Diversity and Ethics in Gran Torino

Gran Torino (2008), directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, features Polish American Ford automobile assembly line worker and Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) who faces the recent death of his wife coupled with a push to become more religious and joining the peaceful life of a nursing home in his retirement years, moves that he disdains and heartily resists. Confronted by new and foreign Hmong neighbors in his suburban Detroit neighborhood, Kowalski catches Thao Vang Lor (Bee Vang) trying to steal his prized Gran Torino and ends up mentoring him, thereby freeing his neighborhood from the grip of local gangs. In this essay, I will describe the cultural diversity represented in the film as well as discuss the ethical issues highlighted therein. In conclusion, I will explain how the various facets of these two issues join together in order to link these common themes.

In terms of diversity, various cultural groups come into the plot. Most prominently, Caucasian Walt Kowalski shares a block with the Hmong people, an Asian ethnic group from mountainous areas where China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand are nestled together in the southeast part of the continent. This fictional representation of Detroit would not be complete without contributions from the African-American and Hispanic diasporas, represented here in gangs that threaten Kowalski and his Hmong neighbors. Overall, the diversity in this film provides the antagonism that drives the plot and dynamic character transformation of Kowalski. After watching the film, however, it almost seems stilted the way diversity is imposed between aggressors, ultimately serving as a premise for the identification of race and racist undertones..

In the examination of ethics, actor Bee Vang brings a pertinent perspective of diversity to the film set. Born in Fresno, California, Vang knows the life of the American dream yet understands his Hmong cultural background and status as a Hollywood actor places him as a prominent minority member with the opportunity to represent a distinct people group. In an interview with Louisa Schein, Vang expresses strong discontentment to the way the white man performs the role of savior in the movie while the Hmong people fade in the distance (Schein, 2010, p. 3). From Vang's point of view, Hmong cultural diversity is overshadowed by cheap imitations of a culture: "I know there were a lot of Hmong references and scenes in the film, but I didn't feel it in my character. What I felt was being called on to perform the pan-Asian stereotype of the submissive, kow-towing geek with no girlfriend. . . . We could be any minority" (p. 6). Vang's response demonstrates that while managing racial diversity is an important theme in Hollywood films, representative equality does not always shine through.

Between the various occurrences of racial diversity promulgated throughout the film and the no-holds-barred manner of depicting racism between the various people groups, Gran Torino leaves much to be desired in terms of ethical equality. Ly Chong Thong Jalao (2010) dismisses the film as a "rather tired Hollywood melodrama . . . [that] recycles the theme of redemption and repackages it for our era of change and racial transition" (p. 2). In spite of the use of cultural advisors and Hmong actors, Jalao comes to the same conclusion as Bee by contending that the Hmong population was simply used to generically represent Asian Americans (p. 1). Jalao takes particular issue with a scene at the beginning of the film where Kowalski spits some chewing tobacco from his porch while glaring in the direction of a Hmong grandmother (p. 1). In reply from her own porch, she spits an even larger quantity of brown liquid in Kowalski's direction. Unsavory moments aside, the fact that Hmong people do not and have not ever chewed betel nut demonstrates that different cultural groups, when transplanted into the American popular landscape are often victims of the American perspective. Eastwood's film, in spite of winning the César Award for Best Foreign Film, still has ground to gain in grasping foreign cultures.

References

Eastwood, C. (Director). (2008). Gran Torino [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros

Jalao, L. C. (2010). Looking Gran Torino in the eye: A review. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education & Advancement, 5, 1-4.

Schein, L. (2010). Gran Torino's Hmong lead Bee Vang on film, race and masculinity. Hmong Studies Journal, 11, 1-11.