Observations

The Fast and the Furious

2 Fast 2 Furious
Fast and Furious
Note: My observations were made within the first thirty minutes of each movie but certain
examples have came from later on in the movies, which I will explain if needed.
Relevant Background information: The Fast and Furious series are based on a magazine article
titled Racer X. The magazine is about New York street clubs that race cars late at night. In the
first and fourth movie, there are a different set of characters. For example, Dominic, Mia, Letty,
and Brian are all the main characters in the first and fourth films. In the second movie, we are
introduced to a new set of people from Brians past including Roman, Suki, and Tej, who do not
appear in the fourth film. I skipped the third movie The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift
because none of the characters mentioned above are in it except for Dom who made an
appearance at the very end. Although I do not write about each movie, the last three, Fast Five,
Fast and Furious 6, and Furious 7 are tied together with characters from all the movies in the
beginning.
Vocabulary
Boost - To steal a vehicle or a component from a vehicle; The increased pressure that is
the result of a turbocharger or super charger.
Drag Race - A sanctioned acceleration contest between two vehicles on a motorsports
track that begins from a standing start and races to a measured finish line, the competition
occurs in a safe and controlled environment with a set of rules.
Drifting - A driving technique where the racer intentionally causes the vehicle to lose
traction resulting in the vehicle entering a controlled slide through a turn.
Nitrous - an abbreviated term to identify Nitrous Oxide injection system. Nitrous Oxide
injection system are installed in a vehicle to increase horsepower by increasing the
amount of air fuel mixture delivered to the engine.
NOS - An abbreviated term for Nitrous Oxide Systems; the largest manufacturer of
automotive nitrous oxide systems on the United States.
Racing for Pink Slips - The winner receives the pink slip and ownership of another
racers car.
Figured World A form of a world that has certain norms when it comes to behavior, etc.
a. The figured world I choose is oriented around illegal racing, getting away from
cops, working with cops, illegal street racing enemies, family, and loyalty.
The figured world I am observing is the illegal racing environment of Fast and Furious.
In the first movie, one of the beginning scenes include the actors Vin Diesel and Paul Walker
participate in illegal street racing. There are a plethora of bets being made as to who will win,
with crowds of people all waiting at the finish line. The types of crowds that usually attend the
illegal street races are loose women, ex convicts, and gamblers. Among the crowds are also
people who enjoy showing off their vehicles, which includes demonstrating the possession of

Nitrous Oxide Systems NOS, which is not illegal to have, but is illegal to use in the United
States. The Nitrous Oxide System is what makes vehicles reach incredible speeds immensely
fast. In this figured world, multiple things are always happening at the same time. for example,
the winners of illegal street races are usually awarded money from the bets, at times, women
throw themselves at the winner as well. If words gets out to the police about the races, they come
to stop them from happening, causing the racers and the crowds to evacuate the premises as
quickly as possible. The types of communication that are acceptable in this figured world are
texting, phone calls, and walkie-talkies. There are a variety of communities of practice displayed
within the Fast and Furious series. For example, in the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious the police, the
under cover cop (Paul Walker) and his friend must go undercover together to bring down a drug
lord named Carter. In order to catch this criminal plenty of secret meetings must be held to get
the plan straight in order to capture the villain in the movie. Within these meetings, the actors
discussed which ways were best to approach the situation in order to have the desired outcome.
Actors - Characters playing a particular role in a play, movie, figured world, etc. (ex.
Kristen Stewart, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, etc)

Brian O Connor: Plays one of the two main protagonists within the movies. First began
working as an undercover detective with the LAPD in The Fast and the Furious. He
was assigned to solve a series of semi - trailer truck hijackings caused by a man named
Dominic Toretto, but while investigating him, Brian formed an unbreakable bond with
him over their shared love for cars and racing. Not only did he form a bond with
Dominic, but his crew as well, Brian also got involved in a relationship with Dominicks
sister, Mia Toretto. He became a part of Doms crew and eventually pays a role as part of
the family. Although Dominick and Brian are not blood related, he does play the role of a
brother within the movies.

