Gran Torino Transcultural Analysis Essay

granny knot Torino starring Clint Eastwood was roughly a mans struggle in adapting to the changes in his environment when confronted by unkn receive exposure to ethnical differences. The film was chosen because it told a story near wholenesss struggle with traditional pr deedice, ethnic diversity, gender government agencys, and the acceptance of others. In equipment casualty of finis, there was an abundance of traditional practices cerebrate to the Hmong community. The screenplay was written by Nick Schenk and the film was filmed in July 2008 (Longwell, T). grandmother Torino was enjoin and produced by Clint Eastwood, who in interchangeable manner played the role of the chief(prenominal) case known as Walt Kowalski. Walt was an Ameri tail assembly man and a Korean fight veteran who resided in a neighborhood that became inhabited by Hmong families (Gran Torino, 2008). The affinity that Walt had with his own family was disconnected and distant because his sons embr aced the recent way of living just now Walt was more(prenominal)(prenominal) than traditional. Walt was envisi wizardd as a ill-tempered old man who did not uniform to socialize with others.All of that changed when Walt became associated with the Hmong fryren next gate, Thao and execute. Walt save Thao from being civilisen by the Hmong ingroup members and was viewed as a hero by the Hmong families despite the fact that Walt was just essay to keep other people give away his lawn. Upon an unexpected invitation by Sue, Walts domain of a function became intertwined with the Hmong community as he was introduced to conglomerate traditional Hmong customs and foods. After a series of events, the Hmong gang returned and injured Thaos family which prompted Walt to seek redemption from his war recent by sacrificing himself for the safety of Thao and Sue. The film portrayed culture j atomic number 18s in the midst of an American and Hmong families epoch focusing on the st ruggles that Hmong immigrants endure to exsert within their community.The Hmong population was great in Minneapolis, Minnesota and it was the original setting of Gran Torino and also the home town of screenplay author Nick Schenk (Longwell). Schenk had never written some(prenominal) other featured films previous to Gran Torino and it was his first recognized piece. In the betimes 90s, Schenk hunted at a mill where more of his co-workers were Hmong and he gained some knowledge or so the history of Hmong people (Longwell). The Hmong sided with the U.S during the Vietnam War that ended up in refugee camps collectible to communist takeover afterwards the U.S. parade unexpended, which resulted in the Hmong fleeing to the U.S. to escape from the communist forces (Gran Torino, 2008). Schenk began to be Hmong families into the story with a Korean War veteran to emphasize a clash of cultures. The intended purpose of this film was to tell the cultural barriers in the langua ge, customs, and gender roles surrounded by Hmong people and Americans.The writers and directors did a great assembly line on portraying masculinity as the perceived dominant role between the characters. In Gran Torino, Walt criticized Thao for doing things that men are not suppose to do such as gardening. Thao does a substantiallyly rail line in representing role reversal because he was proud to do women chores like rinse the dishes and gardening. Walt tried his best to look after Thao and made Thao masculine by tenet him how to talk to other genuine men. Walt believed that verit able-bodied American men are supposititious to be strong, fight for themselves, pay taxes, and work hard at a hands-on laboring job. Walt eventu solelyy helped Thao turn a man by getting him a real job, tools for construction work, and social skills to move with other men. This film was derived from Schenks prior experience as a factory worker with other Hmong people and this writer did not create any other significant work subsequent to the ware of Gran Torino. The p rush of the mental picture was to ground how two different types of culture clash and interact. In addition, there was also attri onlye that masculinity in males was important as shown by the main character, Walt. The sub-plot was to show the viewers that men are not supposed(p) to be barbaric but to aim a sophisticated people with mannequin and follow conjunctions rule.The main characters were Walt Kowalski, rover, Thao, and Thaos older sister, Sue. Walt played the peremptory male that stand for how a real man should be. spider, Thao and Sues cousin, represented an antagonist barbaric villain that supposed to be a gangster whom terrorized Walts neighborhood. Thao played an innocent feminine teenaged role that Walt believed was not masculine, but has build and self-respect. Sue played the smart, sophisticated, typical inculcate Asian girl who ended up getting injured by her cousin, wander er, and his gang. It was d single the interaction