Gran Torino Essay Example
Related text for Belonging:
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Walt and his family: religion
The opening of the film introduces us to WALT KOWALSKI at the funeral of his wife. The opening scene and the next (the wake) show us that Walt has no desire to belong either to his family or to his religion. Everything jars with Walt, from the young priest giving the eulogy to his granddaughters belly button ring, from the Japanese car driven by his son to his granddaughters crass selfishness. He perceives his family as selfish, materialistic and shallow. His family also reject and are intolerant of him. He also rejects the ties of belonging represented by religion though we only learn the real reason for this later. It’s quite plain he thinks that the young priest knows absolutely nothing about life or death and is singularly ill qualified to speak at any funeral let alone his wife’s. When the priest turns up at the wake he is almost unbelievably rude: “I have no desire to confess to a boy who is fresh out of the seminary”.
The wake scene also shows Walt’s racism and rejection of the family next door – the Hmongs – through his overtly racist comments (“swamp rats...zipper head”.) and his refusal to help Tao with the jumper leads. He’s horrified by the sacrifice he witnesses in the neighbours’ back yard. But his rejection of and isolation from his own family are contrasted with the family next door: their own gathering represents how strong still are the ties of religion and family, despite the tensions and conflict over Tao.
Tao and the Hmong gang
In poor neighbourhoods gang culture can be a substitute for the wider sense of identity which comes from belonging to and sharing the values of society at large – especially when you feel your own culture is rejected. The fact that the gangs in this movie – Hispanic, Black, Asian – are based on race makes them in a way a racist defence against racism – ironically the kind of racism represented by Walt’s attitudes in
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Walt and his family: religion
The opening of the film introduces us to WALT KOWALSKI at the funeral of his wife. The opening scene and the next (the wake) show us that Walt has no desire to belong either to his family or to his religion. Everything jars with Walt, from the young priest giving the eulogy to his granddaughters belly button ring, from the Japanese car driven by his son to his granddaughters crass selfishness. He perceives his family as selfish, materialistic and shallow. His family also reject and are intolerant of him. He also rejects the ties of belonging represented by religion though we only learn the real reason for this later. It’s quite plain he thinks that the young priest knows absolutely nothing about life or death and is singularly ill qualified to speak at any funeral let alone his wife’s. When the priest turns up at the wake he is almost unbelievably rude: “I have no desire to confess to a boy who is fresh out of the seminary”.
The wake scene also shows Walt’s racism and rejection of the family next door – the Hmongs – through his overtly racist comments (“swamp rats...zipper head”.) and his refusal to help Tao with the jumper leads. He’s horrified by the sacrifice he witnesses in the neighbours’ back yard. But his rejection of and isolation from his own family are contrasted with the family next door: their own gathering represents how strong still are the ties of religion and family, despite the tensions and conflict over Tao.
Tao and the Hmong gang
In poor neighbourhoods gang culture can be a substitute for the wider sense of identity which comes from belonging to and sharing the values of society at large – especially when you feel your own culture is rejected. The fact that the gangs in this movie – Hispanic, Black, Asian – are based on race makes them in a way a racist defence against racism – ironically the kind of racism represented by Walt’s attitudes in