Dominic Toretto: Plays the second protagonist in The Fast and the Furious and Fast
and Furious. He plays the role of a brother, leader, street racer, auto mechanic, and small
business owner. He owns the market Torettos. After the passing of his father in a stock
car accident, he took the role of a father to his sister, Mia Toretto. Dominic also plays the
role of an ex convict, he came across the man who caused the stock car accident his
father was in and beat him with a wrench until he couldnt race anymore. Some of the
criminal activities Dom is involved in are stealing from trucks to transport electronics and
other goods as well as participating in illegal street races.

Mia Toretto: Plays Brian O Conners love interest as well as Dominics little sister. Mia
is fully aware of the illegal activities that go on with the people around her. Although she
worries about them, she supports their decisions.

Roman Pearce: Plays the protagonist in the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious. He is Brian O
Conners childhood friend. He got arrested for harboring stolen cars and was put in prison
for three years and eventually put on house arrest. Near his house is a demolition derby
which he drove in until Brian asks him to help go under cover with him to take down a
drug lord named Carter Verone. After they catch him Roman is granted freedom from
house arrest. Throughout the movies Roman Pearce is also known as the joker within the

crew.

Agent Bilkins: Plays the special agent in the Federal Bureau of investigation. He begins
the case against drug lord Carter Verone and stated that if Roman helped the FBI get
Carter, he would eliminate Romans criminal record and get him off house arrest.

Monica Fuentes: Plays an undercover Customs agent, also playing the undercover role
of drug lord Carter Verones leading lady.

Artifacts - Physical objects, ideas, emotions. (ex. stones, cars, etc.)

Doms Dodge Charger R/T: Dom built the 1970 Dodge Charger but was afraid to drive it
because his father was killed in the charger in a stock race accident. He kept it in his
garage and refused to drive it until his friend Jesse was shot by their enemy Johnny Tran,
he needed to go and make Johnny pay for what he did to Jesse and the only car left to
drive was the charger.
Money: Within all of the Fast and Furious series, money is what makes this figured world
go round. For instance, it is not cheap to enter a race, the racer must be willing to set
aside hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars to participate. Many bets are also being
made towards who will win. Most of the time, the money won during races are put
towards buying more parts for cars.
Love towards one another: Throughout the Fast and Furious series, there are constant
examples of family and loyalty regardless of blood relation. For instance, in the fourth
movie, Fast and Furious, Dominic was close to being caught by the police. When he
realized this, he told Letty, his significant other, that he didnt want her nearby when it
happened but she refused to leave him. Since she wouldnt leave Dom, he took it upon
himself to leave in the middle of the night for her sake. He also left her with a pile of
money to support herself.
Communities of Practice - Made up of groups of people who are interested in similar
things, and try to learn to do those things better together. (ex. Groups of people who
participate in joint discussions and joint activities to help each other learn about their
particular interests. A group of Doctors attending meetings on how to help their patients.)
Torettos Crew: Composed of Dom Toretto, Mia Torreto, Jesse, Brian OConner, Letty,
and Vince. With the exception of Vince, these characters behave like a family towards
one another. There is a lot of love shared between one another. The way these characters
communicate mutually is by helping each other to prepare for races as well as engaging
in other illegal activities.
Cops trying to get Toretto: In the first movie The Fast and the Furious, before Brian
became part of Torettos crew, he worked as a cop with the Los Angeles Police
Department. Brian worked as an undercover cop for a man named Agent Bilkins. Agent

