Analysis of the Film Gran Torino - Research Paper Example

?“Gran Torino A Study of Hmong Culture in Film What are some generalizations that people make about Asian culture? What are the ways in which we impose “imaginative geographies” when we create art? “Imaginative geographies are representations of somewhere else, of the peoples that inhabit that place, of its physical geography and culture. Imaging and creating the other through observation and others .” (Class notes) With this broad and intriguing definition, a film maker has lots of choices to make in terms of how s/he chooses to represent a particular culture. The film maker is free to use his or her own imaginative geography in creating what will be perceived by others. In this way, the creation of a piece of art has at least two imaginative geographies: the perception of the creator, and the perception of the viewer. This paper will explore “Gran Torino”, the 2009 film by actor/director Clint Eastwood, which is about a cantankerous, racist Korean war veteran (played by Eastwood) and his encounter with a young Hmong teenager, Thao (played by Bee Vang), who tries to steal the old man’s prized possession – his Gran Torino – as part of a gang initiation rite. The kid gets caught, and from the start it is obvious that he is not a malicious boy, but a confused teenager just trying to belong. Eastwood’s character, Kowalski, has a choice: he can go back to ignoring his neighbor, or befriend Thao and help him become a man. The film’s representation of Asian culture is unique in that Eastwood’s character is just about as far from politically correct as one can get. He constantly uses the term “gook” to refer to his Hmong neighbors, and he makes no pretense about the fact that their culture is a mystery to him which he’d rather avoid, but despite himself, he sees that the boy and his sister could benefit from his knowledge and wisdom. As penance for having tried to steal the car, Thao’s family has declared that he must make himself available to Kowalski to help him with odd jobs. Kowalski resists at first, but he begrudgingly begins to take Thao under his wing. He challenges Thao’s masculinity (Thao is rather soft-spoken and shy) his sexuality (he doesn’t have a girlfriend yet) and his uselessness (Thao was never taught how to use tools for manual labor). However, Kowalski can’t help but offer his help to Thao in overcoming these perceived defects. The film is a jarring juxtaposition of Kowalski’s gruff kindness and his blatant racism toward Thao and his family. It’s a kind of racism we in the 21st century don’t see much anymore because of the current emphasis on political correctness, and one does flinch while listening to Eastwood toss out his racial epithets during the film. But it is a perfect study of a person’s 1950’s racism, borne of his experience as a soldier in Korea, and depicted in the present through a 21st-century lens. One gets the opportunity to compare imaginative geographies, mental maps, and the opportunity to explore the notion of orientalism (see definition below) through the eyes of both the filmmaker and his character. Eastwood’s own lack of racism and his respect for the Hmong culture are evident in the way he researched for the film: “Most people I talk to don’t know what the Hmong culture is…because they helped America during the Viet Nam war, they became refugees, and so they withstood a lot of sadness… They’re tough people…they have a very fascinating story…they are very warm, friendly people, they’re a very tight-knit community.” (Excerpts from “Gran Torino: Hmong people” on Hulu.com viewed 11/17/11) The character Walt Kowalski has clearly been influenced by orientalism, a way of perceiving culture that is presented as “objective knowledge to understand people who seem to be different/strange.” (taken from class notes) He has already developed an opinion about Asian culture because of his Korean War experience, and he falsely assumes that he will want nothing to do with his Hmong neighbors as a result. War is not a time for breaking down stereotypes and making an effort to understand cultures. Soldiers are trained to regard their antagonists as the enemy, and the “Other.” The character Walt Kowalski is typical of soldiers in this way, who are trained via the following methods: “brutalization, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and role modeling.” (www.killology.com, accessed 11/21/11) These are the techniques the U.S. military uses to enable its men and women to overcome the instinct every species possesses not to kill its own kind. (www.killology.com, accessed 11/21/11) Add to this any techniques used to inspire racism, and one begins to understand how humans can be taught to point guns at each other and pull the triggers. Certainly, being trained in this way would lead a person to develop certain fears and stereotypes about the race of people he is being asked to kill. The concept of mental maps is integral to the making of this film. Mental maps are “images or representations we hold of the world based on information and ideas we receive from many sources.” (Class notes.) Eastwood as a director notes that not very many people know about the history of Hmong people, and in this way, the impression his movie makes upon viewers may be their first, or only, exposure to this culture. The mental map the viewer forms about both American and Hmong cultures is being influenced and shaped by the film. Through it, the viewer is able to acknowledge any negative stereotypes he might share with the Walt Kowalski character, and through the events which transpire, the viewer can transform along with Walt Kowalski as he learns to see his neighbors as people and not just a different race. This also ties directly into the notion of “othering: the process by which we define places and peoples in terms of insider/outsider, us/them, self/other.” (Class notes) Kowalski doesn’t just learn to identify with the other culture, he switches sides. At one point in the film, he is invited to his neighbors’ house for a barbeque. He is welcomed and invited to share