Gran Torino

Alternativer Bildtext:

belonging in the first half of the movie his male identity is questioned → does "girls tasks" and is comandet by his sister → Latino gang asks him wether he is a boy or a girl →walt calls him a pussy and he has "no balls" ► not really integrated into the American culture easy to push around; pressured to join the gang ▸ After working for valt as punishment, he succeds in doing u men's work" valt is not only a mentor but also a roldmodel or even father figure to Thao → helps Thao to be manned up in his behavior and language Sue Lor ► He inherits the Gran Torino → opportunity to assimilate into Am. society ► 17-year-old confident, strong young woman ▸ Assimilated into American/western world but still respects timong traditions good relation with her family → bridges the gap between her family & walt ► due to her self-confidence she doesn't shy away from confrontation ▸ the members of the Hmong gang rape her in order to show their dominant masculine role important aspects of belonging in Jair's life ► His dog Oaisy sitting on his porch with palsy and admiring his Gran Torino, drinking beer meeting old friends at the bar getting a haircut and joking with his friend Martin, the barber Walt's sense of belonging / ► lonely; no real connections to other people. ► his way of talking and body language set him apart from the Hmong family ► estranged from his sons and their family ► no real close friends typical representative of the blue-collar ethics ▸no belonging in his neighborhood → only "white person left ► declines offers from Father Janovich in the beginning => guided by his prejudices; unwilling to change his beliefs and values and convictions, actively creates his own alienation ► after his wife's death he is left alone in a world he can no longer identify with →neighbours get replaced by Hmong immigrants →new generation has forgotten about the past and doesn't share his "old-school" values and beliefs ► still haunted by his horrible var experiences and burdened by his guilt masculinity traditional conservative definitions of mas culinity → guns, cars, tough language, manly work stereotypical masculine behavior ► movie praises masculinity Walt's relationship to sue x Thao/ (mid movie) Walt and sue wait and Thao ►Sue knows hou to talk ▸ Wait seems torn apart to wait and it seems about how he should like she really feel about Thao understands him ►uait lets sve teach him about the Hmong Culture more open to learn about them (total change to the beginning) uants the best for Sue > Happy that she broke up with her boyfriend Chot manly enough) → acts like a father ► Feel comfortable around each other ► mutual like, understanding ► valt thinks he needs to help thao get more manly, find a job ►Sue thinks volt is like a father to Thao Racism wait's intolerance and racism is fed by his past as a soldier in the Korean war → had to learn to think low of Asians ► keeps racist language to the end but his attitude changed : violence ► Gun vidence shootings, threatening →second Amendment ► Halt doesn't hesitate to use his firearms → never actually pulled the trigger after war ▶ Gangs use guns to enforce dominance American dream. ► from rags to riches, upward mobility, land of opportunity ► self-defense, -reliance