Bilkins and his co-workers put their trust in Brian to find out what was going on with
Dominic Toretto and his link to the truck hijackings.
Group Trying to take down Carter Verone: Composed of Roman Pearce, Monica
Fuentes, Brian O Conner, and Agent Bilkins. Bilkins puts his trust in Brian, Roman and
Monica to go undercover and take down a drug lord named Carter Verone. This particular
community makes frequent meetings to plan different ways they can catch Carter.
Domain - The actual interest that a group of people share, differentiating these groups from
others without the amount of interest in the subject. (ex. A group having an interest in a
book series.)
The shared love and interest for cars and racing: One shared domain within the
characters from all three movies is their shared love for cars and racing.
Getting away from cops: Since the actors in the Fast and Furious movies have their
worlds revolve around illegal street racing, they are constantly getting on the cops bad
side. They frequently need to vacate the premises of which they race in order to avoid
getting arrested.
Taking down bad guys: Although these characters have their fair share of getting away
from police, they also work with them to take down bigger suspects. For example, the
racers team up with the cops to catch these villains only because the cops are asking for
their participance in exchange for their freedom.
Practices of the Community - Groups getting together to interact and learn about their
common interests. (ex. A book club getting together to talk about the novel.)
Winning races: One of the practices within the community is winning races. These races
are not free to enter and many bets are being made on them. It is necessary for a racer to
win because participating in one can cost up to thousands of dollars, winning gives them
the chance to win their money back as well as to gain more. Most of the time, the money
gained when winning a race is gone towards improving the vehicles used to race in
making it easier to win the next race.
Getting away from cops: Another practice of the community is getting away from the
police. The characters within the Fast and Furious movies are involved in multiple
criminal activities such as illegal street racing and obstruction of justice so naturally, they
are going to have multiple situations where they had to get away from the police.
Catching villains: Ironically enough, the same racers who are constantly attempting to
dodge the police actually help them in some cases. For instance, although these racers are
caught for valid crimes, there are worse criminals that the cops need to catch. The cops
need specific people to go undercover and investigate what is going on so they can bring
these criminals to justice, at times the people they need for the job are racers. They get

the racers to participate by agreeing to give them freedom from the consequences of the
crimes they committed in exchange for helping them catch bigger suspects.
Literacy Practices - Practicing many different ways to read and write. (ex. texting, books,
magazines, etc)

Texting: Within the Fast and Furious movies, they communicate by texting in order to
find out what, when and where races are going on.

Radio: Some people are tuned into the Police radio stations to find out if there are any
cops on the way to the illegal street races.

Walkie-Talkies: Walkie-Talkies are used throughout the series as a form of

communication without cell phones because its easier to communicate with multiple
people who are in different cars without having to dial everyones number.

Observation One
Tuesday, 15th 2015
The Fast and the Furious
1:00 min
A construction man is on the construction site talking to someone on the phone and says
Just packed up the real money load and its coming your way, just packed up the garage and
dont forget my side of the deal.
*Scene change
Three sports cars are on the highway at night chasing an eighteen wheeler with the
money load in it. They come at the truck from all angles including getting underneath the
truck, pulling out on the sides of it, and getting in front of it. The men in these cars have
weapons. The man in the car in front of the truck pops out of the sunroof with a weapon and
shoots it into the trucks front windshield. The weapon is attached to a string which enables it to
pull things after being launched. It then pulls the windshield off of the truck. That same man
jumps in the truck and the truck driver and him begin fighting and the villains escape with the
truck.
5:00 mins
Brian pulls up to a place called Torrettos which is a small market in Los Angeles,
California. Brian is a regular at Torettos and is known for ordering the awful tuna sandwich
from the girl who works there, Mia Toretto, which is why he keeps coming back. Her brother,
Dominick Toretto (Dom) is at work in the back of the store. All of a sudden, four race cars pull
up to the market introducing Letty (Doms girlfriend), Jesse (Doms friend and tech guy) Vince
(Doms friend from childhood) and Vinces friend. Vince starts a fight with Brian over Mia. Dom
(with resistance) then comes in to stop the fight from getting out of hand. After the fight, Brian
leaves to go to his under cover job at The Racers Edge a local auto parts store. There he asks
his boss for two bottles of NOS (Nitrous Oxide) by that night.

