Vehicular Redemption
In an age when the Toyota Prius is gaining popularity and when Chevy Suburbans no longer have trade-in value, can the carsploitation film make a comeback? There was once a time when the best way to get away from a problem was to hop in a car and drive as far as possible before a crash or a run-in with the police. Many films, such as American Graffiti (George Lucas, 1973, US), Two-Lane Blacktop (Monte Hellman, 1971, US), and Gone in 60 Seconds (H. B. Halicki, 1974, US), made use of the automobile as a mode of expression and escape for misled souls. This trend dropped off in the late 1970s, however, and transformed into a more exploitative, commercial form of automobile cinema in the 1980s, with films such as The Gumball Rally (Charles Bail, 1976, US), The Cannonball Run (Hal Needham, 1981, US), and Speed Zone! (Jim Drake, 1989, US). All of these movies are based on a race across America and feature highly simplistic plots. While films like Days of Thunder (Tony Scott, 1990, US) and Speed (Jan de Bont, 1994, US) rounded out the 1990s with character-based dramas, American audiences were ready for a return to the pursuit film. Increasingly central to the contemporary cycle of car movies is the theme of technology — and not surprisingly at a time when both movies and automobiles are being marketed for their hi-tech “accessories.”
Gone in 60 Seconds (Dominic Sena, 2000, US) marked the beginning of the resurrection of the car-oriented pursuit film. The movie ends with an epic chase sequence that rivals many of the legendary chases of the 1970s. Gone in 60 Seconds set the table for the success of many other films including The Fast and the Furious (Rob Cohen, 2001, US) and all of its sequels. Pursuit sequences are used in a great deal of the recent car films. Some movies, such as The Transporter (Louis Leterrier, 2002, France) and Driven (Renny Harlin, 2001, US), use pursuit as the entire basis of the plot. While every one of these films is unique, one thread that holds them together is their use of technology, not only to serve the narrative but also to attract audiences.
In Gone in 60 Seconds, the main characters use a variety of devices to steal a multitude of cars. Meanwhile, taking a page out of video game aesthetics and technology, the filmmakers employed computer graphics to construct a chase sequence that could not have been done otherwise. The Fast and the Furious uses the popular trend of modifying and racing technologically advanced automobiles as subject matter for a film that combines computer graphics, complicated rigging, and world-class stunt driving. This hi-tech blend is used throughout the series, with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Justin Lin, 2006, US), relying more on computers, cell phones, and other popular technology as a basis for the plot.
The automobile has made its comeback at the movies, and its ticket has been up-and-coming technologies. Since the arrival of car, auto racing, and road movies, the automobile has been a cinematic symbol of freedom. Likewise, new technologies are being (and have always been) touted by their makers as agents of our ever-increasing freedom as citizens in a global economy. In this context, the wedding of the car, itself a technological product, with budding technologies may not be accidental. With many new car films out and more on the way, including Death Race (Paul W. S. Anderson, 2008, US) and Speed Racer (The Wachowskis, 2008, US), we are poised to celebrate the automobile again, this time for its promises of mobility and hi-tech gadgetry.
