Notes On Gran Torino 2f5011

NOTES ON GRAN TORINO GENRE: FEATURE FILM/ ACTION/DRAMA/NEO-WESTERN General Points: 

Feature films are dependent on the narrative and utilize the conventions of the narrative with film language to construct the movie.

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Feature films are born out a specific culture and reflect, reinforce or challenge the values and attitudes of that culture.

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Films make use of familiar plotline, common ideas, and indirectly or directly reference other texts or rework a text for a contemporary audience. There is a saying there is no such thing as a new plot.

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A romantic comedy utilizes a stereotypical plotline with hero/heroine presented with a choice between the unsuitable partner and a suitable one. The ‘cad’ is sophisticated, charming and seductive while the suitable partner appears boring or conservative. Before true love is found he/she must overcome many obstacles.

Influence on the construction of Gran Torino – The Western. The Western is an important genre since it is associated with the formation of American society. The western reflects the defeat of the barbarian; the construction of a new society; the establishment of civil society; the formation of a justice or law system and the rejection of anarchy. However, it also hails the hero who is able to overcome obstacles and carve out a new life from a harsh landscape. The ordinary man is able to achieve extraordinary feats. 

The cowboy of the Western is defined as rugged, individualist, self-reliant, determined, ambitious, fearless, stoic, resilient and above all noble. He defeats evil restores good and always saves the day.

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Part of the Western plotline is the stand offs where the hero confronts the bad guy and the townsfolk witness his battle with evil. It is an essential element of the plotline. The climatic ending restores justice and civil society is once more safe from the rogue element. There is usually a damsel in distress or his victory often gains him the love of a good woman. The emphasis is on the good woman since her purity or moral righteousness is essential. The cowboy might visit the bar or saloon with the resident prostitute or entertainer, but it is the girl next door, who is pure, who wins his heart.

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The sheriff or the outsider who comes to town to save the day is also part of the Western plotline. Eastwood has absorbed this genre and reworked it for a contemporary audience and situation. Kowalski is the cowboy of old who sits on the porch to protect his property; he saves the neighbourhood from the villainous gang of Hmong’s. He defends his property with his gun; He defends the girl (Sue) from the gang of African Americans. But when she is raped he seeks vengeance to restore civil harmony to his world. Unlike the Western movie the hero does not ride away to save another day. Instead his death is viewed as a necessary sacrifice. He is a Christ like figure whose love for his fellow man has overcome his racism.

Overview of the text. The general context to the movie is America’s involvement in the Korean War of the 1950’s. This forms the basis for the character of Walt Kowalski. It is used as a justification for the character’s racist and violent tendencies. His nature and life have been affected by the violence of war. He has killed Koreans and their deaths haunt him. It has defined his family relationships and is used to excuse his racist attitude to his Hmong neighbours. He views them as the enemy because they are Asian and remind him of Koreans. The insults vary from ‘swamp rats’, ‘zipper heads’ to ‘gooks’. Walt doesn’t recognise the difference and like all racists one ethnic group look pretty much like the next one. The violence of the past is part of Walt’s psyche. He is aggressive, has a gun at the ready and his language has violent connotations. The filmmaker excuses this character flaw or implies that Walt’s view of life is not all his responsibility. The soldiers of Walt’s generation have not been accorded the luxury of counselling for post-traumatic stress syndrome. They are expected to forget their war experiences and return to civilian life untouched by their actions. Walt is proud of his ability to survive and just get on with his life. However, he does finally acknowledge that his shutting out of his emotions may have affected his relationship with his sons. Walt is a patriotic veteran who espouses the traditional values of American society. These values include:  Love of country 

Pride in nationhood

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A sense of white superiority or that American democracy is the ideology of choice. (Rejection of communism where ownership is shared and the state controls all)

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Democracy – but in America the belief is that the government should not interfere – no welfare state as such.

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Traditional masculinity – manual labour, physical strength, standing up for yourself, the ability to defend what is yours – car and woman.

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One other key value is the right to bear arms to protect your home and family. This is a fundamental belief that is an integral part of American culture.

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Walt embodies this as he sits on his porch, surveying his neat well-tended lawn and challenges any person who dares to set foot on his property. The flag that hangs to the side of the porch reinforces Walt’s view that he is a proud American. The symbolism of the Gran Torino adds to the sense that Walt embodies the past – it is an iconic car produced in America and made by American labour. It represents a time when the best cars were American made and the country was associated with wealth, freedom and the American dream of success.

