ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the complex ways that social capital is formed, circulated, and distorted in urban settings by examining city life as it is portrayed in American films. It discusses the case study of Clint Eastwood's film Gran Torino, set in Detroit, Michigan. While on one level Gran Torino portrays the urban landscape as bleak and uninviting, on another level it offers insights into how democratically enhancing forms of social capital and cross-group trust can be formed and distributed in urban settings. Gran Torino offers many important insights into the distorting effects of negative bonding social capital as well as the transformative potential of bridging and vertical social capital. It conveys a message that cross-group tolerance, respect, and trust can indeed be formed under difficult circumstances. The chapter finds films that portray cities as spaces where individuals find emotional fulfillment, economic success, or where immigrants and migrants come to seek the American Dream.
