University of Dayton eCommons History Faculty Publications Department of History 2-2015 Stealing Freedom: Auto Theftnd a Autonomous Individualism in American Film James Todd Uhlman University of Dayton,
[email protected] John Alfred Heitmann University of Dayton,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/hst_fac_pub Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Industrial and Product Design Commons, and the United States History Commons eCommons Citation Uhlman, James Todd and Heitmann, John Alfred, "Stealing Freedom: Auto Theftnd a Autonomous Individualism in American Film" (2015). History Faculty Publications. 60. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/hst_fac_pub/60 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of eCommons. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Stealing Freedom: Auto Theft and Autonomous Individualism in American Film Todd Uhlman and John Heitmann History Department University of Dayton In the closing scenes of Clint Eastwood’s 2008 film Gran Torino the stories of one man’s personal redemption and another’s dream of achieving independent manhood came together in two life defining moments: one of self-sacrifice, and the other, a rite of passage into manhood. Confronting a gang that had terrorized his adopted family of immigrant Hmong neighbors, the cantankerous Polish-American autoworker and Korean War vet, Walt, goaded the thugs into murdering him before witnesses, thereby saving the community. By dying Walt spared the life and innocence of Thao, the neighbor boy intent on exacting revenge for the rape of his sister by the gang.