How the Fast and Furious franchise used cars to symbolize the American dream

As the blockbusting franchise returns with The Fate of the Furious, what does it have to say about America’s obsession with cars?

Fast cars and Hollywood have always been a crucial part of American identity, with the former helping to shape the cool identity of the latter, adding an aspirational accessory to aspirational imagery on screen. In turn, cinema was America’s subconscious writ large; the American dream played out across multiplexes nationwide. Anyone could become anything they wanted, and their exploits were projected before the eyes of millions at 24 frames a second.

In the past decade, the retooled Fast and Furious franchise (the eighth chapter of which speeds into cinemas this week) has taken that relationship to the next level, turning cars into a status symbol of almost religious importance. They’ve always denoted cool, courage and wealth, but now they aren’t just vehicles with which to smash speed limits and chase villains – they are vehicles of social mobility in and of themselves. Few would have predicted it, but right now the clearest example of the American dream on screen is a macho telenovela with a $250m budget.

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