12:00 mins
Brian pulls up to a street race with his Mitsubishi Eclipse race car. It is nighttime and there are
hundreds of people on the street with a plethora of race cars as well. He begins talking to a friend
named Hector about waiting for Dom to show up. All of a sudden five more cars appear
including Dom, Jesse, Vince, Mia and Letty. With the appearance of Dominick, the race was
about to begin. The bets for the race are winner takes all which includes two thousand dollars per
racer, there are four racers totaling eight thousand dollars. Brian then comes into the conversation
stating that he doesnt have the cash to participate in the race, but he will let the winner take his
car. He also states that if he wins he takes the cash and Doms respect. With that Brian can enter
the race. The highways are blocked out illegally with cars and cones. Within some of those cars
are people who have police radios and pay attention to them to know when any police may show
up. The racers are in their vehicles preparing themselves and their cars. Brian makes sure the
computer in the car is set up with his NOS. The crowds then line up near the starting line to see
the racers off. Once the police watchers give the okay to Hector via. Walkie-Talkie the race is
okay to start.
18:00 mins
With the wave of Hectors hand, the racers switch gears and take off. Brian begins with a
bit of a rough start but catches up quickly. He uses his NOS at the beginning of the race
allowing him to pass two of the three other racers but it has negative effects on his car, part of the
flooring of his car came off. Brian then gets right up to Dom and right before they can get to the
finish line, Dom uses his NOS just in time to win the race, the money, and Brians car.
22:00 mins
One of the police watchers hears a report on street racing and communicates to others
with Walkie Talkies that the cops are on their way, causing a frenzy of people rushing to get to
their cars and leave the scene as soon as possible before the police show up. Brian gets in his car
(Dom didnt take it yet because of the commotion) and speeds away all while following Dom at
the same time.
24:00 mins
Police are flooding the streets and there are a plethora of cars speeding away from the
scene. Dom pulls into a parking deck, leaves his car there and walks out attempting to be an
innocent bystander. A police spots him but turns around to investigate him anyways, Dom then
starts running in the opposite direction into an alley where Brian appears and tells him to get in
the car. They both then get away from the cop that was originally chasing Dom. All of a sudden
seven motorcycles surround the car and tell them to follow. They are taken to a man named
Johnny Tran who confronts Dom about being on his turf. Dom explains that him and Brian got
lost. When Johnny asks who Brian is, Dom introduces him as Doms new mechanic. Johnny
begins talking about a race coming up again Dom and then leaves, but comes back to shoot up
Brians car. Brian asks who they were and Dom explains it was a business deal that went sour.
They eventually call a taxi and it brings then to Doms house. Dom invites Brian to come in for a
drink and there is a party going on in the house being thrown by Vince. Dom confronts Vince as
to why he didnt come back for him. After listening to Vinces excuses Dom takes his beer and
hands it to Brian explaining how Brian is the one who kept him out of prison.

32:00 mins
Dom tell Brian that he still owes him a ten second car. (Since Brians was shot up by
Johnny Tran)
Observation Two
September 22nd, 2015
2 Fast 2 Furious
2:00 mins
A group of about eight people hop off a truck and lay down traffic cones in multiple places for an
illegal street race, blocking off public roads. A crowd full of hundreds of people are prepared for
the illegal street race to start. While waiting, the crowds check out all the cars, and make bets as
too who will win the race. A racer named Suki has her friends help her polish her car before the
race begins. When Tej (the racing coordinator) finds that there are only three racers at the starting
line, he says they cant race until they have a fourth racer. He then calls Brian and asks him if he
wants to race that night. Brian reply saying he needs the money and hell be right there.
5:00 mins
As soon as Brian gets to the race, he asks Tej if the other racers have deep pockets. After
realizing they do, Brian talks them into raising the stakes. Before the race starts, Tej tells the
crowd to back up and the racers get themselves ready. The race starts and the racers are all in
close proximity to each other. They are trying to block one another so they cannot get the lead.
10:00 mins
Brian begins to take the lead and the racer in second place behind him, Slap Jack uses his NOS,
passing Brian again. The third and fourth place racers, Suki and Orange Julius are battling each
other while Brian and Slap Jack are doing the same, until they all come across a bridge. Tej
speaks into his Walkie-Talkie and tells a group of people are in the control center of a major
bridge to press a button, making the bridge start to come up. Brian and Slap Jack are further up
in the race and come to the bridge way before Suki and Orange Julius appear. After Brian and
Slap Jack realize what they need to do, they each press their NOS to get across the bridge.
Brians car accelerates so much that it flew over the second racer completely, putting him in the
lead once again. Suki and Orange Julius come across the bridge afterward, Suki begins to
prepare herself and pushes her NOS to get across the bridge while Orange Julius stayed behind
refusing to cross. Suki eventually catches up to the other racers and ends up finishing the race in
second place behind Brian.
14:00 mins
After winning the race, Brian is swarmed by the crowd congratulating him and is awarded
thousands of dollars, he then gives a share of it to Tej. At that moment, police sirens are heard
and a plethora of people begin racing to get to their cars to flee the scene. Brian gets in his car to
leave but is followed by multiple police. One police shoots an arrow into Brians car that drains
the energy from the car, causing it to slow down completely. Brian is caught and sent to the
police station. There he finds his old boss (Agent Bilkins) from when he worked with the LAPD

