardships from his past just like his mother Mae. The difference between the two is that Walter has not allowed these moments to define and eat relentlessly away at him. He has not accepted his past to be normal, or justified things that should not be justified.

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In Another Man’s Moccasins (2008), by Craig Johnson, the character Walt Longmire has three moral attributes and those are being compassionate, being responsible, and being respectful. Walt’s appearance in the beginning of the book makes him seem like he is not compassionate to anyone and comes off as being hard. Walt’s character starts to evolve as the book goes on and opens who he is truly as a person. But, throughout the entire book, Craig gives many examples of how Walt is compassionate for his daughter’s mental health and his co-workers, responsible when it comes to his job, and how he tries to remain respectful through his investigations. First moral attribute Walt has is being compassionate, and this is mainly for his daughter’s mental health and wellbeing.

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(Krakauer, 105). A need to overpower his family naturally ran through his veins. “According to members of the extended family, his moods can be dark and mercurial” (Krakauer, 105). His extended family, that does not even live in the same house as him, has obviously witnessed his contemptuous behavior. The controlling behavior was present outside of the immediate family, showing that Walt’s behavior was uncontrolled and

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The main male character, Walter Neff, is a mere insurance salesman who gets drawn into a murder plot because of his attraction to a married woman. Not surprisingly, Walter faces several moral challenges throughout the story. Since the movie was an adaptation of the novella, some of the moral struggles he deals with vary between the two. In the novella, the death of Phyllis and Walter blatantly defies usual moral principles. At that point in the story, they both had committed a murder and had been caught for it.

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Looking onto the scenery of his neighborhood, he reacts saying, “Why do all the chinks have to move in this neighborhood for?” By reacting in such a manner, it seems as if Walt’s better judgment is obscured by the obvious cultural differences. Secondly, Kowalski finds himself living in

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The film

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The town found this reason enough to tarnish the reputation of McMillian. Walter’s identity as Black immediately put him at a disadvantage because of the corrupt systems of inequality that have been in place for centuries. As a people, Black folks are still reeling from the deep inequality they faced both as slaves and

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Throughout the plot, he struggles with acceptance of his social status and economical situations, but ends up achieving true fulfillment in simply being proud of who he and his family are as people with aspirations. Walter’s evolution

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The scene also illustrates how racism can cause one to feel displaced from oneself because he felt like he betrayed his friend in some way. As a result, his conflicting emotions led him to lose control of his actions and become alienated from himself. Because he felt as if he did not know who he is or where he belongs anymore, he resents white society for racially discriminating him and causing him to feel anger towards

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It won’t let him get a good job or house, be able to have a car, or allow him to live the way he wants to live. Because of all these stressors, it forces Walter to make a risky business decision that costs him most of his father’s life insurance money. Racism caused Walter to risk every dollar he owned and he lost it all. Later, he almost lost his own dignity by pleading with Mr. Lindner for his money back, but Mama saved him from doing it. Walter and the Youngers decided to move to Clybourne Park to live Walter’s dream of trying to live with the same privileges of white people.

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Gran Torino is a 1998 film directed by the highly acclaimed Clint Eastwood. Walt Kowalski is a Korean war veteran whose residence is in the midst of the crime-ridden Hmong neighborhood in Detroit. Walt’s prized possession is the Gran Torino which ultimately provides the olive branch to the young Thao and through their love for his car. There is this initial feeling that Walt is slightly racist, however once he puts his feeling aside and he realises the Thao has the same connection with his car he accepts that he is a responsible and respectful kid and is willing to help him break free of the horrific implications of the gang culture. There are a plethora of film techniques that highlight the key ideas and themes that are noticeably evident

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Walter further shows his false pride when he flaunts his newfound sense of power when Mr.Lindner, one of the Younger’s soon-to-be neighbors, offers him an unjust deal. Now that Walter has control over the family 's money, he considers himself the head of the family and decision maker; this plays an important role towards how Walter treats others now that he holds himself to a higher standard. This theme applies to Walter when the chairman of the “welcoming committee” (115) named Mr.Lindner pays a visit to the family a couple weeks before they 're supposed to move into their new home in Clybourne Park. During this visit, Mr.Lindner makes the offer of the Clybourne Park community “buy[ing] the house from [them] at a financial gain to [the] family” (118). Mr.Lindner’s offer represents the racial oppression and how the white community looks down upon and doesn’t want African american people dirtying their communities.

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Everyone feels sympathetic for Walter because he has a drinking problem. Lena trusts him with sixty-five hundred dollars and he gives it away trying to do a deal that goes wrong. The antagonist of this story is Karl Lindner. Karl is the bearer of bad news. He is apart of the greeting committee of Clybourne Park which is known as a "white" neighborhood.

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