Lessons From Gran Torino

Phat

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Lexington

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No one can play the badass persona better than Clint Eastwood. Even now when he's very old, he's still one bad motherfvcker.
 

zekko

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Great movie. When I saw it I couldn't help but think about the DJ forums here, what with Clint giving the Asian kid advice about not being a wimp and asking the girl out.

I'd leave the racist stuff out though :)
 

rocksoff

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Hahah a senile old dude pulling guns out on youth minorities....classic Eastwood
 

Warrior74

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rocksoff said:
Hahah a senile old dude pulling guns out on youth minorities....classic Eastwood
haha police only care when a white person gets killed. - classic police force.

that being said, still a great movie on manhood.
 

Lexington

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What I love about Eastwood is that his "badassness" seems genuine. It doesn't seem contrived unlike most action heroes. Guys like Vin Diesel etc. come off as extremely fake and cheesy. On the other hand, Eastwood's persona is so genuine that he is even scary as a geriatric!
 

taiyuu_otoko

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"You let you walk out. You know why? Because you are a big, fat pu$$y."
 

bigjohnson

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A friend of mine lived in the same neighborhood as Eastwood for a while - Clint yelled at him for taking a shortcut through his lawn while walking his daughter to school - hahahaha.
 

Proselytiser

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He's bitter and ultimately impotent.

It's a great movie, don't get me wrong, but there's no lesson to be learned from it. He's man of the house without a family, an alpha without a pack. That's why he takes the kid under his wing, that's why the Asian family are so receptive to him - they are a family without a man of the house.

He's at that time of life where you look back and wonder whether you've done well for yourself or not. He's despairing because he did things in the war that he thinks were wrong, he's disappointed in his kids, he's unhappy with what he's made of his life, he's bitter and resentful of everyone around him.

He isn't an alpha male, maybe he could have been, maybe at some point in Walt Kowalski's life, he was an alpha male, but not in his last days as shown in Gran Torino
 

Teko

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I do agree with you Proselytiser, but there are some lessons that can be found in this movie.
Just like the others already said he tells Toad not being a ***** and approach the girl. He learns him to stand up for himself and not to give a sh¡t about anybody else.
He asks the kid "what can you do" kid answers " i dno" so he let him count the birds in a tree. A bit later he's doin repairs to an house.
You are able to do a lot of things along as you try:D
Even though he doesn't display a real alpha male, he does show more manliness then most men have these days imo:rolleyes:
 

Lion

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I WK is capable of being alpha, he just doubts himself, spending his days drinking and being bitter.

Spending time with the kid brings the alpha out in WK. WK shows him how to be a man, ask girls out, build things and not to take any crap from people.

It also shows that family is important. He sees his son as an AFC. It's true, every family could benefit from having a man of the house.
 

Proselytiser

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His son is an AFC, his wife dominates him and tries to leech off the family fortune. WK quotes that she went through his wife's jewellery, and you see her roll her eyes when he gives the house to the church. He resents his entitled grand-daughter as well and you can see why, when she is so disappointed at not getting the Gran Torino
 

Ease

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Proselytiser said:
He's bitter and ultimately impotent.

It's a great movie, don't get me wrong, but there's no lesson to be learned from it. He's man of the house without a family, an alpha without a pack. That's why he takes the kid under his wing, that's why the Asian family are so receptive to him - they are a family without a man of the house.

He's at that time of life where you look back and wonder whether you've done well for yourself or not. He's despairing because he did things in the war that he thinks were wrong, he's disappointed in his kids, he's unhappy with what he's made of his life, he's bitter and resentful of everyone around him.

He isn't an alpha male, maybe he could have been, maybe at some point in Walt Kowalski's life, he was an alpha male, but not in his last days as shown in Gran Torino
He definitely is an alpha male. As alpha as they get. His character in that movie is the perfect role model, imo.

He is respected and feared by everyone, he walks, he talks, he acts like an alpha male. His son may be a selfish fool but he even he and his wife know that when clint eastwood says get out of his house, you do it. People around him may try to sway him but in the end he's boss.

Clint Eastwood stars as Walt Kowalski, a widower who holds
onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan
neighborhood and the world around him.
He might not have a huge financial success and a famous legacy to his name, but you respect him.

The way he conducts himself when he enters the asian house, the way he talks with the priest, everything about his body language and actions is ultra-masculine and powerful.
 

bigjohnson

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Ease said:
The way he conducts himself when he enters the asian house, the way he talks with the priest, everything about his body language and actions is ultra-masculine and powerful.

How much of that is Walt and how much is Clint I wonder, really.
 

J. Darko

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bigjohnson said:
How much of that is Walt and how much is Clint I wonder, really.
It's all Clint. He might not be that bad and grumpy in every day life, but he couldn't play all those masculine figures if he wasn't masculine himself. Otherwise he wouldn't be convincing.

Clint Eastwood is also a perfect example why looks matter a lot. Suppose that a little Asian with little facial hair would play Josey Wales. He spits on the ground and says: 'This isn't necessary', while looking his opponent in the eyes, ready to draw his big ass revolvers.

Would you think like ''Wow he's all masculine!'' ?. No you wouldn't, because his behaviour wouldn't be congruent with his looks. You would laugh your ass off because a little boy acts all tough. Clint is a bad ass alpha man because he looks like a bad ass alpha man.
 

KontrollerX

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Great movie.

The ending sucked though just like American History X's ending.

Derek should've shaved his head and rejoined after Danny got blown away lmfao. :crackup:

And Walt Kowalski should've killed every last one of those gangbanger fvcks then blew the smoke off his gun barrel and turned to the asian kid he befriended in the movie and in a grizzled voice said "thats how its done junior".

*Roll credits* :up:
 

Proselytiser

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Haha, I agree with KontrollerX, that's how it should have ended and that's how I expected it, I watched it right after watching Good Bad n Ugly. WK was alpha in many respects as has been noted above, his natural dominance, his telling the guy, 'grow some balls and ask the girl'. I was nervous as **** watching that last scene expecting him to shoot down all the asians with a gun hidden under his shirt... hahaha

But maybe the movie is about how masculinity is repressed these days, he is 'living in the 50s' (direct quote) and the pride he takes in his independence, and his fierce loyalty to his neighbours (even though he has been raised to hate Asians) ultimately results in him being shot to death without even a whimper in his own defence...
 

Slevin

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Proselytiser said:
But maybe the movie is about how masculinity is repressed these days, he is 'living in the 50s' (direct quote) and the pride he takes in his independence, and his fierce loyalty to his neighbours (even though he has been raised to hate Asians) ultimately results in him being shot to death without even a whimper in his own defence...
You do realize he didn't defend himself on purpose right? He was a "law abiding 'merican" and rather then commit murder he got the gang to murder him resulting in them looking at life in prison.

It was a seriously alpha ending.
 
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