Gran Torino Film Analysis
Gran Torino Film Analysis
Norma J Morehead
Intercultural/International Communication
10 June 2012
Cultural conflict and popular culture are two experiences in life that assist in defining intercultural communication and how its influence affects our daily intercommunication. Cultural conflict is inevitable as we live out our daily lives in the identities we have selected for ourselves, the identities relating to our ethnicity and in those identities others have selected for us. These identities are bound to conflict with another individual’s identities which is why there is a need for understanding what intercultural communication is and how it can be enhanced becomes vital to peaceful living around the world. Popular culture is a reference point for information used to determine who we want to be, who we are, and what we want in life. Popular culture has its good attributes and its bad attributes, both shape our society. Popular culture as it relates to television, video games, music videos and print media has a negative reputation because it is driven by money. There are characteristics of popular culture that are positive and enrich the lives of individuals such as the fine arts; the symphony, theatre, and museums. In a free society we are fortunate to have a choice. We are a free society and we want to remain a free society which makes the need for successful intercultural communication that much more important to achieve.
Released in 2008, the film Gran Torino provides multiple cultural conflicts and examples of popular culture at its worst and at its best. This film also gifts us with the proof that with sincere effort intercultural communication can be successful with success being defined as acknowledgement of cultures outside our own. This acknowledgement opens the door to understanding each other while eliminating barriers to communication. Within this film there were the intercultural conflicts defined by our text book
Norma J Morehead
Intercultural/International Communication
10 June 2012
Cultural conflict and popular culture are two experiences in life that assist in defining intercultural communication and how its influence affects our daily intercommunication. Cultural conflict is inevitable as we live out our daily lives in the identities we have selected for ourselves, the identities relating to our ethnicity and in those identities others have selected for us. These identities are bound to conflict with another individual’s identities which is why there is a need for understanding what intercultural communication is and how it can be enhanced becomes vital to peaceful living around the world. Popular culture is a reference point for information used to determine who we want to be, who we are, and what we want in life. Popular culture has its good attributes and its bad attributes, both shape our society. Popular culture as it relates to television, video games, music videos and print media has a negative reputation because it is driven by money. There are characteristics of popular culture that are positive and enrich the lives of individuals such as the fine arts; the symphony, theatre, and museums. In a free society we are fortunate to have a choice. We are a free society and we want to remain a free society which makes the need for successful intercultural communication that much more important to achieve.
Released in 2008, the film Gran Torino provides multiple cultural conflicts and examples of popular culture at its worst and at its best. This film also gifts us with the proof that with sincere effort intercultural communication can be successful with success being defined as acknowledgement of cultures outside our own. This acknowledgement opens the door to understanding each other while eliminating barriers to communication. Within this film there were the intercultural conflicts defined by our text book
References: Edmonson, J. (2009). Let 's be clear: How to manage communication styles. T & D, 63(9), 30-31. Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2011). Experiencing intercultural communication. (4th ed., pp. 226-227). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.