Rob Cohen’s 2001 film The Fast and The Furious champions the working class with such unadulterated glamor, that it is easy for audiences to dismiss the prescriptive identities of even its main characters, but while the reductive nature of Cohen’s characterizations might initially prove to be a satisfying point of criticism, it is worth noting where The Fast and The Furious succeeds as a celebration of working class culture. Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and his family represent Fredrick Douglass’ “Self-Made Men.” Douglass criticizes Benjamin Franklin’s concept of the solitary “Self-Made Man” and embraces a new concept wherein individuals are integral parts of what Douglass calls the “brotherhood and interdependence of mankind” (Douglass 549). While the characters themselves risk becoming allegorical representations of the “everyman,” the success of the film is rooted in its subtleties, the jargon and mannerisms. The “built not bought” mentality of the motorsports community celebrates the technical prowess and collaborative efforts of the working class, while scoffing at financial affluence. The multicultural conglomeration of Toretto’s family represents the homogenizing effects of class stratification, while the film directly confronts lateral oppression in its treatment of “Race Wars,” the final climactic race. While The Fast and The Furious centers mostly on the underclass characters of Toretto’s family, the cars themselves bear particular significance. The American muscle cars of the 1970s provided drivers with affordable performance vehicles, all of which were easily modified, so drivers could tune their cars in installments. While Hollywood typically glorifies the American muscle car (mostly because of its archetypal status), Cohen’s film introduces the contemporary equivalent to the American muscle car: the turbo-charged Japanese compact. The Fast franchise celebrates the ability, intelligence, and solidarity of the working class by presenting otherwise standard vehicles such as the Honda Civic and the Mitsubishi Eclipse in heroic fashion.
About the presenterGreg Bruno
Greg Bruno teaches courses in English at Kingsborough Community College in the City University of New York. He designs and teaches co-enrolled exchange program courses at correctional facilities in the greater New York City area. He earned his doctorate in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2019. His research and practice centers on the psychology of learning, prison education, and higher education reform and policy analysis.