[Commlist] CFP - Edited collection on The Fast and the Furious films

CFP - Edited collection on the culture, commerce, and ideology of The 
Fast and the Furious films
Editors - Dr Joshua Gulam (Liverpool Hope University), Dr Sarah 
Feinstein (University of Leeds), and Dr Fraser Elliott (University of 
Salford)

We are seeking chapter proposals for an edited collection on The Fast 
and the Furious films.

With its ninth instalment arriving in cinemas this summer, and two more 
films slated for release by 2021, The Fast and the Furious is one of the 
most popular and prolific movie franchises of the twenty-first century. 
Indeed, the eight films in the series to date have earned a combined 
total of $5.1 billion at the box office, placing it ninth in the list of 
the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time. However, despite its 
immense commercial success, little has been written about The Fast and 
the Furious from an academic perspective (exceptions include Beltrán 
2005, 2013). This lack of scholarly attention is surprising given just 
how representative the series is of recent cinematic trends. Few 
franchises better capture the excesses of the contemporary action genre 
than The Fast and the Furious, for example, with its outrageous set 
pieces, growing cast of global megastars, and increasing reliance on 
overseas markets.
When Universal released the first film in the series in 2001 - a 
mid-budget crime/action movie featuring a relatively unknown cast of 
actors - few could have predicted just how big the brand would become, 
to the point where The Fast and the Furious now has its own theme park 
ride, live stage show, and animated TV programme. Often dismissed as 
dumb or mindless entertainment by critics, this collection will argue 
that The Fast and the Furious warrants serious attention for more than 
just its longevity; and that close scrutiny of the series provides a 
valuable platform for exploring key forces and currents within the 
contemporary film industry: from franchise culture and global box office 
trends, to crossover stardom and debates around on- and off-screen 
diversity.
This collection would be the first book to offer an in-depth critical 
analysis of The Fast and the Furious, bringing together a range of 
scholars to explore not only the style and themes of the franchise, but 
also its broader cultural impact and industry legacy. As such, we 
envision that the book would serve as a valuable introduction for film 
scholars, students, and fans alike.
 The book will be interdisciplinary in scope and we are open to 
chapters from a variety of theoretical or methodological approaches. 
Possible topics include but are not limited to:

- The evolution of the franchise, including changes in style, themes, 
and personnel across the nine films (with a particular focus on the 
early films)

- The role and importance of racial, national, class, and gender 
identity within the films
- Stardom and performance in the franchise (e.g., chapters on Vin 
Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Paul Walker, and 
others)
- Fandom and reception (of individual films in the series, the franchise 
as a whole, or particular members of the cast and crew)
- The Fast and the Furious as action cinema (e.g., car stunts, fight 
sequences, the use of CGI, and crossover with other genres such as the 
heist and spy films)

- The Fast and the Furious as business and brand, including analysis of 
its budgeting, marketing, and distribution in North America and overseas

- Spinoffs and adaptations (e.g., Hobbs & Shaw (2019), the Universal 
Studios theme park ride, Fast & Furious Live, the Netflix TV show, and 
associated video games)

Bloomsbury have expressed an interest in the collection, and, once the 
abstracts are collected, a formal proposal will be submitted to the 
publisher in November 2019.
Please send 300-word abstracts and a short biography, or direct any 
enquiries, to (furiousbook /at/ gmail.com) by 15th October 2019. Notifications 
of acceptance will be sent no later than 30th October 2019. Chapters of 
6,000 words will be due by 30th July 2020.

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