{"id":7439,"date":"2016-03-01T12:22:48","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T06:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439"},"modified":"2016-03-01T12:22:48","modified_gmt":"2016-03-01T06:52:48","slug":"a-review-of-the-fast-and-furious-franchise-by-someone-who-hates-driving-and-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=7439","title":{"rendered":"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<span class=\"dropcap\">A<\/span>bout a decade ago I was in Hyderabad, part of a large training batch in my first job as a techie. Because we were such a large contingent, acquaintances were as easy to make as faces and personalities were easy to forget. The first meagre pay checks we received demanded a celebration \u2013 not ecstatically cultured or elitist, but anything that shouted collective joy and abandon. Everyone suggested watching the new Fast and Furious film (I don\u2019t remember which one but really who can anymore). I\u2019d never been into automobiles \u2013 still ain\u2019t- in general and had neither been a fan of the franchise except for its music and late Paul Walker\u2019s t-shirts. I assumed a single screen theatre in the Hyderabad suburbs would invite scant crowds for a franchise consistently pushing the boundaries of adolescent gullibility. A group of 23 people, we barely managed to get our tickets as people paid to stand and watch. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it since.\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>It\u2019s kind of contradictory too, the fact that India neither has supercars, nor roads to drive them on and yet there is this wondrousness about a film franchise overflowing with testosterone to the point you\u2019d think it\u2019s not the fuel that\u2019s driving these machines.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nI hate driving, specifically the many stress points that come with owning a car. Worse, I have over the years detested the fact that masculinity has attached itself to the notional wisdoms of speed, driving and getting away to the extent that it has become embarrassing to even admit I don\u2019t like doing it. I\u2019d rather be the guy next to the driver soaking in the view or cursing the traffic. All of this has always made it difficult to understand the cult of the Fast and Furious franchise. It exists, it definitely does, and despite the white-vest-lean artistic sensibility of these films their exaggerations have become a thing of folklore in itself. It\u2019s kind of contradictory too, the fact that India neither has supercars, nor roads to drive them on and yet there is this wondrousness about a film franchise overflowing with testosterone to the point you\u2019d think it\u2019s not the fuel that\u2019s driving these machines.\n\nF9- The Fast Saga, as they are calling it after having run out suffixes that can be used, is the latest in a line of Fast and Furious films that invents a storyline where there exists none. For some reason Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew disband at the end of every film and regroup, again for the next \u2013 has someone not tried and rent the whole group a villa or something where they can \u2018hang\u2019 and obnoxiously, talk cars like politics, all day. In this new film, Dom\u2019s estranged brother, a wasted John Cena appears out of nowhere \u2013 with not a text message, a missed call or a facebook request in between \u2013 to foil Torreto\u2019s plans. Because these films have always been built around the tenets of \u2018family\u2019 and the prehistoric idea of fighting as one, it wouldn\u2019t be giving anything away by telling you, everyone just shakes hands at the end at the expense of a rudimentary third villain. To its credit, this film is perhaps the most mature in the franchise, but that\u2019s not saying much given the bar the predecessors have set.\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>Most of us can\u2019t afford cars until we are old enough to not even look good driving them. But that is what dreams and aspirations are made of in this country, to salivate at the probabilities and not the possibilities.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nThe new film even finds humour in the near-invincibility of Toretto\u2019s group of badass drivers. I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s a self-reflective joke or something targeted at the audience with the idiomatic stubbornness of \u201cyou\u2019ll buy just about anything we sell\u201d. Most of these characters have never been bruised or even hurt, flinging cars off of cliffs or in this case flying them in outer space (yes, that\u2019s right). The ridiculous obsession with cars amounts to doing absolutely nothing without them. Even the concept of athletic mobility seems alien to a franchise hedging its bets on the masculinity of the viewing audience. Then there is the NOS, the button everyone presses as a typicality now, when something outrageous is about to happen. I can\u2019t help but wish I had one, not for driving, but driving past the absurdities of everyday life. A more philosophical NOS, if you will.\n\nAs a prickly hater of automobiles and driving, I might find the exaggerations of the series hilarious, but I do get its allure. To a slow-moving country Fast and Furious is an intimate, almost erotic perspective of speed. To a people perpetually stuck in traffic jams and middling accomplishments it is like a virtual escape, rewarding. Also cars, might be the only proof of success you get to flaunt while earning them. It\u2019s like a homestay for your mind that can neither escape the office chair nor the family duty. Most of us can\u2019t afford cars until we are old enough to not even look good driving them. But that is what dreams and aspirations are made of in this country, to salivate at the probabilities and not the possibilities. Which is why despite its \u2018Ludacris\u2019, bald-headed narratives and near teenage kicks, Fast and the Furious manages to tug at the kid in us, the one who believes he\u2019ll still someday drive like he is flying.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[584,7463,8752,4394,6075,8756],"class_list":["post-7439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-cars","tag-driving","tag-fast-and-furious","tag-john-cena","tag-masculinity","tag-vin-diesel"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-01T06:52:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Manik Sharma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Manik Sharma\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7439#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7439\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Manik Sharma\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8964d05835d3b635d4a359a761d57a76\"},\"headline\":\"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-01T06:52:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7439\"},\"wordCount\":947,\"keywords\":[\"cars\",\"Driving\",\"fast and furious\",\"John Cena\",\"Masculinity\",\"vin diesel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Pop Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7439\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7439\",\"name\":\"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-01T06:52:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8964d05835d3b635d4a359a761d57a76\"},\"description\":\"I\u2019ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7439#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7439\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=7439#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8964d05835d3b635d4a359a761d57a76\",\"name\":\"Manik Sharma\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11b5179257edb242d630c554e7f7b75fa4e35c1e6151c9c7d8f12d92e937bc08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11b5179257edb242d630c554e7f7b75fa4e35c1e6151c9c7d8f12d92e937bc08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11b5179257edb242d630c554e7f7b75fa4e35c1e6151c9c7d8f12d92e937bc08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Manik Sharma\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=137\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars","description":"I\u2019ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars","og_description":"I\u2019ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.","og_url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-03-01T06:52:48+00:00","author":"Manik Sharma","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars","twitter_description":"I\u2019ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Manik Sharma","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439"},"author":{"name":"Manik Sharma","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/8964d05835d3b635d4a359a761d57a76"},"headline":"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars","datePublished":"2016-03-01T06:52:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439"},"wordCount":947,"keywords":["cars","Driving","fast and furious","John Cena","Masculinity","vin diesel"],"articleSection":["Pop Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439","name":"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-03-01T06:52:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/8964d05835d3b635d4a359a761d57a76"},"description":"I\u2019ve never been comfortable admitting that I despise driving and lack the enthusiasm most share around automobiles in general. It has made witnessing and understanding the fandom behind the Fast and Furious franchise all the more fascinating.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7439#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A review of the Fast and Furious franchise by someone who hates driving and cars"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/8964d05835d3b635d4a359a761d57a76","name":"Manik Sharma","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11b5179257edb242d630c554e7f7b75fa4e35c1e6151c9c7d8f12d92e937bc08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11b5179257edb242d630c554e7f7b75fa4e35c1e6151c9c7d8f12d92e937bc08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11b5179257edb242d630c554e7f7b75fa4e35c1e6151c9c7d8f12d92e937bc08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Manik Sharma"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=137"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7439\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}