Character construction ( Take note this is the meaning of the text – or an overview only. The booklet with the still frame images should help you step out the film codes.) Walt The opening of the movie depicts Walt as a grumpy old man. The loss of his wife serves to distance him further from his sons and grandchildren. He appears isolated and happy to be alone. Walt deliberately distances himself from his neighbours and is viewed muttering racial remarks under his breath. He considers that the neighbourhood has gone to the dogs, and been taken over by his enemy. He is resentful of change and clings to the past. The isolation is reflected in his rejection not only of his family but in the priest who tries to offer . They have little in common. Walt has no need for prayers or the trappings of the Catholic Church. He is rude and belligerent. The movie charts Walt’s growth as a person. The Hmong family become his surrogate family. Through his relationship with Thao and Sue he redeems himself. He makes amends for his failings as a father, as a human being and for the war. Walt’s first encounter with Thao is inauspicious. Thao tries to steal his prized possession – The Gran Torino- and is confronted by a gun toting Walt. Walt is prepared to defend what is his – he epitomises the right to bear arms. His gun rests under his pillow and he is always prepared to use it. Walt never shirks from a fight and appears to embrace violence as a natural way of life. His very nature is violent. Walt’s gun is a part of him. It is symbolic of his aggression and propensity to violence. On the surface, Walt and Thao have little in common. One is young, nerdy and from a different culture while the other is old, aggressive and traditional. But the reality is they both have to learn from their mistakes and find a place to belong. Walt must reconcile himself with his past and Thao must find his voice in a world dominated by the gang.

Thao like Walt must redeem himself and his family force him to repay Walt. This begins Thao’s journey to manhood and Walt’s journey to goodness. Walt becomes a mentor – a father figure to the nerdy, bookish young man who is lost in an alien gang culture environment. Walt is viewed fixing machines, within the backdrop of his garage surrounded by tools, he wields tools and his mentoring is physical. Walt does not express himself emotionally. There are no heart to heart talks. The skills he imparts are practical and yet the audience is aware that the boy is slowly becoming a man. His love advice is old fashioned and he jokes as a bloke. Thao’s success is down to Walt. He has found his voice and the courage to ask a girl for a date. Walt has the young people around for a barbecue. He is viewed for the first time as opening the doors of his home to outsiders. But, at no point, does Walt change his tone or his language. It is one of the criticisms of the movie that its jokey approach to racism could be seen as an acceptance or a dismissal of the embedded racism within Walt and the wider society. His racism is dismissed as being old fashioned and almost part of being old. Walt is captured within a man’s world of the bar where he meets his friends. It is an all male domain. The barber- shop, then the building site and then the tool shop. His world is physical and practical. This reflects the traditional view of American manhood. When confronted with the gang either at home or on the street it is the gun and the verbal insult that is part of his response. He taunts the African American gang who try to assault Sue. The young man who accompanies her is viewed as impotent. It is the old veteran or the ‘old man’ who rescues the young girl and protects her innocence. He is the saviour or the knight in shining armour, although it is a truck rather than a horse that got him there. Thao also needs to be rescued. He is fatherless and Walt becomes his father and his champion. He confronts the gang and makes them feel powerless. But their retribution is swift and cruel. The gang rape Sue and rob her of her dignity, both Thao and Walt are left powerless. Walt recognises that to redeem himself and ensure the safety of Thao and his sister the ultimate sacrifice is required. Vengeance is not enough – he must find redemption – but the redemption is again through violence. Walt’s death is viewed as noble, a fitting end for his past wrongs. His cross like image replicates Christ on the cross. It is an act of love from a father figure for his surrogate son. Walt dies with the lighter in his hand rather than a gun. It is show down of the old Western with a twist. What remains the same is the outcome – evil is defeated good triumphs. Not only that but law is restored and the police get their man. America or this little part is once more a safe place to live.

It is notable that while Thao’s future is secure and Walt is restored to the hands of the Church and God he still remains distant from his natural family. The Gran Torino the symbol of American capitalism/ democracy and culture is given to Thao. This could be viewed as Walt embracing change, acceptance of different cultures and the rejection of greed as epitomised by his own family. He has the last laugh on his son who wanted to put him in old person’s home. Eastwood could be also reminding the audience that the older generation deserve our respect. Thao symbolically drives the car into the horizon with the dog at his side. His future is secure and there are endless possibilities. Alternative view of ending The criticism of the movie is that its challenge to racism is doing is very superficial. The hero is still the white man rather than the young Hmong. The white man is still the more powerful one in the relationship and even at the end it is Walt who directs the action and seeks revenge for the wrong committed against Sue. Thao does not gain control of the situation. He may gain more confidence, but an old man manages to lock him in the basement and trick him out of seeking his revenge. Walt’s actions may be noble and sincere; but does this reinforce the traditional view that the white man is the saviour and the ‘other’ is either impotent or the aggressor. Think To Kill a Mocking Bird – Atticus the white man is the would be saviour and the Black man can’t look after himself. The ending: The audience of mainstream America is left feeling good about themselves. Justice is restored and the bad guy defeated. The old order is restored. The traditional patriarchal power structure is endorsed. Thao’s journey to manhood is through physical action and even Walt’s journey to redemption is through his physical death. Sue may have been independent and feisty but she is soon punished for her transgressions. She is missing at the end of the movie. The woman disappears once more into the background. Thao’s world and Walt’s both share a patriarchal structure. When Walt assumes the role of father and protector of the neighbourhood the power is vested once more in the man. The women cannot control the community and their only power is in the kitchen. Those who enjoy action movies are left with the satisfaction of a good old shoot out and those who enjoy melodrama are also satisfied with the intense emotional build up. The final moment of triumph or Walt’s last laugh is handing his prized Gran Torino to Thao and denying his greedy family the pleasure of his car. Old people everywhere would be cheering “Respct!”