Car culture is in a state of upheaval, and some of those responsible for popularizing ‘hooligan’ behaviour are trying to put the genie back in the bottle.
Old-heads in the car scene, from as far back as the turn of the century, remember an era where it was all about the cars. Showing off creative builds that pushed customization in new, unimaginable directions. But in the social media driven car scene of today, so-called enthusiasts pursue attention through outrageous behavior, or performing dangerous acts, just to achieve popularity. Custom cars are secondary to doing burnouts or running from the cops.
Some refer to this behaviour as the ‘Fast & Furious’ effect, but movies that glamorize street racing is really nothing new. Films from ’70s like ‘Two-Lane Blacktop‘ and ‘American Graffiti‘ both showed street racing as daring and fun for America’s youth. In the ’80s the Japanese film series ‘Shuto Kousoku Trial‘ pumped out six films in eight years all about racing on Tokyo’s expressways. The F&F films were no different. Just a bigger budget with a Hollywood makeover.
But while many other movies are forgotten, those F&F films really influenced a generation of gearheads.
Undoubtedly, the F&F series got a bad rap, and deservedly so. That scene in ‘FF3: Tokyo Drift’ where the hero cars slide sideways through Shibuya Scramble Crossing packed with pedestrians kind of shows a blatant disregard for human life. But some involved in the F&F series have publicly come out against takeovers and street racing. Sung Kang, the breakout star of ‘Tokyo Drift‘ teamed up with respected automotive photographer Larry Chen to record a PSA against street racing, hooligan behavour and takeover activities that are hurting the car scene.
Is it hypocritical as disingenuous for the same people that showed street racing to the masses to now preach against it? No! Those are only movies for God’s sake! Fictional stories of larger than life characters like Dom Toretto and his superhuman powers, or Han Seoul-Oh who cheats death and returns like Lazarus for the 9th movie installment.
The F&F films are pure escapism; who hasn’t dreamt of speeding through city streets, running from the cops or the bad guys.
Perhaps good men like Sung Kang and Larry Chen are just recognizing the power they wield over impressionable young men and women. Nobody ever said gearheads are the brightest bulbs in the bunch. Those that helped glamourize street racing and hooligan behaviour are responsible to tell the TikTok generation that it’s just a movie, just just make-believe. You’re not supposed to emulate it.
Over here in the real world, perhaps there’s a responsibility to speak out against street racing or even more young people will get hurt of killed. The message is clear; take it to the track.
Did he warn about the dangers of street racing when he did the promotional rounds for the movie?
It’s good he’s saying something now, but if he was silent then, I’m less inclined to praise him…
Yes… I hear you. The F&F movies glamorize street racing, and Tokyo Drift more than any of them. Looks so fun and adventurous. And Sung Kang has made a career out of his character.
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Apparently the Orange County District Attorney had a friend of a friend ask the F&F actors about joining the ‘educational’ campaign. Keep in mind that Paul Walker (one of the stars of the F&F films) died in a street racing accident, although not behind the wheel.
Maybe these actors never really considered the implication of how much these films would affect easily influenced young minds.
My problem is, with (good) actors, you never know if they’re truly sincere. Are they correcting a wrong, or did their publicist tell them this was the latest cause du jour?
Real people doing something like this, I’m more inclined to believe them.
But celebrities aren’t real people, no matter how much they protest otherwise.
I read an article about the local district attorney and his efforts to produce an anti-street racing campaign. When I saw Sung Kang was in it, I thought it was ironic. How many kids got into street racing because of this guy.
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I never thought about his people or his publicist telling him to do the PSA to distance himself from street racing. Is it atonement or just being phony.
We’ll never know for sure, but we can hope for altruism…