The Place of Race in the Urban Action Film (Part I) - Lessons in Popular Culture Continued

If you know me at all, you won’t be surprised to learn that I’ve incorporated a lesson about the Fast and Furious franchise into my Popular Culture course. Any excuse to ogle pictures of the Rock and Vin Diesel and call it course prep…

I’m kidding, but the series merits serious academic study! In 2015, as the franchise was gearing up to release its seventh instalment in theatres, it was the ninth-highest-grossing film series of all time with combined theatrical earnings of over $5 billion USD. Since then, two additional films have been released - Fast 8: The Fate of the Furious, released in 2017, grossed over $1.2 billion USD worldwide and the 2019 spin-off, Hobbes & Shaw made over $760 million worldwide USD. That’s a lot of money.

In addition to the financial and economic impact of the franchise - think about how many people are employed to film, produce and promote the franchise - it also has longevity. The first film was released in 2001. Since then, and in spite of the tragic (off-screen) death of one of the franchise’s stars in 2013, the franchise contains 8 full-length feature films and one spin-off in addition to several short films, a television series, live shows, and theme park attractions. The next film, F9 (click here for the trailer), was scheduled for release in May 2020 but has been pushed back to April 2021 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. A tenth film and another full-length feature spin-off are also in the works.

If you’re still not convinced, consider the star power behind the films. While the franchise is credited with launching Paul Walker and Vin Diesel to stardom, as more and more films have been added to the franchise so have the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron, Ronda Rousey, Helen Mirren, John Cena and Ryan Reynolds climbed on board.

Charlize Theron and Vin Diesel in The Fate of the Furious

Yet, despite all of the above, to date there have only been two academic articles that focus on The Fast and The Furious (I’ve got a third brewing but more on that later!). The first was published in 2005 when only 2 of the films had been released, and the second was published in 2013 when 5 of the films had been released. Both articles, written by Mary Beltrán, a professor of communications and chicano/a studies at the University of Wisconsin, focus on the place of race in urban action films such as The Fast and The Furious.

Representations of the Inner City on Film

From the 1920s to the 1960s, films set in the inner city emphasized youth, teen delinquency, gangs, and violence. They focused on race, ethnicity, and class as threats to the safety of urban environments. Non-white characters in these films were often depicted as violent criminals or the helplessness victims of social problems.

In the 1970s, as television became more widespread and diversified its programming, movie theatre attendance was declining and producers sought to bring in new audiences. They capitalized on the influx of martial arts films and ‘blaxploitation’ movies featuring lead characters with black authority, power and control. Aesthetically, the films changed to incorporate popular R&B soundtracks, eye-catching fashion, melodramatic storylines, sex, and violence. These characteristics continue to be a staple in contemporary urban action films - for example, if one maps the trajectory of the Fast and the Furious franchise, we see a similar shift in the storyline as the films transition from an emphasis on underground street racing to one focused on international crime, bank heists and terrorism.

Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon (1987)

Building off the success of these films, the 1980s saw the proliferation of “biracial buddy cop films” like Lethal Weapon and 48 Hours. These films, although successful, were light-hearted; they did not address politics or race relations and glossed over the social issues and social realities of the communities from which the African American characters came.

The 1980s and 1990s also saw the melding of futuristic, science fiction films with urban action films. Set in urban city centres, these films had bigger budgets and generated mass profits. Beltrán argues that there are other examples of ‘hybridization’ that occurred in the urban action genre and lists The Fast and The Furious (2001) as an example because it combines “the exploitation-style race-car film, low-ride teen culture, the urban gang movie, and the cop film”.

Another shift was that the hero in these hybrid films was no longer predominantly Caucasian - characters were increasingly being portrayed by actors from diverse backgrounds. More recently, the genre has embraced biracial and multiracial actors like Vin Diesel, The Rock and Keanu Reeves in the role of hero. In addition to being strong and courageous, these characters are culturally competent - able to easily navigate, command respect, and kick butt in diverse ethnic communities.

