Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The story follows Walt Kowalski, a recently widowed Korean War veteran alienated from his family and angry at the world. Walt's young neighbor, Thao Vang Lor, is pressured by his cousin into stealing Walt's prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino for his initiation into a gang. Walt thwarts the theft and subsequently develops a relationship with the boy and his family. In the context of trying to help Thao to fight off his cousin's gang, Walt eventually contributes to the cycle of violence. At the end, Walt dies in a gun fire as a means to ensure a better future for Thao and his sister Sue in the neighborhood without them being haunted by gangs and violence for the rest of their lives. One of the central themes thereby holds the overcoming of prejudice in a US American culturally interlaced society which is directly connected with the ambiguity of belonging Thao as well as Walt have to face.
Besides the movie, the article "Houston, Texas: Previewing America's Demographic Makeover" published on the website www.yoanews.com also deals with the demographic changes America is facing and how the country's population reacts to it. The article explains these changes in demographics and attitudes by looking at the city of Houston that is located in the southern state Texas. In the 1980s, America experienced its fourth immigration wave as many immigrants from Asia, Africa, or South America entered the booming oil economy in the southern states. Following, the influx transformed Houston from a Mexican-American dominated city into a multiracial city with a burgeoning progressive population that originates from various countries such as Pakistan, Mexico, Thailand, Laos, or Ecuador.
At the same time, the percentage of the white population living in Houston has dropped immensely in recent years. One reason for this is that the white population is overwhelmingly made up of people who are aged 60 or older, while the group consisting of African, South American, and Asian immigrants is most commonly made up of people who are in their mid-20s and therefore bound to found a family.
Whilst the composition of the population changes in Houston, the distribution of wealth changes too. It has been observed that there is a growing underclass that mainly consists of white people who own less than a High school degree and with the slow but steady disappearance of the coal and mine industry also less employment perspectives. On the other hand, there also exists a growing middle class of immigrants who have worked their way up.
At the beginning of the changing environment and the influx of immigrants, the overwhelmingly white population who resided in Houston wanted the newcomers to assimilate as they were not fond of the otherness the immigrants brought with them. Some inhabitants even refused to interact with the increasing number of Asian, African, and South American habitants. However, this initial attitude towards immigration and immigrants has shifted a lot in recent years as there is only little discrimination towards immigrants today and more and more are of the opinion that immigrants contribute to an economic growth. This means that the city as a whole started to organically welcome newcomers from all over the world.
The change in attitudes can be traced back to the fact that everyone, no matter where they come from or what ethnicity they belong to, keeps their property nice, obeys and respects the law as much as possible and tries to avoid crime. Following, you could say that the fact that Houston 's inhabitants are sharing the same values has helped the city's community to work and live peacefully together.
This sort of living situation can, at least at the beginning of the movie Gran Torino, not be found within Walt Kowalski's neighborhood and environment. Parallel to Houston's change in demographics, the neighborhood where the movie is set and which is located in Detroit, has undergone similar changes. As the automobile industry disappeared and thereby many factory jobs, the white population that consisted of many blue-collar workers fled to the suburbs in hope for a better life. Consequently, more and more immigrant families especially Asian ones moved into the left neighborhood and houses. Walt, however, has continued living in his house despite the change of demographics and the increase in gang violence that claims victims every single day.
Aligned with the violent and poor living conditions that dominate Walts and Thao's neighborhood, Walt is stuck in a world view that only allows him to think within black and white boxes, allowing him to continue living in a "us and them" scheme. The reason for his old way of viewing and evaluating his surrounding lays within his past in the military which he has spent mostly fighting in the Korean War.
The Gran Torino serves as an example of the changing and diverse cultural landscape of America, with themes of overcoming prejudice and belonging. It also reflects the changing demographics and attitudes towards immigrants, as seen in the case of Houston and its shifting population.
