Gran Torino Racial Stereotypes

There are many different stereotypes, or “widely held but fixed and oversimplified image[s] or idea[s] of a particular type of person or thing” (“Stereotype”). Although many are harmless and even positive, racial stereotypes, especially those shown in the media, can be harmful. It’s human nature to group people through comparison and based on familiarity. However, generalizing and applying various traits and behaviors to different racial groups is dangerous and harmful for many reasons. Namely, racial stereotypes damage individuals emotionally, ignore individuality and generalize, and further spread racial conflicts and discrimination. A huge negative impact of racial stereotypes is the emotional damage they can do to an individual or group.

Niobe Way et al. defines stereotypes as “generalizations applied to individuals who share common characteristics or a social group.” Therefore, individuals are put into boxes and “homogenized” (407). This can lead to oversimplified definitions and the blurring of different cultures into one stereotyped group. In Gran Torino, Walt categorizes his Hmong neighbors as equivalent to the Koreans who were his enemies in the war he served in and uses stereotypes concerning Asians throughout the first half of the movie. Due to these generalizations and unjust assumptions, Walt has prejudice against his neighbors and calls them various slurs. Moreover, an article by Bee Vang, who plays Thao Lor in the movie, discusses the inaccuracies in the movie and the mix of different Asian cultures to represent Hmong culture. He states, “Hmong around the country were furious about [the movie’s] negative stereotypes and cultural distortions.” Due to how influential the media is and the fact that “cultural stereotypes are communicated widely, often via outlets of mass media” (Inzlicht et al. 244), stereotypes used in movies like Gran Torino consequently can perpetuate these harmful stereotypes that ignore the individuality of people and lead to people being judged based on their