Ambiguity of Belonging - Gran Torino

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for good relationships, she takes her time to let the relationship develope in order to make a one out of it great Sue is standing up for her ethnicity she wants to be treated equal and follows the same treatment with people in her community Sue has a care of the good personality she always tries to take brother and tries to prevent him from doing bad things and she always wants to help all people • Strong relationship with her family, is always with her grandma and also Walt is a part of her family Thao and the gang him as a real man who Promises Protection from the other gangs his family would see has a mind of his own 4however, they don't want him to join the because they to know what the gang does gang gangi •Thao could lose his personality in order to fit into the gang Costs Thao needs to commit a crime to join i.e., stealing a car the Thao would have to change his character to fit into the gang. He'd also be hanging around with people BRUNNEN [ not doing things he wants to help Thao Vang Lor -16 year old teenager, grows up in a female dominated house, without aby role - he lacks of self-confidence She does not know where he belongs to and Searches for an identity Easy to push around he has to do jobs for Walt because he tried to steal the Gran Torino 6 he really rises to the tasks presented to him Walt teaches Thao how to talk and behave like a man ↳ he grows from a teenager into a male adult he first accepts the gangbangers' brutality and does not want wall to do anything against it Afte Sue's rape he is willing to kill them 1. Walt inherits him his Gran Torino s giving him the opportunity to assimilate into American Osociety • owning a car is necessary for success Sue ∙is a strong young woman, able to live in both worlds of Hmong tradition and modern western überalism ↳ she has a white boyfriend ・is self-confidence, is not afraid of the gangs, she says what she thinks •She bridges the gap between he family and Walt ↳ without her, they would not have become friends Racism in a Multicultural Society Gran Torino shows the contribution of different ethnic groups there is no contact or exchang with the neighbors Language barries play a major role they block groups the Hmong groups and Walt racism is clearly directed heighbors against • racism Creates a divide between ethnic causes violence. 3 Gran Torino F Walt Kowalski: A locist who twins out to have a still good heart living in the '50s' his conservatism, patriotism and racial prejudices make him a typical white American of that generation he worked at Ford his entire life he is haunted by his Korean War experiences, in particular by his killing innocent people he does not distinguish between different Asian ethnic groups. ↳s they are all alike, remind him of his bad conscienced he is an outdated old timer uke his vintage car, the Gran Torno ・he is alienated from his two sons and their families and potrayed as a grumpy loner his behavior is stereotypically masculine, e. g. solving problems on his own, protecting or defending himself and others with a gun and not going to the doctors •he becomes a male role model for Thao · getting in touch with his Hmong neighbors changes him he has got more in common with his Hmorty neighbors than with his own family. he is the only one who has got an American flag hanging his house outside · he feels guilty about his failed family relationships (confession to Father) -solving problems alone (use force) BRUNNEN - Wall's self-sacrifice is a way to avoid a long and painful suffering to death from his lunge cancer. He is not a man who wants to see his physical strength decreasing and have to rely on others. Wat's death opens the way to restore law and order in the neighborhood, as the gangbangers are put to joul ✓ Wall and the Hmong family they protect each other they take care of him - they respect him. Walt is a role model for Thao grow Walt helps Thao to 06 a person • the importance of food - they have different cultures -taff start because of Thao to steal the car wanting • traditional enemy racist slurs - Walt is also hastile towards the Hmong Walt and Thao Walt is like a teacher for him. •Walt is a little bit like a lifesaver, because he saved him from that cousin Thao tells him to -Walt is a role model for Thao • Walt spends time with Thao, teaches and protects him go to to the doctor says he should quit smoking · Thao got more self-confident → the relationship changed Walt let Thao take the Gran Corino ↳paralel to the beginning ↳ Walt trusts Thao → relationship is very good now ↳ he never gave his family / son the car but Thao →very important Walt and Sue - mutual respect, sympathy and trust Geven though he's much older, he likes and respects Sue: they communicate with one another almost as equals Walt saved her from the African American thinks that wall is a good man and a good role model for Thao BRUNNEN She wished her father could've been a role model like him for Thao they laugh with each other. • Walt asks about their life / culture Symbols and Motifs Mirror •Symbol of wall's introspection, with the Hmongs when he finds out that he has than with his own family Lighter -symbd of Walt's Korean War experiences constant reminder of his guilt Gender stereotypes • playing with the audience's conception of men and women Cross -lying on the ground with his arms spread out in the moment -symbol of Walt's salvation L 0 --Walt always complained about others, believing in their faulls I instead of asking what he himself can do contact with Hmong gives him a second chance ·negative stereotypes: African American who are always hanging around the slieel and attacking every girl ∙racial language until the end Negative stereotypes · African American hanging around in the street and attacking. every girl they meet Asian American portrayed as docile, and passive, they are helpless against the gang's terrorizing the neighborhood Positive stereotypes Asian girls Asians take . are smart greal effort in assimilating (Gun) Violence ・ in America they have the right to bear arms hotly disputed issue in the United states Walt has at least two guns (a pistol and his M1 Grand Rifle from the Korean War ↳he does not hesitate to take them in order to scare the gangbangers away the gang's use their comphitting climes guns for enforcing dominance Or The drive-by shooting the Latino gangbanger flashes a pistol without any necessity ↳ just to show his power. to show the dominance of the Hmong gang Smokie pulls out a gun Hmong gangbangers use their weapons as a final warning ↳ they do not aim at killing anybody BRUNNEN beginning: Only verbal tensions between the different groups and Walt Concept of Masculinity. Walt's characterization corresponds to the traditional definitions of masculinity She went to war and possesses two guns ↳ he worked at Ford and had two caNs (pick up truck, Gran Torino) 4 married and raised a family with two sons 4 dlinks a lot and is a chan-smoker 4 his language is vulgal and commanding • Thao is bossed around by his sister and does women's work ∙other Hmong teenagers are gangbangers, rebelling against ther culture and their fathers' way of life - With Walt's help; That is manned up: can talk like a man and Starts dating Youa.. a job in construction, a field considered to be typically Umale 4 gels 4 when the Gran Torino is passed ove to him, his assimilation to American Society is completed The Ambiguity of Belonging Cultural and social identity problems ·Thao is torn between his Hmong traditions and his wish to assimilate into American Society All to people around him emphasize Thao's female character and behavior He Searches for a clear male identity · Walt calls him pussy' → he misses in Thoo the masculine with the Gran Torino, he is finally equipped with everything 4 complete male identity. a car, a girlfriend and a a job a beard · final scene: he has grown Walt having resisted the overall white flight, he lives alone admist a Hmong dominated community in which • he recognizes that he has more in common with his Hmong neighbors than with his own family • he does not fit in the Hmong neighborhood feels like the last survivor of an older generation" Suffers from the inner distance that is between him and his family .