A Changed Man
Detroit Michigan used to be one the largest producers of automobiles in the country. It used to be filled with blue-collared people who worked the 8-5 shift every day and would be home in time for dinner. This all changed when the factories were shut down and production was moved over seas. Consequently, after the factories were shut down most of the white people left the city to find new jobs, causing one of the largest housing crisis in American history. Homes were being sold for cheap which caused low income ethnic groups to move in and crime to rise. Many families watched this slow change occur and watch their loved ones move away from them before their very own eyes. Clint Eastwood was one of those men that witnessed this change occur. Clint is a retired worker from the Ford plant who is a man who can’t accept the change around him. He is a man who eats chili for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and causes nightmares by looking someone directly in the eyes. After the death of his wife, he struggled to find happiness in his life unless it involved beer and a cigarettes. His tough natured hard-working American self, gave him an image as a Christ figure that people could look up to. An individual’s identity is determined by their actions and how they able to adapt to different cultures and racial surroundings around them.
Surrounding cultures can have great influences on a person’s identity or well-being. In Clint Eastwood’s case, the diverse cultures that surrounded him had little to no effect on his opinion of other races and his identity. This was the case, however, until his neighbor Sue asked him why he always looked so angry. As he was staring at Sue, he couldn’t help think how “His own street, now occupied by foreigners” could have possible allowed a Hmong family to move in next door to him (University of Zaragoza, 26). He is a xenophobic who feels the Hmong families around him are out to get him. His fear of foreigners has never been expressed to his neighbors until the death of his wife. The death of his wife had a major awakening for Clint by releasing his true identity from the jail sell that it was kept hidden inside. After the Vietnam War ended, Hmong families began immigrating to Detroit Michigan so they could all live together and work manual labor jobs. After his little daydream, Clint told the girl to go away and to leave him alone because he was busy. In reality Clint was never busy, he was actually just enjoying his chance to relax and be angry at himself for things that he has done. Overtime, Clint gets to know Sue after he stood up for Thao when the gang was trying to take him in. For a reward, he is invited over to meet her family at a party. After managing to convince himself that attending the party will be a polite thing to do, he enters the house and is immediately stared at by all of the people in the house. There is a long silence until Sue introduces him to her family. Clint tries his best to be polite to the Hmong family, but is never able to get along with the grandparents of the family. That is until he gets to try their cooking and drink their beer. As time passes, Clint tries to keep his true identity of a prejudice angry man to the family. After a few beers and some very good cooking, Sue begins to notice a change occurring. This change is Clint starting to open up and be polite to her family and forgetting that there isn’t a difference between white, black or Asian people. She is very proud of this and proceeds to have a good time at the party.
Clint wasn’t always a prejudice angry man, he used to be a happy young man until he was drafted into the army during the Korean War where he killed many men in all kinds of terrible conditions. Consequently, the war left a deep impact on Clint’s opinion and attitude towards Asian people. Being raised around only white people and being taught that white people are dominant can have a large impact on someone’s beliefs. Clint fought in a war where many young American soldiers were killed by Korean soldiers; therefore, this made Clint develop a specific idea about Asians and what kind of people they truly are in his own little reality. He judges one’s identity by their past and by how they present themselves in front of him. He is too prejudice to have a decent conversation with an Asian man or woman and will never be able to truly understand one’s true identity. His new friend Sue understands his problem and decides to go out of her way to try and change his opinions about her race. Sue believes that Clint has had to live with visions of himself killing Asian soldiers in the war. She believes that he hasn’t been able to come to the realization that it will be soon time to move on from his post war beliefs. Clint’s reparation for the haunting of the events he did in the war were put to rest when he sacrificed himself for his friends. Another friend of Clint’s, Father Janovich, noticed that Clint had stopped attending church since the death of his wife. This worried the father so he proceeded to investigate. Clint’s belief in god never was really a thing after his wife died. He believed that if God was so great, why would he take away the only thing that keeps him alive in the world? The father didn’t how to answer this question, but was able to tell Clint how he is a leader in the community. The dominance he had in the community was nothing like white hegemony, but was taken as their savor to all the needy in the community. “Christ-figures can be identified by particular actions that link them with Jesus, such as being crucified symbolically” (Corkery 2). Clint is a very stern tough-natured man who shows very little respect for anyone unless he likes them, unlike Jesus Christ. kkkkk Even with his harsh attitude, Clint is very closely