‘Gran Torino’ is a film directed by Clint Eastwood who also plays the main character, Walt Kowalski. The film is set in Detroit, Michigan where a car manufacturing factory has just closed, therefore, former workers moving away and immigrants such as the Hmong people moving in. Walt is a veteran of the Korean war where he won the silver star medal in 1952. The penultimate scene is the climax of the film where Walt confronts the Hmong gang, this holds a lot of significance. The gang has been hassling Thao who Walt has taken under his wing. Walt sees this an opportunity to sacrifice himself. The main theme of this scene is redemption, Walt can relieve his sin of killing a boy in Korea and Thao and his family can live a happier, safer life. The …show more content…
Walt is a chain smoker which could most likely be the reason he is sick. The cigarette can be seen as representing a cancer stick. Another symbol in the scene is when Walt has been shot, he is lying in a crucifix position with a lighter in his hand. Blood begins to trickle down. The lighter is a war souvenir and represents his only weapon in the scene. Both of these symbols are used one after the other. The cigarette is in Walt’s hand while he is standing on the lawn while the crucifix is in the moments after Walt has been shot. The symbols create meaning to Walt and his background as smoking is the reason he is ill and the crucifix as his wife was religious yet he was not but wanted to feel free of his sins before passing, the position also showed sacrifice. The director uses these symbols to show that Walt is a thoughtful man who considered his options wisely and instead of committing more sins by fighting back, he went to the house knowing he was going to die but the Hmong gang would be sent to jail for their crime. It seems that Walt become more open-minded to religion throughout the film and had a better outlook on life leading up to the sacrifice of his life which leads back to the main theme of
The Symbol Fire About ten years after World War II ended, Elie Wiesel, one of the survivors of the Holocaust, wrote his book Night. In his book, he writes about his experiences from when the Nazi’s first came to his hometown, to when the U.S. Soldiers freed the prisoners in the Buchenwald camp. He talks about his many experiences and all the different actions he had to take to stay alive. He frequently used symbolism to describe what happened to him. A symbol is used to represent something else.
The first symbol, which one can clearly see is the main character’s first name, which is Luke. 1The book of “Luke” is a very well know book of “The Bible”, and Luke is also a close follower of Christ. 2 Religious Symbolism is also present in the scene where Luke is consuming the 50 eggs. Eggs are closely related to Easter, and also to Christ because eggs symbolism rebirth. “Luke’s ingestion of the fifty eggs correlates to the fifty
The movie “Gran Torino” is an excellent example of how our own moral values define who we are as a person. We make decisions based on what we think is right or wrong. The film starts off with Walt Kowalski who is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighbourhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy an old man, who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbours, a Korean War veteran whose prize
The next symbol is the herb of healing. This is a gift and also a curse that Death bestows upon his godson. Death is willing to help him become a famous, wealthy doctor. Death who is fair, keeps the promise he made his godson’s father long ago, but the herb is used as Death sees it to be used, not the godson. This is spun into action when Death says” When I am standing at their feet they are mine, but if I am standing at their head they are to be healed” (Grimm 12). In Essence I see Death using his godson to help him invoke the ill. This outlines the power struggle that some father -son relationships go through. The father, always wanting what they think is best for the
The first symbol used is the tapes Bub’s wife and Robert sent to each other, showing the closeness between the two, causing Bub to be a bit jealous of Robert. And as soon as Robert came to the house, he got drinks and then later smokes marijuana with the three of them, symbolizing how to wanted to relax his thoughts and deal with his discontent of Robert being in the house, and to “make [them]selves comfortable” (523). The smoking also represents his surprise in Robert being different, thinking that “the blind didn’t smoke” (523). Later, while watching the TV, they see the cathedrals, and Robert doesn’t have an idea of what they look like, and Bub has trouble trying to explain what they look like. Robert has Bub draw out what they look like on paper sitting on top of his hand, encouraging him afterward to close his eyes and feel the drawing, changing how Bub see’s blindness.
The film Gran Torino directed by Client Eastwood challenges The issues of stereotypes through the attributes of contemporary assumptions of status, gender and ethnicity. Exploring the themes of absence of a male dominate figure, enabling protagonist Theo to be a feminine figure exploits the idea of gender portrays the Hmong men to be stereotyped.Ethnicity and status also express multiple meanings through the cinematography and the Hollywood narrative style illustrates many representation of the western and eastern cultures These key terms gender, ethnicity and status all intertwine with each other during the entire film. The Hmong culture have been stereotyped by the western culture concerning that the American way is the only way which
Andy’s name is on the pocket because he is the money man for Exferimentation. Eric’s name is on the flask because he is the creator for Exferimentation and Scott’s name is in the hair because he is the brewing brains of the operation. The 4 strips on the cuff on the right wrist mean “Spread love, not war.” The pie sign is located on his belt.
