I've been following the "Fast and Furious" series. The reason why it attracts viewers is the dangerous racing scenes and very interesting gunfights. Other literary and drama committees are not the focus of the author. Of course the opening of this Hollywood activity film is clearly action-based. Like a steak meal in a western restaurant, a large bribery scene is the main dish. The literary drama is tomato and lettuce on the side of the plate, which is used to decorate the main course. Never tastes good .. Visitors will not deliberately eat the side dish that is on the side of the plate. The steaks on the main course are delicious and coveted. Visitors already feel that it is worth the fare.
But this time "Wild Speed 6" (hereinafter referred to as "Wild 6") isn't as boring as the previous five, and it's not optional. It's too much, said Zhang Weixiong's brother in a newspaper film review that "Wild 6" could be considered a modern western. More precisely, films are western films that are packed with types of action. Family values become the main drama. The emergence of family values can be traced back to the structure of traditional Western films in Hollywood. Such variations on action films from western films add a lot of connotations to "Wild 6" never seen before.
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Western theme and narrative structure
Western film is a unique American film genre, just as Chinese films have opera films. Western films are based on the colonial history of the early days of the United States, when large numbers of European Protestant immigrants came to the United States. Most of the early European immigrants lived on the East Coast, the East Coast of the United States was an important settlement for immigrants, and major cities were also established on the East Coast. In time, Philadelphia on the east coast became the capital of the United States, and later the capital of Washington, also on the east coast. As the immigrant population grew, their settlement gradually shifted from the east coast to the Midwest. The sparsely populated Midwest is a major scene in Western films.
They went to the Midwest to take root and raise families. They have to deal with native Indian invasions all the time (in fact, new immigrants are plundering Indian land and resources, and Indians are doing it for defense). This historical factor gave birth to the main ideology of Western films: an adventurous spirit and family values which have always been the eternal themes of Western films.
How are their ideas about openness to the West and their family values expressed in the structure of the film? Some fans stated in "Film Types and Movie Genres" that Western films have a certain fixed story structure, and the following formulas can be drawn from the storyline:
Orderly and stable situation → | Disturbed and destroyed → | United as one to the outside world → | The appearance of the Lone Ranger → | Return to order and stability |
This program helps us understand why "Wild 6" has the structure of Western films.
Actions to preserve family values
In "Wild 6", a group of criminal groups led by Toretto (Vin Diesel), each member disperses after completing the final mission. The Torettos and Brian (Paul Walker) family live on an uninhabited Spanish island. Compared to the big Spanish cities like Madrid and Barcelona, they do have a metaphor for the barren lands of the American Midwest. The difference lies in the main scene of the story. Just moved from the United States to Spain.
Interpol Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) can't handle Shaw's (Luke Evans) crime syndicate, so he asks Toretto to call the members out of the mountain. Apart from dealing with Shaw, Toretto also uses this to find his missing girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) Being, because there is a woman who looks like Letty in Shaw's criminal group. A group of members who have washed their hands in the golden basin, regroup and risk their lives to fight the criminal syndicate to find Letty.
Each person is awarded a large number of prizes for the success of the last stunt. They have no worries in their life, but now they are looking for a woman who is not sure what Letty is, and they act again. The reason is unimaginable, but if it is to maintain family values, then take a risk, it is very natural to be a teacher, especially in the context of western films.
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The Western Element of the Thousand Mile Quest
The Toretto crime group is actually a variation of the Western film family, Letty is not only his girlfriend, but also a member of the family. Even if the members are in different places, any crisis can be resolved to find the missing family member. Finding a missing family member is a theme of many westerners. "The Searchers" (1956) is a story of finding relatives in thousands of miles. Incidentally, the "Wild 6" mainline for finding Letty is similar to "The Searchers".
In "The Searcher", Ethan's younger brother's family is killed by an Indian, and his concubine is taken away. He was assigned to find the concubine. The concubine found after countless hardships has grown up but assimilated into an Indian, but in the end it is still a family reunion, and the concubine returns to the white world. Letty had a similar experience, he lost his memory for a long time and assimilated as a member of the Shaw criminal group. Not only does she forget that she is Toretto's boyfriend, she even confronts each other, and there is a scene in the film where Letty shoots Toretto and injures him.
The story of seeking relatives in "The Searcher" is based on the "Whites-Indian" binary opposition structure, which matches the story structure inherent in Western films. Likewise, "Wild 6" is also in "Family-Enemy." The stories told of the search for relatives in relation to relationships are all variations of Western film structure: the harmonious family is harassed and destroyed (Letty disappears), so the family unites (looking for Letty) , and the only guards appear (the Toretto criminal group and the Toretto criminal group are missing). Shaw's criminal group confrontation), the last family reunites, and the family regains peace (Letty returns home).
Maintain the supremacy of family values
This explains why Elena (Elsa Pataky) leaves Toretto at the end of the film. Elena's role is very functional, during Letty's disappearance, she becomes Toretto's girlfriend and temporarily finishes her family. He finds out that Letty is Toretto's true girlfriend and a member of the Toretto family. After returning to the Toretto family, Elena lost her original function in the Toretto family. Its existence undoubtedly destroyed the integrity of the Toretto family. He left Toretto and made the film continue the family values in the story.
Finally, everyone returns to the small island of Spain, holding hands and praying before eating, demonstrating the complete connection between Protestantism and family. This scene reminds me of the fact that Protestant immigrants take their roots and raise families on these western American soil. History states more than two hundred years ago.
The type is not static, it will change to a different model due to different times. "Wild 6" reimagines the familial values of the western style, with beautiful scenes of speeding and gunfights, which captivate the audience. Barry Keith Grant gives an example in the book "Film Genre from Iconography to Ideology." The series "Die Hard" (Die Hard) is actually a variation of the Western film genre. Now "Wild 6" shows a very good modern variation of the western type.