Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino follows the life of a Korean War veteran and his relationship with his Hmong neighbors as they fight to overcome the trials they face with. The character who struggles most against social norms in the film is Thao. Thao is constantly pushed by the influences in his life to be their idea of ​​a man. There are two cultures that have an active influence on Thao in the film: Hmong and American. Within these cultures, Thao has individuals who attempt to subjugate him to their notions of masculinity, which are Walt, his family, and the Hmong gang. Thao's experience in overcoming and sometimes conforming to these influences is placed in an interesting perspective when analyzed through the lens of panopticism. In “Panopticism” by Michel Foucalt, Foucalt believes that society works to mentally control people by creating institutions that act like the panopticon. These institutions, such as church, school or hospitals, play an important role in the formation of the subject as they give signals about what kind of behavior and beliefs are acceptable in society. These institutions are how the government watches and controls you. We are essentially powerless to escape the social norms our society chooses to adopt. One of the main institutions that plays a huge role in Thao's life is his family. A family is a socially constructed institution as it teaches and prepares the behavior expected in society. Thao's family is described by his sister Sue as "traditional Hmong" and is shown in a scene where Walt comes over for a Bar-B-Que and Sue gives him an account of Hmong cultural behavior. Thao is shown in this scene doing housework and c...... middle of paper ......violence when in reality they themselves are simply subjects of the system. They believe they are separate from the influence of law and government, but they are truly prisoners in the system, doing what the government expects of them. Spider is in fact losing the notion of masculinity that he has by actively participating in the Panopticism system, even if unconsciously. We have moral systems, culture, behavioral norms, and socially accepted ways of thinking that control us. No matter where we go or what we do, these cultural patterns follow us. We cannot escape it. Thao was subject to society's ideas of masculinity, and his struggle to conform to these ideals was shown throughout the film. We as people are inherently nothing, our subjectivity is created for us by society, and panopticism functions as a way to ensure that we behave as such.