Conflict In Gran Torino

The opening scene of Gran Torino introduced the conflicting relationship that the main character, Walt, had with his family members. This particular scene began in a church in which Walt’s wife’s funeral was being held. Walt watched as his grandchildren filed into the church to pay respect to their deceased grandmother. Contrary to displaying a comforting attitude toward his grandchildren, he stared at all of them in dismay as they each approached their seat inappropriately dressed for the funeral. However, his irritated facial expression transformed into an intense grunt as he watched as his granddaughter entered the church in bright colors and her stomach partially revealed. Walt’s son responded to his father’s nonverbal body movements by …show more content…
The film displayed Walt’s ignorance of the Hmong culture as he reluctantly joined his neighbor, Sue, at her family gathering. As Walt entered the house with Sue, he was surrounded by her family members, and he immediately began to question if he was acting inappropriately because he noticed that each time he offered eye contact with any of the family members they responded by quickly looking to the ground. However, Sue reassured him that everything was fine. Thereafter, Walt comfortably and effortlessly patted a young girl on the top of her head. In response, each family member mumbled, stared, and shook their heads in disgust. Consequently, he began to question his actions once again because he did not receive the response that he expected. In this instance. Sue immediately became apologetic to her family members, and she guided Walt into the kitchen to explain the unique and differing traditions of the Hmong culture. Sue explained, “Number one, never touch a Hmong person on their head, not even a child. Hmong people believe that the soul resides on the head, so don’t do that.” Sue also informed Walt that, “A lot of Hmong people consider looking someone in the eye to be very rude. That’s why they look away when you look at …show more content…
However, Sue’s family members’ uneasy reactions also made Walt feel uncomfortable or out of place. As Walt became educated about the Hmong culture, he was able to properly communicate without being offensive, which contributed to Walt becoming more respected by Sue’s family. This situation presented the importance of individuals becoming willing to adjust their actions to obey the cultural values and beliefs of differing