(Los Angeles Police Department. His boss presents an task that he wants Brian to do for him
which includes catching a drug lord named Carter Verone. They sent in a woman named Monica
undercover the year before and her background includes working for Carter Verone as well as
being his leading lady. Carter wants her to find him some drivers, which is why Agent Bilking
is asking for Brians help. Brian asks what if I dont help and Agent Bilkins gives him the list of
all the laws Brian has broken saying he can make the list go away if he cooperates. They assign
him a partner for the case but Brian wants a different one, his childhood friend, Roman Pearce
who is also a racer.
20:00 mins
Brian and Agent Bilkins pull up to the demolition derby that Roman Pearce works in. At the time
they get there Roman is driving in it and there are many beat up cars bumping into each other
within the derby. Agent Bilkins talks to Brian about Romans records, stating that he is unhorse
arrest right now and cant go more than one hundred yards from his house which happens to be
right beside the derby. After Roman gets out of his car, he spots Brian who attempts to talk to
him but Roman doesnt want to hear what he had to say. (For years, Roman was angry at Brian
because he was a cop. Roman was in prison for three years and believed Brian could have done
something to stop it even though it wasnt Brians fault.) Brian then states that he isnt a cop
anymore then Roman begins a fight with him. They start wrestling on the ground and punching
each other until Brian says he got a deal for him. The deal is that is Roman helps Brian and the
police catch Carter, Roman gets off house arrest and his record is gone. Once Roman agrees, all
three of the head to the police department.
24:00 mins
Brian, and Roman meet Monica, who has been undercover in the Verone case for about a year.
She gives them inside information on what Carter is asking for, which is drivers. She states that
she has arranged for them to drive for him. The police give them their own set of cars to look the
part, then head on their way to Verones house. Once there, Monica says that once they are in
there Brian and Roman are on their own. In order for Brian and Roman to become the official
drivers for Carter, they must compete in a race against other people recruited by Monica. The
race the must compete in is not like the usual illegal street races. In order to win, Brian and
Roman as a team need to beat the other drivers to a car. Inside that car is a package, they need to
be the first to get the package and bring it to Carter to win and work for Carter.
28:00 mins
The racers head out to find the car with the package. They are on the highway at normal hours of
the day with other people on the road as well causing chaos. Brian, Roman, and a pair of other
competitors all pull up to a lot searching for the car. Brian and Roman find it first and retrieve the
package. Since they were the first to get and give the package to Verone, they now officially
work for him.

Observation Three
September 24th 2015
Fast and Furious
2:00 mins
Dominic Toretto and his crew are in the process of stealing the gas out of a truck to sell it for
money. There are three cars with Torettos crew, all on the highway with the truck attempting to
get the liquid gold. Letty (Dominics girlfriend) is riding with Dom and climbs out the window
onto the hood of the car while it is in motion to jump on the back of the truck. After she is on,
Dom speeds up to get in front of the truck while Han (a member of Doms crew) hooks his truck
to the back of the gas truck. The gas truck driver notices what is happening and begins to get
angry. Letty freezes the metal that keeps the gas tanks together and kicks it, letting those gas
tanks separate. Since they are hooked to Hans truck they dont stray away and when he slows
down, the gas tanks they stole slowed down as well. Letty attempts to go back to get more gas
tanks to separate from the truck but slips and attempts to get her grip back. Once she does, she
begins to freeze the metal connecting the remaining gas tanks to the truck. Dom then hits his car
against the gas tank truck to break the tanks from the truck. When he does, the truck driver pulls
out a gun and starts shooting at Dom. Dom dodged the bullets and came up to the part of the
truck that Letty was on, trying to get her off the truck and back into the car. Just then the truck
driver realizes there is a sharp turn ahead and jumps out of the truck. Letty then jumps off the
truck onto the hood of Doms car, then slips into the window.
10:00 mins
Dominic and his crew are all at a get together at the beach where he passes out the money earned
from stealing the gas from the truck. Dominic talks to Han about how the cops are getting close
to finding him. (Dominic is wanted for multiple crimes and has been trying to get away from the
police for a long time.) Dom tells Letty that he doesnt want her around when the cops finally
catch up to him, but refuses to let him go. In the middle of the night, Dom leaves, also leaving
her a massive pile of money.
12:00 mins
Brian is working with the police again. He is in a building chasing after a man, they both leave
the building and Brian chases him throughout the streets, causing chaos. The villain leads him in
another building until Brian pins him up. The villain starts to say he knows nothing, that the guy
hes looking for is David Park. Brian goes back to the police station with the name and they
discuss a plan on how to find out who that person is.
14:00 mins
Dom gets a phone call that Letty has been murdered. Dominic and his crew all go to her funeral
while Brian watches in the background. Other police are with him because his case is to find out
who murdered Letty. Brians boss says that is they dont find something on their suspect within
the next seventy two hours, they are going to shut the case down.

