I have chosen do complete this task a little bit different from the way i was probably supposed to. I have done this because i have come to the conclusion that most Hollywood movies portrays people of different races and of different ethnicities different from each other. I have then decided to focus on how the movie Gran Torino portrays these people, since the main character of the movie has several issues with people from different races than himself.

The movie contains a series of racial issues. These issues are mostly between the main character, an old man who served in Korea, and the Hmong people living in his neighborhood. The main character is portrayed as the stereotypical old man: always angry, not wanting anybody on his property and a little racist would be an understatement. He is always sitting on his front porch watching the neighbors who just happen to be only Hmong people. He cant pronounce any of the names and he doesn't really care if he says anything racist to or around them.
The Hmong people are portrayed as the average stereotypical Asian family with their big families living in the same house or in the houses next to them. They often have barbecues, diner parties and other festivities. The Hmong people are also described as a very traditional people. One of the Hmong girls says in the movie that the girls grow up to go to college while the boys end up in jail. The boys thought of in the last sentence is the boys in the neighborhood gang. These people are portrayed as the classical wannabe gangster. They always carry their weapons, talk down to women, force others to join their gang and give each other cheap nicknames like "Snake". Another gang is also portrayed in this movie. this gang contains African Americans and act as if they are better then everybody else. They are against the Hmong gang as gangs usually is against each other.

The portrayals in this movie are not very original and you can see the same type of characters in several other movies. The way the characters is portrayed is not the movies greatest qualities while the way they act towards each other is incredible. While the gangs act tough when they around their own people, you can see how this attitude changes when they are alone or with somebody else than their normal social circle.
Withing the traditions of the Hmong family, respect for the elders is very important. Every character in this movie has a different way of treating these elderly people. There is a family Shaman who has the respect of every family member, probably because to have him read you is a great honor. The gang containing Hmong people does not respect anyone but themselves if i understood it correctly.