I figured that I would write a bit about this since I just watched it and it ties in pretty well with not only my last post but my rock category as well. I have gone ahead and read the article concerning the series that Chico posted on the Moodle for March. However, I will not be addressing the topics of that article until later in the quarter. I will instead go over the things that I picked up on as I just watched the movie again this weekend.

This picture of the Nos, the energy drink not the fuel additive, girls shows how The Fast and The Furious pretty much thinks of women. Let’s just grab some pretty girls and portray them as prizes for the male racers. This tactic can be seen in other movies such as The Transformers which has scenes of Megan Fox wearing short shorts and a tiny top while wrenching on a car. I can’t recall how many times I heard people in my high school talking about how they would want to marry a girl like that -_- Although there are women who race in each series, they never address or show any discomfort with the way these women are usually treated. For example, in the 2001 The Fast and The Furious, the first race that takes place involves this portrayal of women. A girl walks up to the window of one of the racers, tries to tease him, and says that if he wins he can “have” her and her friend after the race. Some of the later movies show girls being provocative towards the racers and acting as their “prize” for winning. Objectifying is the name of the game in Hollywood and I am sure that there are roots of that portrayal within the history of racing and car culture as well. Being a male dominated sport, culture, etc. it is not surprising that this can be found throughout the series. What is surprising is that they are on the 6th or 7th film and things have still not changed, possibly due to the lack of people challenging the series.

Something else that I noticed about the movie was the way they portrayed each of the racer gangs. As for the Asian American gang, almost every time they appeared in the movie they were at an Asian food market that happened to be their business front. Whenever the Latino/a group was on the screen they played hip-hop that was all in the Spanish language. When the white guys were at the car meet, they played Limp Bizkit, a white hip-hop/rock group. God forbid they show the Asian American gang somewhere other than the Asian market riddled with Asian-style decor and statues. It doesn’t help either that the Asian American gang members are portrayed as the villains, following the history of Asian American’s in American film. At one point in the movie an FBI agent, played by Thom Barry, talks about taking down those “Asian punks” once and for all. The main villain, played by Rick Yune, doesn’t play much of a role in the movie, only appearing in a few scenes to be a cold, emotionless jerk with one too many sub-machine guns and an itchy trigger finger.

All-in-all, the movie has some major issues. Brian, the main character played by the late Paul Walker, is the white outsider siding with the law who eventually turns on the FBI to help his racing friends who are all of different a ethnicity. It is an outreach to showing a color-less world while yet capitalizing on the diversity of the cast and desperately trying to paint images of those different groups by using stereotypes. The movie isn’t all bad, the racing scenes are fun and there are even some explosions and fight scenes. Being a person involved in the real world of car culture, this movie has some sort of weird draw that pulls me in despite all of it’s faults. Aside from that, it definitely has the potential for doing more harm than good.

R.I.P. Paul Walker

We know it wouldn’t be Prius, Accord, a mini van.

So Why Gran Torino?

Clint Eastwood’s character was a Korean War veteran, living in Detroit among a large Homng American community. He worked at the ford company for many years after the war. Then in 2008 here is Eastwood, presuemably retired, the film follows Eastwood as an old crumudgun. He mentions he installed the cars transmission right on the assembly line in 1972.

The car could be symbolical of Eastwood’s character– it’s a classic/old-school American built car that is considered antiquated in contrast to vehicles in 2008. In this movie, the car is in mint condition. Eastwood is in great shape, but has an ailment causing him to cough up blood.

The 1970s Asian cars became more common; partly due to their quality compared to the US vehicles, as well as the fuel shortage of the time. The motor companies created the “Buy American” / anti-Japanese campaign that caught on. The Torino represents Eastwood.

Eastwood, like his car is a product of a by-gone age. Having served in and survived the Korean war, he adopted an anti-Asian exterior. The movies over-the-top use of profanity and racist stereotypes has been viewed by some as “…a critical examination of an iconic brand of white macho maleness that he [Eastwood] played a significant part in creating” (Wikipedia.org).

Walt’s (Eastwood) self-centered grand daughter wanted the car… and his Hmong American neighbor, Thaou attempts to steal the Torino as part of a gang initiation. The car serves to bring the two together. Walt begins to see beyond his biases seeing Thaou for the person he really is– not just an embodiment of a racist stereotype. In doing so Walt begins to develop an appreciation for the Hmong’s; so much so that he ends up giving his life to save Thaou. Walt leaves the Torino to Thaou in his will– symbolically weaving the past with the future in the present. The story would have been quite different had the car been a Prius.

What is a label? JDM stands for Japanese Domestic Market literally, but could it mean something else? Could it be something negative?   Ricer? Noob?   Could it be something positive? A hobby? A lifestyle?  Maybe…… maybe I need to back up. What is a car? What is a car to you? Could it be something useful?  Transportation?  Could it be something complex?  A relationship? A lot of nuts and bolts; funnels and tunnels; pistons and valves; explosions and heavy metal? Is a car a living, breathing being or just a scientific feat that could be mistaken for magic if you showed it to somebody 500 years ago?

I will be honest with you, the questions are endless. This rock category will hopefully be able to answer questions and raise some too. I will be exploring, as much as I can anyways, the world of Japanese cars and the life of those who are interested in them. Along the way, I will be searching for how this popular culture has influenced people in America. For some it comes from a movie screen or a video game, for others it may come from a tie to Japan. One of my best friends is a mixed race Nisei and his trips to Japan, as well as his interest and knowledge of the place where part of his family comes from, eventually lead to him falling in love with Japanese car culture at a young age. There are many levels of involvement, from slight interest in cars to devotion, and many different outlets, from the streets to the tracks. The one thing holding all this in common is the car and the driver. And with that in mind, here is a preview of what is to come.