24:00 mins
Police appear on Mia Torettos doorstep asking her in for questions. Brian comes in for work and
sees Mia (after five years of no communication). Brian takes her to a coffee shop to ask her
questions and tells her to stay away from her brother so she doesnt get tangle up in his mess
regarding the police. He explains how sorry he is (from the first movie) for lying to them about
being a cop. After Mia leaves agitated, Brian goes back to the station to discuss potential cars the
suspect, David Park would have. When Brian makes a connection, he begins to search for the
car. Once he finds it, he sees Dom dangling David out of the window of an apartment building.
When Brian goes up to the room that Dom and the suspect are in, he attempts to explain to Dom
that he is looking for the exact people who killed Letty, he is asking for Dominic trust. Dom
continues to dangle the man off the window and lets him go, then leaves immediately. David
grabs on to a pipe and Brian pulls him up all while Dominic is getting away.
32:00 mins
Brian brings David in for questioning after pulling him out of the window. After that, the police
station gives Brian a choice of cars to pick for his undercover case. He then goes to a race made
by the people who killed Letty. Dom is there as well and they are all competing to work for the
boss of the people who murdered Letty. Dom and Brian want to get on the inside to find out
which exact person killed Letty so they must compete in this race. During this street race, the
roads were not blocked off so they have to navigate through traffic. Brian and Dom are fighting
each other to win. Dom takes the lead and comes in first, winning the race and now works for
draco (the boss.)
Interview: Yazmine Lunn
1.) What approach did Brian take in order to gain Doms trust in the first movie The
Fast and the Furious.
a. Brian entered the first race by betting his car. He did it to gain Dominicks
trust.
2.) Tell me about how the movies changed from the first to the last?
a. To start, the quality of the movies changed, for example I believe the first
movies were made in the early two thousands, where the screen wasn't as clear.
The last movie was made currently making the movie in high definition and
very clear. Another difference is the bond between the cast members on and
even off screen, they became more like a family.
3.) Describe why Brian let Dom go at the end of the first movie:
a. He had a strong connection to Dom and let him go so the cops wouldn't arrest
him.
4.) Discuss how Brian letting Dom go in the first movie affected Brian:
a. He quit his job working as a cop.
5.) Give an example of how the characters made the tracks for the racers to race on:
a. People, cones, and cars blocked streets and highways so that the racers would

have something to race on.

6.) They usually took up a lot of space while making illegal race tracks, how did
something that big not get stopped?
a. There where people who had radios tuned into the police stations and listened
for any reports of street racing, if there were they would tell everyone to leave
the area.
7.) What types of things do you see in the background of those street races?
a. There is usually a lot of bets being made and people checking out other
peoples cars, people meeting friends and the racers.
8.) What in these movies interests you?
a. The action, the racing, how much they care about each other in the family
sense and the amazing cars.
9.) If you were in these movies, would you take more towards the cops point of view
or the racers?
a. I would probably take more to the cops.
10.) Why do you choose that point of view?
a. I choose that because racing in general is dangerous and street racing can affect
others as well as the racers.