in every aspect of the get-together. “I got more in common with these gooks than with my own damn family,” Walt rumbles to himself. That phrase is the epitome of the movie: in one sentence, it acknowledges his deep-seated racism and his compassion for the people who are so grateful to him for what he has done for Thao. In that moment, his family becomes the “other” and the Hmong become his family. The sentiment is clumsily expressed, but his gruff charm wins over the viewer, and leads one to think, “Hey, yeah. Sometimes I have more in common with people from other cultures than the members of my family too!” Even though Walt Kowalski tumbles and stumbles through pleasantries and cultural differences, his respect for the Hmong people continues to grow to the point where he will risk his own life to help protect Thao and Sue from the gang violence that rages through the neighborhood. His Scrooge-like disposition never changes, but his soft underbelly of compassion is revealed in his paternal protective instincts. The message of the film seems to be, if a racist man like that can come around, maybe we all have it in us to reject stereotypes and learn to appreciate the similarities of other cultures instead of just respecting or noting the differences. In terms of understanding a culture, there is a big difference between studying a piece of art versus being a guest in someone’s home during a meal where traditional dishes are being served. While it is true that human geographers can learn a lot by studying the art and visual representations of various cultures, those items cannot speak. They can only be interpreted. If, on the other hand, one were to ask a person of a particular culture how it feels to eat a traditional dish, the research becomes multi-dimensional. Not only can the researcher see, smell, and hear how the food affects the person to whom the cultural heritage of the food belongs, but the interviewer/researcher can then taste, smell, and experience the food for him or herself, thus adding another layer of complexity to how the art (art, in this case, referring to cuisine) is experienced. Walt Kowalski’s first experience with Hmong food is the audience’s first experience with Hmong food, and we see, smell, and taste it through him. He pronounces it delicious, and we relax as we watch his barriers come down. The film feeds us our first taste of Hmong food without so much as an aroma, and we think it’s delicious. This film contributes to the making of Southeast Asia as a region by introducing the general population to a relatively unknown Asian population through the eyes of a character who is not exactly a blank canvas. In fact, one is almost rooting for him to stop using the word “gook” because it contrasts so dramatically with the kindness of his actions. We also see how this particular population fits into this Detroit neighborhood, and the racial tensions that exist between the various other inhabitants. We also see that some problems transcend race: Sue, Thao’s sister, (played by Ahney Her) is raped and beaten by a group of boys, and while her family is furious and traumatized by her attack, Kowalski is also. It is in this critical moment, now that he has earned the trust and respect of the family, and they have earned his, that his most important contribution comes to the fore: he recognizes that if Thao takes revenge for his sister’s beating and rape, then the rival gang will come for him, and the cycle of violence will continue. Kowalski locks Thao in his basement, literally preventing him from carrying out his revenge plan, and goes to meet the gang members himself. What we don’t know is that he is actually fully prepared to die (his gravelly voice is the result of an incurable cancer) and so when he goads the gang members into shooting him, it is exactly the result he has intended. He is not a part of the gang cycle of death and revenge, so he interrupts the chain of gang violence, however briefly. This movie does more than expose the audience to Hmong culture; it invites us to challenge our own stereotypes, and see if those might be overcome. All of the makings of a region are there, but which region? The film has its own milieu: Hmong-Americans in Detroit, which is neither Hmong in Southeast Asia, nor Americans in the U.S.A. Even Kowalski’s character is not purely American in terms of his exposure to other cultures because of his involvement in the Korean War, which is to say that he has been exposed to Asian culture in Southeast Asia, as well as at home. So what does this tell us about the notions of cartography, geography and the other ways we try to compartmentalize the regions of the world? Earlier generations have had these regions defined for them in ways which no longer limit us. How we choose to define the regions of the world in the years to come will change rapidly as we develop more interconnectedness. There is much less separating us from each other, and how we choose to embrace that will probably contribute to our survival. While it is important to maintain our separateness and to value the cultural differences across the globe, we are all people, and we are all responsible for the “big stuff” like global warming, world wars, hunger, poverty, technology and its distribution, and what it means to be a human being amidst so many other species on this planet. Perhaps the more we understand about regions, the more we can manipulate their boundaries, until we all see ourselves as responsible for each other, rather than pitted against one another in our struggle to survive and thrive. Bibliography Gran Torino. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Perf. Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, and Ahney Her . Matten Productions, 2009. Film. Hulu.com. “Gran Torino: Hmong people.” Accessed 11/17/11 Killology.com “On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society.” Excerpts on website come from Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, in his Pulitzer-nominated book, On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. Class notes from slide show Read More