As a young child growing up in a small country like The Kingdom of Thailand, I didn't have much experience with people of different races. I would often imagine what it would be like to be around people of other races within the own neighborhood. How could I interact with one to another? The movie, Grand Torino, is an inspiring movie that presents viewers with a real-life story of a grumpy old widower man, named Walt Kowalski, who faces all the challenges of growing old in America. This movie depicts the racial interactions as well as the personal struggles and emotions that come with aging within a very diverse community. In Gran Torino, the setting is in a Highland Park Michigan neighborhood that had been populated by white working class …show more content…
It suggests that “aging is an inevitable, mutual withdrawal or disengagement; resulting in decreased interaction between the aging person and others in the social system he belongs to.” Walt’s son and daughter-in-law brought him gifts on his birthday that they insisted would make his life easier. (Example: Gopher and a giant numbered telephone). The African-American and Asian-American gangs dismiss him by telling him “go home old man” and “mind your own business” they refused to recognize his true authority until he pulled a gun on them. They don’t even bother to fight back after he takes it out. Another part was when the Hmong (Korean) gang also dismisses him, except this time he has a gun in their face. They chastise him and make fun of his age until he threatens them with things he did to Koreans in the Korean War. When Sue invited Walt over to her family’s BBQ, she takes him to the basement to socialize with her friends. The vibes are awkward while the teens stare at him suspiciously. Sue thinks that Walt is a great person to talk to, while the others need convincing often questioning him for being down there in the basement. Another great example is when Walt asks Tao for help to move his freezer from the basement and Tao accepts the request, however, Tao refuses once Walt orders him to carry the light side of the freezer instead of the heavy side. After the debate between them, Walt finally agrees to carry the light
People of different ethnic backgrounds are influenced by both cultural and societal normalities to want to naturally return to their own ethnic groups. In Beverly Daniel Tatum’s book “Why Are All Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” Tatum tries to explain why in even racially diverse schools, people of the same race tend to gravitate toward one another causing racial separation. Tatum claims that people of the same race, particularly black kids, are likely to turn toward people who understand their shared perspective. Although Tatum effectively uses a conversational tone and emotionally charged words, her overuse of biased interviews and experiences forces the reader to question the validity of her portrayal of race relations.
The movie Crash examines the interpersonal communications that exists between different groups’ of people. In this film, characters are highlighted by the contact that occurs when disparate people are thrown together in large urban settings. Crash displays extreme instances of racism and shows how the thought, feeling, and behavior of individuals are influenced by actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings. My analysis will focus on Social Cognition and how people process, and apply information about other people and social situations.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended racial segregation in the USA. Since then, America has begun to learn that, no matter the skin tone, we accept all races and become one united nation. Elijah Anderson analyzes certain areas in the big city of Philadelphia and observes how different races and people act and acknowledge one another in the same environment. He describes certain places called “cosmopolitan canopies” where the display of public acceptance by all of all is intense and is a setting where a mix of people can feel comfortable (3). Anderson does a worthy job of backing up his argument with the different evidence he brings to light throughout his article. Although his argument covers how while we might have these cosmopolitan canopies we still have races that are considered “out of place” and how the black people and men in specifically, are seen in the society. For my class observation, I visited Dilworth Park Ice Rink and my reflection at the rink agreed with Anderson’s argument considering that the rink provided a cosmopolitan environment although his argument is now outdated.
Race and ethnicity is a main factor in the way we identify others and ourselves. The real question here is does race/ethnicity still matter in the U.S.? For some groups race is not a factor that affects them greatly and for others it is a constant occurrence in their mind. But how do people of mix race reacts to this concept, do they feel greatly affected by their race? This is the question we will answer throughout the paper. I will first examine the battle of interracial relationship throughout history and explain how the history greatly explains the importance of being multiracial today. This includes the backlash and cruelty towards interracial couple and their multiracial children. Being part of a multiracial group still contains its impact in today’s society; therefore race still remaining to matter to this group in the U.S. People who place themselves in this category are constantly conflicted with more than one cultural backgrounds and often have difficulty to be accepted.
Walter Younger is a good example of a dynamic character because he changes from being blindly in love with money and dreams to turning into an adult who can make life decisions. Walter still loves money, dreams big, and has a hateful attitude, but he figures out how to regulate it. The Younger family faced racial and housing discrimination and segregation, and they were able to overcome it and set up a better life for themselves. This quote by Margaret Atwood, a Canadian poet, is a good way of summing up the thoughts and beliefs of Walter and the play: “I hope that people will finally come to realize that there is only one ‘race’ - the human race - and that we are all members of it” (Atwood).
Stereotyping, racial slurs, and labeling and norms are seen and used on a daily basis and can be observed in virtually any aspect of life, from race to religion. These aspects are used repeatedly throughout the popular movie “Gran Torino.” Clint Eastwood plays the raunchy character Walt Kowalski, a Korean War Veteran, whose memories from the war continue to haunt him. His values, and beliefs lead him to pass judgment upon others that he encounters. He doesn’t seem to get along with anyone in his decaying Detroit neighborhood but an unlikely bond with his Hmong neighbors lead him to redemption, coming face-to-face with the same catastrophic bias’s consuming the community gang members that have consumed him.
