Full-throttle franchise : the culture, business and politics of the 'Fast et furious'

When the first Fast & Furious film was released in June 2001, few predicted that it would be a box office hit, let alone the launchpad for a multi-billion-dollar franchise. A mid-budget crime movie set around L.A.’s underground car-racing scene, featuring a cast of relative unknowns, the film became one of the surprise hits of that summer, earning more than 5 times its budget in worldwide ticket sales. 2 decades and 9 films later, Fast & Furious today ranks among the 10 highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, with a box office total of $6.6 billion and has also given rise to an animated TV show and theme park ride. Full-Throttle Franchise is the first book to offer an in-depth analysis of the Fast & Furious, bringing together a range of scholars to explore not only the style and themes of the franchise, but also its broader cultural impact and legacy. The collected essays establish the franchise’s importance in cinematic and ideological terms, linking their discussions to wider issues of genre, representation, adaptation, and industry. Topics range from stardom and performance, focusing on key actors Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, to the way in which Fast & Furious intersects with dominant ideas of racial, gender, and sexual identity. Full-Throttle Franchise is the first book to offer an in-depth analysis of the Fast & Furious, bringing together a range of scholars to explore not only the style and themes of the franchise, but also its broader cultural impact and legacy. The collected essays establish the franchise’s importance in cinematic and ideological terms, linking their discussions to wider issues of genre, representation, adaptation, and industry. Topics range from stardom and performance, focusing on key actors Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, to the way in which Fast & Furious intersects with dominant ideas of racial, gender, and sexual identity. When the first Fast & Furious film was released in June 2001, few predicted that it would be a box office hit, let alone the launchpad for a multi-billion-dollar franchise. A mid-budget crime movie set around L.A.'s underground car-racing scene, featuring a cast of relative unknowns, the film became one of the surprise hits of that summer, earning more than 5 times its budget in worldwide ticket sales. 2 decades and 9 films later, Fast & Furious today ranks among the 10 highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, with a box office total of $6.6 billion and has also given rise to an animated TV show and theme park ride. Full-Throttle Franchise is the first book to offer an in-depth analysis of the Fast & Furious , bringing together a range of scholars to explore not only the style and themes of the franchise, but also its broader cultural impact and legacy. The collected essays establish the franchise's importance in cinematic and ideological terms, linking their discussions to wider issues of genre, representation, adaptation, and industry. Topics range from stardom and performance, focusing on key actors Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, to the way in which Fast & Furious intersects with dominant ideas of racial, gender, and sexual identity. Aimed at both scholars and fans, Full-Throttle Franchise seeks to uncover just what has made Fast & Furious so enduringly popular, mapping its outrageous set pieces, ever-expanding universe, and growing cast of global megastars in terms of wider cultural and industrial forces. When the first Fast & Furious film was released in June 2001, few predicted that it would be a box office hit, let alone the launchpad for a multi-billion-dollar franchise. A mid-budget crime movie set around L.A.'s underground car-racing scene, featuring a cast of relative unknowns, the film became one of the surprise hits of that summer, earning more than 5 times its budget in worldwide ticket sales. 2 decades and 9 films later, Fast & Furious today ranks among the 10 highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, with a box office total of USD6.6 billion and has also given rise to an animated TV show and theme park ride. Full-Throttle Franchise is the first book to offer an in-depth analysis of the Fast & Furious, bringing together a range of scholars to explore not only the style and themes of the franchise, but also its broader cultural impact and legacy. The collected essays establish the franchise's importance in cinematic and ideological terms, linking their discussions to wider issues of genre, representation, adaptation, and industry. Topics range from stardom and performance, focusing on key actors Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, to the way in which Fast & Furious intersects with dominant ideas of racial, gender, and sexual identity. Aimed at both scholars and fans, Full-Throttle Franchise seeks to uncover just what has made Fast & Furious so enduringly popular, mapping its outrageous set pieces, ever-expanding universe, and growing cast of global megastars in terms of wider cultural and industrial forces. Cover 1 Contents 6 List of figures 7 List of tables 9 List of contributors 10 Acknowledgements 13 1 Researching Fast & Furious in the franchise era of Hollywood Joshua Gulam, Fraser Elliott and Sarah Feinstein 14 2 From Mission Impossible to Mission Insanity: A longitudinal analysis of action sequences in the Fast & Furious franchise Lennart Soberon 50 3 ‘For those ten seconds, I’m free’: Temporality, affect and spectacle in the Fast & Furious franchise Naja Later 70 4 A critical quantitative analysis of race and representation in the Fast Saga films Pete Jones and Joshua Gulam 86 5 Vin Diesel as franchise auteur: Intersectional authorship and the cuddly hardbody in Los Bandoleros CarrieLynn D. Reinhard and Christopher J. Olson 116 6 Fast, Furious and Free of Sex: Dom, Brian and hetero male affection Aaron Hunter 134 7 ‘What’s real is family’: Maternal bodies, paternal labour and parenting roles in Fast & Furious Bianca Batti 154 8 ‘I never want to lose a fight’: Masculinity, machismo and high-octane action in the Fast & Furious franchise Rebecca Feasey 170 9 The on- and off-screen bromances of Fast & Furious Jackie Raphael and Celia Lam 188 10 ‘It’s so so so so so so important’: China’s role in shaping the Fast & Furious franchise Fraser Elliott 206 11 Fun for all the family: Adapting Fast & Furious as animated children’s television Sam Summers 226 12 ‘Zero tolerance for candy asses’: World Wrestling Entertainment and Fast & Furious as transmedia storytelling Robert Watts 246 Filmography 264 Index 271 "When the first Fast & Furious film was released in June 2001, few predicted that it would be a box office hit, let alone the launchpad for a multi-billion-dollar franchise. Two decades and nine films later, Fast & Furious today ranks among the 10 highest-grossing movie franchises of all time. Full-Throttle Franchise is the first in-depth analysis of the Fast & Furious films, bringing together a range of scholars to explore not only the style and themes of the franchise, but also its broader cultural impact and legacy. The collected essays establish the franchise's importance in cinematic and ideological terms, linking their discussions to wider issues of genre, representation, and industry. Topics range from stardom and performance, focusing on key actors Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, to the way in which Fast & Furious intersects with dominant ideas of racial, gender, and sexual identity."-- Provided by publisher "Offers an in-depth critical analysis of the Fast & Furious films, bringing together a range of scholars to explore not only the style and themes of the multibillion-dollar franchise, but also its broader cultural impact and industry legacy"-- Provided by publisher