Gran Torino: A Film which Showcases a Concept

Last night my husband and I viewed the film Gran Torino for the third time. The language can shock those not adequately prepared for a gritty dialogue. But the film is also shockingly beautiful in its portrayal of a concept which is foreign to many children today. The theme of the film is one of restitution. And in the end, restitution opens the door to redemption.

Dallas Morning News ran a sad article regarding the Dallas Can! Academy. Apparently, offering problem students a second chance at an education within the four walls of a classroom is not enough. Some of these clods of dirt are stealing, fighting, and creating a stench for surrounding business owners.

America sports a generation of entitled children who know everything about their miserable little "rights" when it comes to a brush with the law. They may also understand the concept of punishment for evil deeds. How much better would it be if they were taught the concept of restitution in the manner presented in "Gran Torino"?

When it comes to adolescents and young adults it seems less a financial burden to have court-mandated restitution as opposed to incarceration for non-violent crimes. Catch a kid stealing at the mall? Place them under custodial after-school supervision to work toward the financial restitution of their theft. Give them minimum wage and when they have paid their debt they are welcomed back into society.

My eldest, cleaned feces out of cages at the animal shelter when he didn't pay a traffic ticket. No bailout for his stupidity and lack of payment of his personal debt; and no mercy extended by Dad and Mom when "the law" caught up with him. I have a friend with a son who riddled the windows of a new neighborhood home with his BB gun. When questioned, he was not quite sure why he had done it. But he worked all summer to pay the legal fees and replacement cost of the windows. Foolishness does not exempt from restitution, rather it is a very good reason to consider it. A bit of hard labor is not bad for a foolish kid. And as in the movie, the restitution process changed and strengthened the backbone of a young man.

Dallas Morning News article

Tammy Swofford