Originally Posted 7/16/19
The Fast and the Furious folks took heed to the saying "Cut to the chase..." and produced movies that are basically car chases punctuated by fist-fights. When you give the people what they want, they sometimes reward you with billions in ticket sales. There are currently eight Fast & Furious movies with the ninth, Hobbs & Shaw, due this year.
And while the F&F franchise has been widely praised for its multi-ethnic cast, watching the entire series, it's hard not to notice a pretty foul trend. The Fast & Furious gang have faced a variety of villains over the years, who find themselves either incarcerated or dead by the time the credits roll. But a handful of these evildoers have actually been forgiven for their various murders, kidnappings and other heinous crimes and have been inducted into Dominic Terreto's extended family. The lucky few include Owen Shaw, Deckard Shaw -- and according to rumor, Cipher will make a return to the long-running franchise in Furious 9. What do these three have in common? Aside from murder, they're all white.
The non-white villains haven't been so lucky: Vietnamese gang leader Johnny Tran is killed in the very first movie; Argentinean drug kingpin Carter Verone is never heard from again after being arrested in 2 Fast 2 Furious; Japanese street racer Takashi unintentionally drives off a mountain in Tokyo Drift; Dom fatally rams his car into Mexican drug cartel member Fenix Calderon in Fast & Furious; Hobbs shoots Brazilian drug kingpin Hernan Reyes to death in Fast Five; Mexican drug cartel leader Arturo Braga is revealed to be serving a lengthy sentence in federal prison in Fast & Furious 6; and Nigerian mercenary Mose Jakande is blown up and Thai mercenary Kiet is thrown down an elevator shaft in Furious 7.
But Deckard Shaw's murder of Han (a Japanese man) and attempted murder of Hobbs, Dom, a pregnant Mia, Brian and their toddler, Jack, is forgiven; and Owen Shaw's kidnapping of Mia Toretto, murder of various Spanish motorists and attempted murder of every member of the team and Gisele's (an Israeli woman) death is forgiven. It still remains to be seen whether or not Cipher's kidnapping of Dom's infant son and murder of his ex-girlfriend, Elena (a Brazilian woman), will be forgiven but her imminent return in next year's 10th entry in the series suggests that she too may be welcomed to the team with open arms.
Idris Elba will appear as Afro-British criminal mastermind Brixton Lore in this summer's Hobbs & Shaw. What are the chances of Brixton not winding up in a prison cell or a coffin by the end of the movie?
The Fast and the Furious folks took heed to the saying "Cut to the chase..." and produced movies that are basically car chases punctuated by fist-fights. When you give the people what they want, they sometimes reward you with billions in ticket sales. There are currently eight Fast & Furious movies with the ninth, Hobbs & Shaw, due this year.
And while the F&F franchise has been widely praised for its multi-ethnic cast, watching the entire series, it's hard not to notice a pretty foul trend. The Fast & Furious gang have faced a variety of villains over the years, who find themselves either incarcerated or dead by the time the credits roll. But a handful of these evildoers have actually been forgiven for their various murders, kidnappings and other heinous crimes and have been inducted into Dominic Terreto's extended family. The lucky few include Owen Shaw, Deckard Shaw -- and according to rumor, Cipher will make a return to the long-running franchise in Furious 9. What do these three have in common? Aside from murder, they're all white.
The non-white villains haven't been so lucky: Vietnamese gang leader Johnny Tran is killed in the very first movie; Argentinean drug kingpin Carter Verone is never heard from again after being arrested in 2 Fast 2 Furious; Japanese street racer Takashi unintentionally drives off a mountain in Tokyo Drift; Dom fatally rams his car into Mexican drug cartel member Fenix Calderon in Fast & Furious; Hobbs shoots Brazilian drug kingpin Hernan Reyes to death in Fast Five; Mexican drug cartel leader Arturo Braga is revealed to be serving a lengthy sentence in federal prison in Fast & Furious 6; and Nigerian mercenary Mose Jakande is blown up and Thai mercenary Kiet is thrown down an elevator shaft in Furious 7.
But Deckard Shaw's murder of Han (a Japanese man) and attempted murder of Hobbs, Dom, a pregnant Mia, Brian and their toddler, Jack, is forgiven; and Owen Shaw's kidnapping of Mia Toretto, murder of various Spanish motorists and attempted murder of every member of the team and Gisele's (an Israeli woman) death is forgiven. It still remains to be seen whether or not Cipher's kidnapping of Dom's infant son and murder of his ex-girlfriend, Elena (a Brazilian woman), will be forgiven but her imminent return in next year's 10th entry in the series suggests that she too may be welcomed to the team with open arms.
Idris Elba will appear as Afro-British criminal mastermind Brixton Lore in this summer's Hobbs & Shaw. What are the chances of Brixton not winding up in a prison cell or a coffin by the end of the movie?
Deckard Shaw's murder of Han in Fast & Furious 6
Thanks for the insight! I've watched and enjoyed each of the movies several times, but just now realize how easily society accepts one-sided stereotyping. It's almost expected, regardless of whether the downplayed are of your own kind. This makes me want to give two middle fingers to the industry and pray that future generations incorporate more humanity into every day living and entertainment.
ReplyDelete