by Alice-Ginevra Micheli, Contributing Writer
We all have that feeling. You know the one: You finish watching a movie and something about it hits you in just the right spot. Whether it was the theme, the story, or even the characters, there was a quality about it that almost makes you want to turn around and go back a second, third, or even fourth time!
Bar the reality of living in the movie theater for the rest of your days, you turn to the rest of pop culture and start to look for other avenues where you can find that same feeling.
Well I’m here to make this plight easier for all. Each month, I take a piece of pop culture that was prevalent in the social consciousness — whether it is a movie, TV show, or something else — and then recommend other forms of media for those who want to stay in that world a little bit longer.
Welcome to your One Stop Pop, internet!
I have to say, 2023 has already been a crazy year for movies, and it feels like we have an even crazier summer coming up. It seems the studios are finally releasing all the properties they had kept under wraps and away from release long enough for the pandemic to sort itself out, and now the floodgates are well and truly open.
May was the starting line for this summer, and it delivered some high highs, as well as some mediocre lows. One that is column A for some, and column B for others, is of course the latest in series that used to be about street-racing, but is now basically a superhero franchise with cars: Fast X.
Now I don’t know if this was the biggest movie of May; however, given the other options were a Disney princess movie and the latest Marvel tentpole, I thought it might be nice to diverge away from that for now. Instead, I’m doing my duty to all who somehow still love this ridiculous franchise, and recommending other forms of media to tide you over until parts 11 and 12 of this… 13-part series releases.
Without further ado, lets get into it…
Manga: Wangan Midnight by Michiharu Kusunoki
Someone told me the other day that the reason for the Fast series’ success is how similar to anime it is in style and dramatization. While I don’t agree that it quite fits in with the craftsmanship required for these Japanese animations, I do see the connecting thread between the two.
So considering this, our book series this month will be a manga centered around street racing. Wangan Midnight follows protagonist Akio Asakura, a heartthrob high schooler, who, upon losing a race to a rival, goes to find a car that could put him back on top. The only thing is, the car he ends up with has a dark history of unfortunate accidents with its previous owners.
Running across 42 volumes — and a 26-episode anime series — this is one of the first adrenaline-pumping, racing-plus stories that will have readers flicking back and forth between chapters as they ask themselves, “How did we get here?!”
Pairing great character exploration with a true passion for mechanics, racing, and the pride of winning it all, this manga series is sure to keep any Fast fan engaged across its many adaptations. I, in fact, wouldn’t be surprised if it had been used as a point of inspiration for the movie franchise, especially when it comes to the stunts behind the drives.
Netflix Series: Formula 1: Drive to Survive
This is going to be one of the more obvious recommendations. I mean it’s basically, if you like the vroom-vroom of Fast X, you’ll probably enjoy the vroom-vroom of real racers, right?
Well, that’s not why I’m recommending this one. Yes, of course it has all the technical elements that any car enthusiast will love; however, what really sets this series apart is the human elements behind the mechanics.
Following the lives of a Formula 1 team — drivers, managers, and team owners alike — we see their lives on and off the track during each season of racing.
I know of many people who have had little to no interest in Formula 1 before watching this series, and have now spent hundreds of dollars on attending races in real life. What this series has managed to do is create characters that the audience can root for in the form of real people. They’ve developed a storyline using real-world events and footage, and have managed to do so now across a few seasons, successfully creating one of the most successful docuseries of all time.
Essentially, if you want to veer slightly away from the campiness of the Fast movies, but still want to experience blood, sweat, and tears, then this is the series for you.
Video Game: Driver: San Francisco
Okay, now that there have been a couple of things to watch and read, we should move to a type of media that you can experience for yourself. Entertainment that allows the player to become Dom, or Letty, or Ludacris (I don’t remember his character’s name; apologies).
In this case, the recommendation is for Driver: San Francisco,one of the later iterations of the open-world racing games that brought something new to the genre upon its release in 2011.
With a unique shift mechanic, the game allows players to experience an otherworldly story — this one can rival even the most convoluted of Fast movies.
Playing as a Paul Walker-esque undercover cop, John Tanner (voiced by Demetri Goritsas), you quickly find yourself in an unrelenting coma. However, with that comes the strange ability to shift into other people’s bodies, and take control of their cars.
Allowing players to teleport into cars instantly, it allows for crazy and engaging scenarios that will have even the most experienced of gamers enthralled.
Sure, this is 12 years old, but the Fast franchise is even older, so it’s really just a chance to experience the game as you might have back during the franchise’s heyday.
Album: Don’t Try This at Home byYoungBoy Never Broke Again
“Won’t Back Down” is the key song and theme within the Fast X soundtrack. It’s pretty obvious as titles go, sure; however, it accurately conveys many of the themes that have held the Fast franchise together.
One of the main artists behind the song is YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and his newest album is Don’t Try This at Home. A 33-track epic, the rapper’s sixth studio album hosts such collaborators as Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, and the Kid LAROI.
Now when I say epic, I mean epic. 33 tracks is more than most albums in recent memory would have across multiple iterations, let alone just one release. You could almost say that it shares the quality of being over-bloated and filled to the brim with content, just like Fast X, making YoungBoy’s inclusion in the soundtrack a match made in heaven. However, besides this immediate shock, the album does have a crisp flow to its musical story, and manages to keep surprising and engaging any listener who queues it up.
It’s not all hits, as across 33 different songs, you’re bound to have repetition and a stagnation in creativity, but everything about this would be sure to delight any Fast X fan across its 90 minutes.
There we have it. I have delivered unto you all a series of entertainment recommendations that would make even the most fanatic Fast fan giggle with glee. Whether the desire to is to launch into another race-filled, multi-volumed story, experience how the real pros do it, try it out for yourself, or just sit back, relax, and enjoy the auditory ride, there should be something for all.
I’ll, of course, return next month with one of the many releases that are sure to excite June’s movie-going crowd. Until then, thank you for visiting SiftPop’s One Stop Pop; we hope to see you again soon!
You can read more from Alice-Ginevra Micheli, and follow her on Instagram and Letterboxd