Matthew Cokeley

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‘Fast and Furious’ Movies Are About America At Its Best

All men and women are created equal. Equally fast, and furious

Zaron Burnett III
Humungus
Published in
9 min readAug 2, 2019

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Are The Fast and the Furious films ridiculous, outlandish, over-the-top paeans to tanned pecs, peel-outs, and pushing the limits of good taste? Yes.

Are they also important art that might make you weep at the truth of existence? No.

You can’t compare them to The Seven Seal, or Roshomon, or Citizen Kane. Those films are towering cinematic achievements. Yet, in some ways, I think Fast and the Furious are better. More thrilling. Like, if I’m being honest, the Fast and the Furious movies are the nitrous-burning high point of American culture.

These movies — 8 in total — are up there with Casablanca, the timeless classic about what it means to be a man in the world. The entire series is an antihero anthem. That’s also about family.

They’re also one of the most successful, and diverse movie franchises ever, with over $5 billion dollars made at the box-office.

Again, let me be clear: we’re not discussing high art. This is the sort of art you watch high. It’s dumb fun. Fast and the Furious films boast a brand of storytelling so broad that it features a main character who can sum-up his existence with an oft-quoted mantra that he…

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Zaron Burnett III
Zaron Burnett III

Written by Zaron Burnett III

writer, story editor, essays & short stories at Medium, and always in the mood for donuts

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