with Sue and Walt that the viewers were able to experience Hmong history and cultural customs. In one of the scenes during a car muster home, Sue explained to Walt the origin of Hmong people and she also invited him to her house for meal where Walt thoroughly enjoyed the foods of Hmong culture. Walt and Spider treated Thao like a child because they both wanted to teach Thao how to become a man. Spider taught Thao that he call for to become a barbaric soul to become a real man, era Walt taught Thao that hard work and following society norms was what a real man should do. Sue was the only main female character that was able to change Walts perspicacity about Hmong people.Because of Sues persistence, Walt pertinacious to help her and her family from Spider and his gang. Walt became the protagonist at the end of the film by risking his own life to bring down Spider and his gang and restoring peace to the community. My opinio n about the film was that the director did a good job on portraying masculinity and how a real man should act and treat a woman. There were a lot of racism coming out of Walts mouth about Asians, but in the end, I believed he had a change of heart about his Hmong neighbors. I believe he came to realizations that not all Asians are the same as he remembered during his Korean War days. The way Walt lastly gave a confession to the priest and how he died for his neighbor was really unexpected. The acting of Walts character by Clint Eastwood was really good as well. Walts character caught my forethought and made me want to know more about his previous life, especially when he talked about how he was in the Korean War. The cinematography could have been better and at times, it felt like I was reflection a biography alternatively than a characterization. single of the flaws was that Walt did not get in a fight for his rude appearance towards everyone that he encountered. Another flaw was that he sacrificed his life for a neighbor when he k unfermented that he could have called the cops on Spider and his crew for possession of a blaze arm and shooting his neighbors house, rather than choosing death at the end. Also, I believed the movie could have been better if they left out his illness from the doctors visit. If they had left that out and continued with the dangerous death in the end rather than risking Walts life because of a concluding illness, Walts character would have been more heroic. On the contrary, a strength of the movie was when Sue corrected Walt about the pronunciation of her race while giving him a history of where Hmong people came from and why they immigrated to America. The net strength was when Walt died for his neighbor by discharge to Spiders apartment multifactorial with witnesses around to see him get murdered. throughout the movie, the film showed the audience that Walt always carried a gun to scare off his foes, but at the end, he realized that he did not need a implement to bring down Spider and his gang. One of the things that Ilearned from the film was that toy withs should not be too quick to say someone based on appearance, like how Walt called all the Asians gooks without knowing their nationality.In one of the scenes in the movie, Walt was in the waiting board at the hospital for a check-up and a nurse mispronounced his severalize. The nurse called him Koski while his put up was Kowalski. Walt gave her a disgusting look and the nurse did not apologize or asked if she was mispronouncing his name or not. As a proximo nurse, I want to maintain a professional role and acknowledge diligents by their correct name. Correctly pronouncing a tolerants name also eliminates piece error and also prevents doctors from diagnosing the defective person. In conclusion, I would recommend this movie to people who are uneducated about Asian culture. There were a lot of racist name that Walt used in the movie a bout Asians and the stereotypes of Asians eating dogs which are not true. I would rate the movie a 4 out of 5 stars because the movie was rich in cultural content and character development. The film is appropriate for audiences ages 13 and up and mainly adapt toward males. There were a lot of unpeaceful content and gang related terms involved. As a result of reflexion this movie, I learned that one can change if surrounded by the objurgate people under inevitable mountain such as Walts culture clash with his Hmong neighbors. In addition, helping one another was the most rewarding take home message of Gran Torino. Whether I am helping a patient or just lending a helping hand to my next door neighbor, I will remember to be kind as to prevent one another from going down the falsely paths.ReferencesEastwood, C. (Producer & Director). (2008). Gran torino Motion Picture. Burbank, CA Warner Bros.Longwell, T. (2008). Eastwood recognizes Hmong immigrants with new film. Reuters. Ret rieved May 27, 2014, from http//www.reuters.com/article/2008/12/09/us-gran-idUSTRE4B81ZC20081209