The symbolism of the fire and coal are the meaning of new starts. The coal and fire gave Isaiah a new start with his life. His sins were forgiven, and became a prophet for the Lord. In the next passages, new beginnings are discussed and how Jesus would bring them to everyone. Though Jesus isn’t a symbol, He represents the same thing as the fire and coal.
The movie Gran Torino, is an American film directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars as the main character. The movie was set in Highland Park, Michigan which was a nearby suburb of Detroit. In prior years, Highland Park was populated by white families that had come to the area to work in the Ford car factories, but over time, “the damn chinks” moved into the neighborhood as Walt Kowalski would say. This show was the first American film to show Hmong Americans, which were war refugees that had resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975 (Yuen). The main character, Clint Eastwood is a widowed Korean War veteran who often shows bursts of racism and anger towards people of different race, especially the Asian immigrants in his neighborhood. His neighbor, Thao Vang Lor, a young Hmong teenager becomes a key character in the movie after he gets pressured into stealing Walt’s 1972 Gran Torino in an attempt to be initiated into a Hmong gang in which his cousin is involved with. While attempting to steal the car, Walt catches Thao and is sure to prove a point that he is not going to take any slack from him and or the Hmong gang members.
"Gran Torino" tackles racism head on. Although the main character Walt Kowalski, played by Clint Eastwood, is prejudiced against almost everyone, the film focuses on an Asian neighborhood, uncovering racism and violence. The neighborhood has gone down hill since it has become immigrant-dominated. The house next door is now owned by a Hmong family, a widespread South-east Asian minority, and Walt does not trouble to distinguish them from the Koreans he fought in the 1950s. Throughout the film, we learn Walt had to kill many Koreans as part as his duty as a soldier during that period of time. The film takes a twist when the bitter old war veteran's life takes an unexpected turn after Thao, a shy, teenage boy who lives next door to Walt is bullied by his
This symbol is first introduced in the novel where the man and his son are resting in a parked car with whatever they can find to give them warmth. After they settle in, the
Due to his patriotism that he acquired during his service in the army, he often used racial slurs and bad tempered against his Korean neighbors. After interacting more with his Korean neighbours, he quickly learned they were called Hmong, “Koreans that fought alongside with the United States” stated by Sue — a neighbour of Walt’s. Thus knowing his neighbors ethnicity battled on his side of the war, he slowly started to take down his “walls” and allowed himself to be more approachable. Subsequent to his new acceptance of his neighbours, Walt had more interactions that led to him attending barbecues and events and forming friendships with Sue and Thao. Walt was then able to talk about the sins he has committed and confess his guilt he has had from the Korean war to Father Janovich — a priest that tried to bring Walt to confession due to promising Walt’s
In his film ‘Gran Torino’, Clint Eastwood tells the story of an unlikely relationship between Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski and his Hmong neighbours Thao and Sue. The film explores the possibility of redemption, “second chances”, and the hope that comes from having a positive future. Both Walt and Thao experience redemption in the film. Walt is saved from the guilt of murder and broken relationships. Ultimately, Walt finds “peace” with himself, with others and with God. Walt’s young neighbour Thao is rescued from a future of crime and violence, and the shame of attempted theft. Ultimately, Thao gains a future as a
Many people say that old people fear change as they have grown so accustomed to their old ways, however, in Clint Eastwood’s meaningful and captivating drama Gran Torino, it is exemplified that anyone is capable of change. Gran Torino shares a story about tolerance and cultural differences, but also one about hope, self-sacrifice, and unlikely relationships. In the film, an abundance of cultural diversity is met with much resistance, stereotype, and prejudice by the movies’ main character, Walt Kowalski. Walt’s world is changing; his wife has died, his Detroit neighbourhood is deteriorating, his relationship with his two sons is distant, and his Korean War memories continue to affect his ability to fully enjoy life. Through an unlikely bond with the Hmong family next door, Walt finally receives redemption by coming face-to-face with the same destructive prejudices consuming neighbourhood teenage gang members that have consumed him. Through the devices of characterisation, symbolism, and dialogue the viewers will witness Walt emerge as a more compassionate individual who becomes more accepting of other cultures and ethnic backgrounds around him.
Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino (2008) is a portrayal of human sacrifice and the racial intolerance that still exists in modern America. The film is set in a poor neighbourhood of Detroit. Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a war veteran who has brooded over his experiences in the war for decades. Past trauma has caused him to believe that he cannot trust anyone, and he has therefore developed a deep racism. Eastwood uses many different techniques, including lighting, camera angles, and dialogue to show how the man Walt Kowalski develops throughout the film. Kowalski begins as an angry,