Clint Eastwood has given numerous hits to the film industry which has led him to gain the enduring cultural status of masculinity. He took his achievements to the next level by venturing into filmmaking and surely nailed it. Known for being a man of fewer words, his work is the one that runs the game. But, it doesn’t mean that he would stay silent in almost every situation as he has often expressed his mind when he felt was needed.
One such instance was when he discarded concerns about directing his film,
Gran Torino
in which he also starred in the lead role of Walt Kowalski.
Clint Eastwood’s Take on Directing Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood‘s potential has already garnered widespread admiration but he has also been criticized for his conservative values and beliefs, especially for his political stance.
In an interview with Esquire, the Rawhide actor was expressing his political thoughts and touched on the topic of how this generation is quite sensitive to certain topics before addressing his controversial project, Gran Torino.
“…Everybody’s getting tired of political correctness, kissing up. That’s the kiss-a*s generation we’re in right now. We’re really in a pu**y generation. Everybody’s walking on eggshells. We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff.”
He further talked about taking the “politically incorrect” script of the 2008 film only to start working on it at once.
“When I grew up, those things weren’t called racist. And then when I did Gran Torino, even my associate said, ‘This is a really good script, but it’s politically incorrect.’ And I said, ‘Good. Let me read it tonight.’ The next morning, I came in and I threw it on his desk and I said, ‘We’re starting this immediately.’”
The film was surrounded by a slew of allegations of subtle racism and cultural inaccuracies which were even addressed by his film co-star, Bee Vang.
Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino Co-star, Bee Vang Criticized The Film
Actor Bee Vang, who portrayed the role of a young teenager, Thao Vang Lor, of Hmong descent talked about his experience working on that project in a 2021 opinion piece for NBC News.
He wrote,
“To this day, I am still haunted by the mirth of white audiences, the uproarious laughter when Eastwood’s curmudgeonly racist character, Walt Kowalski, growled a slur …It’s a “harmless joke,” right? Until it’s not just a joke, but rather one more excuse for ignoring white supremacy and racism.”
The film made him uncomfortable on a personal level as he wrote in that piece amid a surge in anti-Asian violence. Gran Torino was an instant hit grossing $270 million worldwide.