The film Gran Torino, by Clint Eastwood, 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 the most in the film to fight against social norms is Thao. Thao is constantly pushed by the influences in his life to become their idea of ​​a man. There are two cultures that have an active influence on Thao in the film: the Hmong and the Americans. Within these cultures, Thao has individuals who attempt to subjugate him to their notions of masculinity, namely Walt, his family, and the Hmong gang. Thao's experience of overcoming and sometimes conforming to these influences is put into an interesting perspective when analyzed through the lens of panopticism. In “Panopticism” by Michel Foucalt, Foucalt believes that society strives to mentally control people by creating institutions that act like the panopticon. These institutions, such as church, school, or hospitals, play a major role in shaping subjects as they give you guidance on what types of behavior and beliefs are acceptable in society. These institutions are the government's way of monitoring and controlling you. We are essentially powerless to escape the social norms that our society chooses to adopt. A major institution that plays an important role in Thao's life is his family. A family is a socially constructed institution in that it teaches and prepares you for expected behavior in society. Thao's family is described by his sister, Sue, as "traditional Hmong" and is depicted in a scene where Walt comes over for a Bar-B-Que and Sue gives him an overview of Hmong cultural behavior. Thao is shown in this scene doing housework and middle of paper ...... violence when in fact they themselves are mere subjects of the system. They believe that they are safe from the influence of the law and the government, but that they are truly prisoners of the system and doing what the government expects of them. Spider in fact loses the notion of masculinity that he has by actively participating in the panopticism system, whether 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 them. Thao was subjected to society's ideas of masculinity and his struggle to conform to these ideals was shown throughout the film. As people we are nothing in and of ourselves, our subjectivity is created for us by society and panopticism functions as a means of ensuring that we behave as such..