Historical Spotlight: Fast & Furious Franchise
It’s amazing how simple trends can morph into cultural influences in a heart beat. With Tiktok, Vine, and Instagram grabbing people’s attention at lightning speed, it’s understandable how seemingly normal things can go on to shape an entire generation. Over time, pop culture and games like Need for Speed, Midnight Club 3, and Gran Turismo have introduced people to the world of hot rods and street racing by showcasing cool cars. Join me as we shine a Historical Spotlight on the Fast and Furious franchise and its lasting influence on the car market.
Car enthusiasts spend lots of money to improve the performance and appearance of their vehicles. They travel near and far to participate in car meet ups and are actively involved in online community boards. Sometimes known as car fanatics, they view their car as a prized possession that must be protected, cherished, and valued. While there have been plenty of movies, songs, and video games about cars, nothing has come close to how influential the Fast and Furious franchise has been.
Originally released in the early 2000s, the initial films were inspired by a 1998 Vibe magazine article titled “Racer X”. It was written by Ken Li and described the underground street racing operation in New York City. Producers Rob Cohen and Neal Moritz thought it was a great concept and decided to write a script about an undercover cop infiltrating the world of underground street racing in Los Angeles.
While the saga is pushing almost 12 films and has branched out to explore different topics, the first few films heavily focused on car culture. Iconic director, John Singleton, made the second title, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and put his own unique spin on the series by moving the setting to Miami and giving it a more vibrant, colorful feel than the first film. He gave his film a strong hip-hop influence and built a bridge between street racing and urban fashion and music. He also cast Tyrese and Ludacris, effectively laying the groundwork for them to become permanent recurring characters.
Another pop culture icon, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, was released in 2006. Since Japan had one of the world’s largest car industries, choosing it for the location was a no-brainer. It focused on the drifting community and added a new layer of car lore for people to learn and love.
The film made such an impact that people have tried imitating nitrous boost and perfecting the art of drifting. Even now, there are adults who like to run richer fuel like E85 through their vehicles to get more boost, engine performance, and higher horsepower.
While Tokyo Drift sparked joy for car enthusiasts around the world, it unfortunately didn’t perform well financially at the time of release and left the franchise in danger of being scrapped. In an effort to save it, the producers decided to pivot from being solely focused on street racing and car culture to focusing more on action and heists.
The films didn’t miss on showcasing the cool factor, but they have been criticized by police departments around the country for glorifying the dangers of street racing. There was even a protest in 2022 to try and prevent filming for Fast X since it, in a sense, promoted illegal racing.
Outside of the negatives, the series as a whole has been incredibly successful and has grossed over $7 billion. It was instrumental in introducing average people to different cars, modifications, and accessories. It also helped popularize importing specialty vehicles and car tuning. Before the movies were released, you didn’t see too many hot rods or super unique cars, but now, it’s almost a competition to get the most exclusive vehicle you can.
Just riding around, there’s a good chance you’ll spot a coupe that’s been lowered or a sporty sedan with large mufflers and a loud exhaust. Some people choose to keep it easy and only swap their rims while others take a more expansive approach and swap an entire engine for more power. The Fast and Furious series helped bring those mods into the forefront of society and made it cool to switch things up.
People go to great lengths to avoid having a stock car and prioritize making their ride unique. It’s definitely a hobby that requires much time, sacrifice, and money to do well, but a lot of people are passionate about getting a car dialed in perfectly.
No other pop culture phenomenon has led to such an impact in the car community than Fast and Furious. It introduced a whole new world for some people and helped others find their true passions. Like Tyrese’s iconic line “eject-o seat-o cuz”, the series has left its mark on history.
If you enjoyed this musing, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Like, comment, share, and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next!
Signed,
Jessica Marie
