List of Gran Torino characters
"[2] Walter "Walt" Kowalski (portrayed by Clint Eastwood) is a Polish-American former auto worker who becomes embroiled in a conflict involving a Hmong family and a gang.
He is a retiree who formerly worked at a Ford automobile plant for much of his life, and he owns a Gran Torino he had personally built.
Through Walt, he learns how to do construction work and labor, and how to act like a man, even getting help in his romantic pursuit of Youa.
"[6] Louisa Schein and Va-Megn Thoj, authors of "Beyond Gran Torino’s Guns: Hmong Cultural Warriors Performing Genders", said that when Walt masculinizes Thao, he "liberat[es] him from the effeminacy apparently imposed on him by his domineering mother and sister (and implicitly his race).
"[7] Schein in Hmong Today said in regards to Vang that "With a mild-mannered countenance and a slight build, he’s equipped to fill the role of neighborhood wimp.
"[9] In the original script, Thao was described as a "A slight, slender Hmong boy with long hair and eyelashes" and an "Asian Johnny Depp."
"[11] In an interview Vang said that he intended to "redeem" Thao, who Sang Chi and Emily Moberg Robinson, editors of Voices of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Experience: Volume 1, referred to as "emasculated.
"[12] Vang said that he intended to "create a character that people could love" and that he "decided to commit to developing the role of Thao, making him more complex and credible.
"[10] Todd McCarthy of Variety said "A bit characterless at first, Vang ultimately comes into his own as a 16-year-old forced into life's crossroads.
Louisa Schein and Va-Megn Thoj, authors of "Gran Torino’s Boys and Men with Guns: Hmong Perspectives", said: "In defiance of women‘s typified hyperfemininity, Sue is outspoken, virtually fearless, gregarious, and fiercely protective of her brother.
"[15] They added: "Where Walt uses his gun, Sue brandishes her words in retorts" and "[i]n a rare moment for American ethnic representation, she (and Walt) even make [sic] her white boyfriend look effeminate by standing up to menacing men of color on the street and calling them on their Asian slurs.
"[20] Schein and Thoj said "[i]t could be argued, then, that Sue exemplifies a strong Hmong American womanhood, forged through the hardships of immigration in families where fathers are weakened by culture shock or deceased during the war.
"[16] They explained that one hallmark of "such women" is "[l]anguage strength" and that "Sue exhibits it in spades, with wit, vocabulary, knowledge, even persuasion skills.
"[16] Schein and Thoj concluded that because of Sue, the film "could be heralded as a celebration of the achievements of Hmong American women who survive by learning how to improve on the most daunting situations.
She is positioned similarly to ethnic damsels in distress in classic Westerns, comparable to the role of the Native American princess who needs rescuing by the sheriff.
[22] Walt Kowalski disapproves of his sons' wealthy lifestyles and what he considers their exploitative professions (Mitch is in sales for Toyota), who in return are frustrated with their father being stubborn and stuck in the past.
