Reflections on Mortality: The Imagery of Mirrors in Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino

Abstract

ABSTRACT Like much of Clint Eastwood’s late work, Gran Torino is a film that directly addresses themes and images of old age. It is also a film about mortality. This article discusses the imagery of mirrors and reflections in the film and way they are used symbolically and structurally to highlight and explore issues of aging, entropy, and death. Drawing on Kathleen Woodward’s notion of a mirror stage of old age, it argues that Walt moves from rejection of the aging self to a form of acceptance, albeit one that uses the heroic persona to effectively bypass natural mortality.