representation of women in fast and furious

Representation of Women in Fast and Furious.

Ronda Rousey is becoming the second strong female representation from the sport to join Michelle Rodriguez. In casting these women, alongside such muscular men, it seems the franchise may well be turning a corner in its portrayal of women.  The Fast and Furious franchise is embracing women taking the wheel or are they simply using them as the female gaze.

Back to 2001, Fast and the Furious hit cinemas with a typical view of the underground racing circuit, sports cars, domineering males and sexualised women draped over bonnets and car seats. It's fair to say it wasn't quite female friendly.

While many of the women in the picture were littered around for visual stimulation, the film did bring into play two focus females in Letty and Mia, two very different individuals, and somewhat ying and yang in terms of feminist views. With Mia, the younger sister of Dom, appearing more of a damsel in distress, the strength lay with Letty, a woman who clearly wasn't afraid to get down and dirty with the boys and put some female strength and skill into the mix.

This would only continue further as Letty would continue to offer up strength for her gender in the films she featured in, with other characters there for beauty over anything else. It wasn't until Fast and Furious 6 that another strong female fell into the mix with Gina Carano. Carano's physicality and presence immediately got a much more positive vibe over women in such films and certainly helped stamp a mark when surrounded by male co stars.

While the addition of Rousey, coupled with the appearances of Rodriguez and Carano in the past, have helped to strengthen the credentials of female representation in the Fast and Furious franchise it still remains a talking point as to the focus on strong women. Admittedly, fast cars, heists and underground racing are very much something that people will, relate to men and this is certainly conveyed throughout.

While many women will argue that the inclusion of further punchy female characters is overdue, it seems that this is one franchise that will keep to its roots and never shy away from those bikini-lined shots and favouritism over the male species. Whether James Wan is prepared to to make a change in gender roles is something we will have to wait for but maybe one or two more females in the crowd could prove a welcome decision. 

I think the change began to be made due to the fact that women are more than just a pretty picture and when making films in this day and age, you have to take into consideration there are a lot of female fans, and it will not be taken lightly. women have grown to become equally as strong as men and this needs to b shown as the franchise grows. it almost reflects the change in time of how the representation of women has grown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_8Jwf3yj6Q