related to Jesus Christ because he preaches how to be an American, what it means to be responsible, and why hard work builds character. After the neighbor boy Thao gets caught trying to steel Clint’s Grand Torino, his family hands him over to Clint for punishment. His punishment is to do whatever Clint says for the rest of the summer or until Clint runs out of projects for the young man. Thao’s very first project is getting to wax Clint’s 1972 Ford Gran Torino. The shame that Thao feels is like no other feeling that he could ever imagine. During his punishment, Clint starts teaching the boy how to become a man. The power of becoming a, “More secure, traditional, small-town, hardworking, and patriarchal American is a necessity to understand what it takes to become a man (Redding Art, 3). The hard-work and discipline that Thao needs is crucial in order to become the man he needs to be. The leadership that Clint gives to the boy is something that he has never had before because he never had a true father. Not having someone to look up to can lead someone to make poor choices that may lead them down the wrong road. That is why Thao decided to listen to the gang and try and steal the Gran Torino from Clint. Thao refused to talk to Clint for days because of Clint’s yelling and high labor demands. After a few days of getting used to the old man scream, Thao opens up to Clint about his life and why he tried to steal the car. Thao explained to Clint how he never wanted to steal the car, but the reason he tried to was because the gang forced him too. Clint explained to Thao that stealing is never allowed no matter the situation and tests him by setting money on a table and leaving the room. Thao doesn’t steal it and makes Clint proud. Thao finally begins to understand what Clint has been doing to him and thanks him for all of his help. Thao tells Clint that he is not only an idol for him, but for the entire neighborhood.
Clint is considered the neighborhood’s hero because of how he kept all of the families safe from all of the gang violence. He would work hard when none of them would want to work and keep watch day and night in order to keep his neighbors safe, even though he still disliked them. Weeks passed by with no violence, families were happy and enjoying themselves in their nice clean yards until all of a sudden the violence came back. Late one night, Clint found Sue at the end of his driveway crying because she had been raped. He took her and the boy in for the night to keep them safe. The following day, all of his neighbors hastily placed food at his doorstep for him to eat. This is related to the last supper and how Jesus was given one last meal before he was crucified to forgive everyone’s sins.
After eating his last good meal, Clint goes to confession for his first time in his life with Father Janovich to relieve himself from the stress his has been undergoing. Clint confesses how his heart has been softened through his relationship with Sue and Thao’s family and how they have helped him become the man he used to be before the decline of Detroit. He also confesses part of plan to get rid of the gang that has been terrorizing him and his neighbors. After he finishes confessing, Father Janovich says, “Go in peace” and Clint replies, “Oh I am in peace.” This is shocking to the father and makes him worry that something serious might be happening soon with Clint.
Clint’s identity has changed to a more mature man who is more outgoing and accepting of the people around him. He has changed from his emotionless self who used to care for no one except for his dog and his yard. The following evening, Clint gathers his belongings and invites the two kids over for supper. After telling them how thankful he is to have gotten to know them and everything they have done for him, he tricks them into following him into the basement and locks the door behind them. Next, he grabs his cigarettes, lighter, and car keys and then gets into his car. For his first time in his life, he gives thanks for everything that has been given to him and for all the wonderful people in his life. He proceeds to start his car and drive to where the gang lives. Soon enough after arriving at the gang’s apartment, he alerts the gang that he has arrived. The scene slows down and goes silent as he reaches into his coat pocket for a lighter and a long cigarette. The camera zooms to his old crusty hand reaching inside his jacket for the lighter. Consequently, the gang mistakenly thought he was reaching for a gun and shot him three times in the chest. The shot sounded a bomb going off and gave the audience the felling pain and sorrow of thousands of people dying. The whole neighborhood could hear the sound of Clint’s body hitting the ground. Before Clint fell to the ground, he thought of his family and his importance to everyone that he has served. He realized that he had found his true identity, a man with a purpose.
After his body hit the ground, the audience could see that he died with a smile on his face. The slow painful death that he had to undergo was related to Jesus’s because he died for all the people that he cared for, and to leave them in a safer place. His tough natured hard-working American self, gave inspiration to those who needed it. He was able to change people, just like how Jesus was able to inspire people to believe in God. Becoming friends with Thao and Sue might have been the greatest thing that could have happened to Clint. Not only because they would do his work for him, but because they taught him how to become less restrained about who is really is. By working with Thao every day, Clint would teach him necessary tools and techniques that are required in becoming a man. Thao’s input to Clint was explaining the differences in their cultures. Still working on Conclusion