The Fast and The Furious (2001)

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the final scene of The Fast and The Furious (2001)

In her analysis of The Fast and the Furious (2001), Beltrán suggests that racelessness - an identity based on freedom and resistance to oppression, the rejection of tradition and affiliation based on origins, and fluidity - is what allows the main characters of the film to survive and thrive. Racelessness can be found in the casting of bi- and multi-racial actors, the presence of multiethnic groups on screen, and the preeminence of racing and speed culture over all other cultures in the film.

Speed rules

Set in Los Angeles, The Fast and The Furious presents the inner city as a place where different ethnic groups generally compete amicably. Simply put, it’s a world where “speed rules” - not the colour of one’s skin or how much money a person has.

Bi-racial and multi-racial cast

The focus and primary racing team led by Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) prominently featured three biracial actors: Vin Diesel, who is of African American and Italian descent; Latina American Michelle Rodriguez (Letty) whose mother is Dominican and father is Puerto Rican; Jordana Brewster (Mia), who is part Brazilian. Although the ethnicity of the actors is not a focal point of the film, traces of it seep into the story line: Dom is Italian and Mia asks Brian (Paul Walker) to take her on a date to a Brazilian restaurant called Cha Cha Cha.

On-screen racial and ethnic diversity

On-screen, the racers, the racing teams and the fans are extremely diverse. As noted by Beltrán, among the extras in the film - who were actual street racers - Asian Americans, Latinos, and African Americans far outnumbered Caucasians. In addition, “ostensibly white” characters wear ethnic-oriented apparel, including Mexican-American street culture tattoos and woven hats, thereby showing their cultural competence and affiliations with urban racing culture.

embracing racelessness

At the end of the film, Brian confesses to Dom that he’s an undercover cop investigating a series of armed robberies against truck drivers. He uses his police connections to airlift Vince (a member of Dom’s team) to the hospital following a heist gone bad and then he and Dom try to find Jesse, who is being pursued by Johnny Tran. When Jesse is shot by Tran on the front lawn of Dom’s house, the final race scene of the film begins as Dom and Brian pursue and eventually apprehend Tran.

Ultimately, Brian must choose between his duties as a police officer and his loyalty to Dom - he picks Dom, giving him the keys to his unruined car so that he can escape before police back-up arrives. By doing so, Brian sheds his identity as police officer and fully embraces street racing culture entering into a state of ‘racelessness’, characterized by freedom, fluidity and the rejection of traditions and allegiance based on one’s origin.

The privilege of whiteness and limited diversity

Paul Walker as Brian Splinner in The Fast and The Furious (2001)

Despite the presence of the above factors in the film, Beltrán argues that whiteness still brings privilege in the world of street racing as presented in The Fast and The Furious. Take a look at Brian’s first interaction with Dom (and the other racers) in the video below:

In addition to highlighting that “speed rules”, Brian’s quickly granted access to the race. On the other hand, Hector, a Latino, is not allowed or invited to compete because he’s “too slow”. A few moments later, Brian easily beats Edwin (the African American racer) and Danny (the Asian American racer) before losing to Dom. On-screen, Caucasian characters dominate the narrative environment - either by pulling the strings or actually winning on the racing scene, thereby reinforcing traditional racial expectations. Off-screen, in the real world of street racing, it’s Asian American, Latino, and African American street racers who dominate.

Finally, Beltrán notes that irrespective of their race or ethnicity, the women portrayed on-screen conform to Anglo-centric (or white) notions of beauty. In particular, the women are tall and very thin, whereas there is much more physical diversity in the street racing subculture. It would also include short and curvy women.

A final note about ‘race wars’

The Fast and The Furious features a major drag racing event in the desert called Race Wars at which several members of Dom’s team compete in one-on-one drag races for cash and pink slips. Like so many other aspects of the film, success and status at the event are determined by speed rather than race, ethnicity, or even gender. Yet, Beltrán’s analysis fails to mention the event once, even casually. The play on words alone suggests that this is a missed opportunity for analysis and critique.