The setting where this film took place sets the tone for how the audience will first perceive race. Yakin chose to base his film off a true story that took place in the south, Alexandria, Virginia, to be exact, in the year of 1971. The south was still having a difficult time with racial segregation, even though it had been a few years after the civil rights movement. In the first few minutes of this film there are scenes of blacks and whites on separate sides protesting against each other with police officers in between them holding each side back. Th...
Neal, Kelle. ""Part of Your World": Disney's Portrayal of Ethnic Minorities." Tennessee State University, 2010. United States -- Tennessee: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
For this assignment, I decided to watch “Crash”, a movie set in the streets of Los Angeles California and that shows the lives of various individuals with different cultural backgrounds. The movie starts with the scene of a car crash between an Asian woman and a couple of detectives near the sight of a murder, as the African American detective Graham Waters walks around the scene he stops because he saw something that shocked him, and from there a flashback begins. The first relevant scene shows, Anthony and Peter, two African Americans individuals walking down the street talking about racial discrimination. As they talk a couple passes by them and the two decide to steal their car. This causes a chain of events affecting the lives of many
As a fan of cinema, I was excited to do this project on what I had remembered as a touching portrait on racism in our modern society. Writer/Director Paul Haggis deliberately depicts his characters in Crash within the context of many typical ethnic stereotypes that exist in our world today -- a "gangbanger" Latino with a shaved head and tattoos, an upper-class white woman who is discomforted by the sight of two young Black kids, and so on -- and causes them to rethink their own prejudices during their "crash moment" when they realize the racism that exists within themselves.
The film begins with the funeral of Walt’s wife. She used to keep Walt going and her death ruined him. He is not in peace with himself and he refuses to talk with the Padre about the things that bother him. From his dialogues with the Padre we understand that Walt knows more about death, than he knows about living. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs we can suggest that he is far away from reaching his self-actualization, because he does not feel safe and he does not belong even to his family. Walt is not close with his sons and grandchildren and they have no respect for him. Walt’s grandchildren even refuse to visit him on his birthday, although they know that he is alone after their grandmother’s death. This family can be considered to be unusual, because normally the oldest people should be the most respected of the whole family. A contrast to that is the house righ...
An American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood which has gained recognition worldwide particularly because of Clintwood’s appealing directing style. It was recognized by the American Drama Institute as one of the “Ten Best Films of 2008”(Gran Torino, 2013) and debutedthe writer, Nick Schenk. Clint Eastwood demonstrates, through Mr. Walt, that if your past negatively affects your life and the way you see things, then its best to let go of it and start a new beginning. An intense film told with great humor, Gran Torino is a cinematic masterpiece. This film succeeds in its development in portraying the negative aspects involving multicultural communications and the bond formed by people from two extremely different generations.
...e that makes us both laugh and cry at almost the same time. When we are laughing, we must question the underlying sociological concepts that makes us laugh. Are we laughing at those racist jokes because of our own ethnocentrism? Are we as guilty as Jean Cabot at making our own realities our truths? Do we have views about certain groups of people and basically make them come true for ourselves? Crash questions us for all of these things. This movie successfully forces viewers to address their own cultural backgrounds and their experiences with those of other races. After all, when it comes to racial equality, it should not be ignored. Especially in a city like Los Angeles, we never know when will the truth crash into us and we will be forced to face who we are through someone else’s eyes, no matter how difficult it is to take a look inside and outside of ourselves.
Gran Torino is a suspense film directed by Clint Eastwood, which portrays the relationship between a 78-year-old Koran war veteran and his neighbors who are from Laos. The main character, Walt is a racist who still has memories from the horrors of war and has a dislike for anyone, including his own family. After his young neighbor Thao is coerced by his cousin’s gang into stealing Walt’s prized Gran Torino, a unusual relationship forms between the pair. Walt starts to respect Thao and his culture while fulfilling a fatherly role that Thao is lacking. Eventually, Walt has to confront the gang knowing that the confrontation will end in his death. Apart from the stereotypical, get off my lawn quote, this film depicts the relationship of family concerning the care for older adults, the struggle with despair and meaning later in life, and the morality of a good death. This paper will address each of these themes.
When Walt has his birthday in the movie and the book he is on the back porch which is elevated and the rest of the people are in the backyard below Walt. He is showing signs of narcissism. Which is an exaggerated sense of self-importance and self-absorption ( Wade and Carol 384). Walt believes that he has more power than everyone else and is self absorbed in his own fantasy about his perfect family. Walt believed that because he was on the deck that he held a higher status than everyone else at that party. When McCandless gave his dad the top of the line telescope he had no emotion opening up the present. This shows that Walt believed that any sign of emotion is a sign of weakness.