Stereotypes In Walt Kowalski's 1972 Gran Torino

Abstract

Decades after the Korean War has ended, old veteran Walt Kowalski (played by actor Clint Eastwood) is still dreaded by the atrocities he witnessed in the combat zone in Korea. An extremely racist Korean War veteran now living in a crime-ridden neighborhood in Detroit after the death of his wife, is forced to confront his extreme and persistent prejudice when a misguided Hmong teenage from his neighborhood is peer pressured to steal his highly cherished Gran Torino. Hmong, which means “free people” are culturally Chinese and fought with the United States during the Vietnam War and then migrated to the United States at the end of the war. The two things that matter most to Walt in life are his 1972 Gran Torino that signifies his happier

Stereotyping by nature can sometimes prove to be accurate, but nonetheless a generalizations and can derive from traits of prejudice and racism. Some examples of these in the film that deals with racial stereotypes are the Asians driving a Honda or Japanese vehicle with a spoiler on the rear of the car. We see the Hmong gang riding around in a “jap burner” or “rice burner” vehicle with a spoiler or tail wing on the back. This proves to be only a culture stereotype when Walt gives his 1972 Gran Torino to Thao. Thao is shown driving the vehicle with Walt’s dog Daisy, his Labrador retriever in the final scene in the film. Another common stereotype presented to us was simply the African American men harassing women in the neighborhood. This is shown in a scene where Sue and her white male friend are being harassed by a group of three African American men. Sue positions the fact that they are illustrating African American stereotypes by harassing her sexually and putting their hands on her. They continue to make sexually accused remarks to Sue and call her profane terms like

Nonverbal communication has been shown to account for between 60% and 90% of interpreted communication (Samovar 13). Slight variations in body language, speech rhythms, and regularity often cause mistrust and misperception of the situation between cross-cultural groups. When Walt is invited into the house for the BBQ as token of the Hmong family appreciation, there are a lot of nonverbal cues that occur which lead to big moment of tension. Like mentioned earlier, there is a moment when everyone in the room is staring at him, and he asks them (in a racial manner) what they are all looking at? Without putting into play cultural aspects, there are misinterpretations of both parties. Walt is offended by the inconsistent and awkward use of eye contact by Sue’s family, and they are offended when Walt touches the top of a girl’s head. Intercultural interaction becomes a frustrating moment when people find themselves in these situations, and with Walt’s personality and experience he does not take the situation with