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

Picking up where we left off earlier this week, my last blog post focused on the place of race in the urban action film that Mary Beltrán presented in her analysis of The Fast and The Furious (2001). Her study of the first film found that its narrative and aesthetic environment capitalized on ‘racelessness’ to successfully reach and engage multicultural audiences - and youth in particular.

She noted that racelessness - defined as an identity based on freedom and resistance to oppression, the rejection of tradition and affiliation based on origins, and fluidity - 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.

Several years later, with the release of the fourth film - Fast & Furious, also known as Fast & Furious 4 - it seemed that racelessness had been replaced by an emphasis on Latino culture in order to include and capitalize on the growing Latino market in the United States and aboard.

Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, in Fast & Furious (2009) — Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, in *Fast & Furious (2009)*

In the United States, during its opening weekend in 2009, Fast and Furious 4 made more than $71 million USD - with Latino viewers accounting for 46% of its audience. Internationally, the film held the number spot at the box office for weeks, and sometimes for months, in some Latin American, Asian, and European countries.

The film reunited original cast members Paul Walker (Brian O’Conner), Vin Diesel (Dominic “Dom” Toretto), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty) and Jordana Brewster (Mia). The premise of the film is that Dom and Brian, former friends, have to work together to bring down a Mexican drug cartel who killed Dom’s girlfriend, Letty, in the opening scenes of the film. If you haven’t seen the movie, you should stop reading and go watch it right now - alternatively, you can get the gist of the plot by watching the trailer below:

the latinization of american popular culture

Beltrán’s 2013 analysis of Fast & Furious 4 explores another shift that occurred in the urban action film genre (and arguably in Hollywood and popular culture more broadly) to include and capitalize on Latino culture and the growing economic power of Latino audiences in the United States. She refers to this phenomenon as the latinization of the media and cultural products, which she defines as “an overt courting of Latino viewers and an increased visibility of Latina and Latino characters and culture through a variety of strategies”. Other recent examples of this phenomenon include the successful children’s series Dora the Explorer and the increasing presence of Latina and Latino cast members like Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) and Adam Rodriguez (CSI: Miami) in mainstream television and film.

Fast and Furious 4 is by no means the first successful film featuring Latina and Latino cast members - Jennifer Lopez and Benicio del Toro are but two examples of Hollywood stars who have catapulted countless films to success. However, Beltrán argues, despite these other success stories, those behind the scenes struggle to appeal to Latino audiences in the way that the Fast and Furious 4 did. The combination of publicity, and narrative and aesthetic elements used by the film’s producers, creators and promoters makes it “an important test case of the Latinization of contemporary U.S. media”.

So… how did she test it out?

In order to develop a better understanding of how Fast & Furious 4 captured Latino audiences while continuing to draw other audiences to theatres, Beltrán did a critical and textual analysis of the film, its DVD “extras”, and promotional materials. She also examined reviews of the film in mainstream and English-language Latino-oriented news outlets and industry trade journals. Lastly, she conducted two interviews with Justin Lin - the director of the third through six instalments of the franchise - one in 2010 and one in 2012.

And… what did she find?

BIlingual and culturally relevant promotional activities

Beltrán notes that, historically, U.S. media producers have erroneously assumed that all Latino audiences can be reached through one message or through Spanish-language media. Not surprisingly, in the U.S., and indeed worldwide, Latinos - and especially Latino youth - are culturally competent with a hybridity of interests, language, and cultural preferences. In other words, they do not consume only Spanish-language media and cannot be painted with the same marketing brush.

The marketing for Fast and Furious 4 included: Spanish and English campaigns targeting Latino audiences inside and outside of the U.S.; Spanish ads on Telemundo and Univisión during the World Cup and other events that attracted large Latino audiences; advertisements on websites that targeted Latinos; and, outdoor advertising in both languages in key U.S. neighbourhoods - those with large Latino populations. In addition, stars from the film - like Michelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel - did interviews in Spanish during press events in Mexico and Miami. This culturally hybrid perspective or bilingual aesthetic, included Latino audiences without it seeming forced.

latino-influenced narrative and aesthetic elements

Latino culture has always been a part of the Fast and Furious franchise. The very premise of the series, streetcar racing culture, is Asian American and Latino dominated in real life and closely related to low-rider culture of Mexican American gangs from the 1950s. In addition as mentioned in my first blog post, the 2001 film featured on-screen racial and ethnic diversity among the main cast members as well as extras, many of whom were Latino. The second film, 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), tipped its hat to Latino culture, by taking place in Miami and California and casting Eva Mendes as one the main characters. Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift featured reggaetón music - hip-hop and reggae rhythms with Spanish rapping and singing - for the first time against a familiar storyline.

Fast and Furious (2009) both emphasizes and amplifies these elements:

Location: The film takes place in the Dominican Republic, Panama City, Mexico, and the Mexico-U.S border
Cast members and characters: In addition to the return of bi-racial and multi-racial cast members with links to the Latin community like Jordana Brewster (Mia) and Michelle Rodriguez (Letty), two new team members were added to Dominic’s crew - Rico Santos (played by Don Omar) and Tego Leo (played by Tego Calderón). Both Don Omar and Tego Calderón are popular reggaetón artists who appeal to Latino and Latin American audiences. The characters are also seen as equal, respected members of Dom’s team, not lesser members.
Language: New characters, Santos and Leo speak Spanish in the opening scenes of the film as they work with the rest of the team to pull off a heist. When the heist goes south, we see that Dom too speaks perfect Spanish (you can watch the opening sequence here).
Plot: The film centres around bringing down a Mexican drug cartel that is smuggling drugs across the border and into the United States.
Music: Several scenes feature characters and extras dancing and celebrating to reggaéton music.
Culture: Dom and Mia are shown to possess many traits typically linked with Latinos in the United States including embracing religion (demonstrated when they pray and say grace before meals) and an unwavering loyalty to family. This theme was also present in the first film of the franchise.

the perpetuation of stereotypes

As with Beltrán’s analysis of the first film, she argues that despite an increase in the presence of Latino and Latina characters and Latino culture more broadly, Fast and Furious 4 still falls short. In particular, she notes that Latina and Latino stars (like Don Omar and Tego Calderón) only receive supporting roles in the film while the role of hero is reserved for “ambiguously white characters” like Dom and Brian who display cultural flexibility and embrace Latino culture and traditions.

She also highlights how the film’s storyline relies on the problematic premise that Mexico is “lawless” and the illegal drug trade is rampant and as well as stereotypes stemming from anti-immigration rhetoric - i.e. that people of Latino descent are criminals, for even the members of Dom’s team are criminals.

The working class hero

In Beltrán’s interviews with director Justin Lin, Lin states that it is the working-class nature and identity of the characters, not their race or ethnic-based identity, that has resonated with audiences - “It just so happens that a lot of Latinos are working class”.