Gran Turismo
To understand why Gran Turismo became one of my favorite films, let me give you some background about where my love of car races came from. The reflections below are adapted from some of my Instagram posted in the last couple years.
August 8, 2021
I happened to be in town walking down Alvarado St. and I got a close-up look at the first of the vintage cars arrive for Monterey Car Week. Among some of the cars were a 1935 Alfa Romeo (est. $3 - 4.5million) and a 1966 Aston Martin (est. $475,000-625,000). I’ve never been into cars (vintage, luxury or otherwise). But there was something captivating about seeing them come off the truck today, finding out the year/make/model (from an auction brochure I asked for), and having lovely (very detailed conversation with a Monterey resident, car lover, and owner of a few vintage/luxury cars. I developed a curiosity about the engineering behind these cars, the people who assemble them, the people who repair them, the people who buy them, and why they buy them.
May 1, 2022
My curiosity all started last August during Monterey Car Week when I met an older white man walking his poodle mix around downtown Monterey. His wife was away for the week celebrating her birthday with her girlfriends, so he decided to come down to take a look at the cars. We stood next to each other watching the cars enter one of the main stages. We spoke for a good 30-40 minutes and I received a crash course in vintage, luxury, race cars (the design, the engineering, etc). Learned all about horsepower and 8 cylinder cars, private race tracks where owners can drive their cars 150-300 mph, how car auctions and jewelry auctions are designed to go hand-in-hand (the former typically catering to men and the latter catering to their wives). He pointed out the bathtub Porsches, Ferraris, Alfa Romeos, Jaguars and more. He had a longtime love for cars and suspects his son caught the same obsession as he described how he bought himself an Aston Martin…to celebrate something I can’t remember.
Fast forward 9 months later.
I planned to watch the races at Laguna Seca this weekend, but decided to go to Sonoma Raceway instead. Some thoughts:
It was my first time.
It was wild.
And loud. (So glad I brought ear plugs.)
I didn’t know the sound of car racing could be so meditative.
I was captivated by the speed of these cars; Where else can you see cars go this fast without getting a ticket!
Sitting in the stands, I was a bit confused for the first few minutes, but once I figured out what I was looking at (i.e. who was driving what, what race it was, what group was racing, etc), I was cool. Enjoyed all the races as well as one particular competition toward the end: the Optima Search for the Ultimate Streetcar. It was nice being a bit lost and then finding my way, watching the spectators run down to the winner’s circle after each race so they can see the drivers and their cars up close. Pretty soon, I copied them to see what I was missing. Here’s a glimpse of what I saw:
Car #21, a 1963 Lotus driven by Geir Ramleth, winner of one of the races (all past drivers painted on the car) and
Car #33, a 1952 Jaguar driven by James Adler from Reno to Sonoma (like folks used to do many years ago).
I can still hear a casual comment made by one of the announcers that left an impression on me:
“The most important part of a car is the driver.”
May 17, 2023
First time at the Trans Am Speedfest.
I was really fascinated with the pre/post race rituals of one of the races in the Speedfest: the TRANS AM SERIES PRESENTED BY PIRELLI WESTERN CHAMPIONSHIP (car categories: GT, TA2, and XGT). Here’s how it went:
Cars on display on the paddock for a Fan-Walk Pre- race ceremonies.
ROTC Presentation of Colors
Christian Invocation
Star Spangled Banner
Announcer invites fans to participate in the Start Command
Start Command: “Drivers Start Your Engines!” (And the drivers start their engines and drive single file onto the track.)
45 laps around the track.
Winners go to winners circle: top 3 drivers interviewed on the podium and presented with medals; Each are handed bottle of champagne which they shake and spray on each other or the audience
Reflection 1:
-Weathertech Laguna Seca Raceway has longstanding ties with the US Military. The raceway is built on former Fort Ord US Army base.
-Undeniable intertwining of Trans Am Speedfest, the military, and Christianity; made me wonder how common this is at other races; (definitely worthy of a dissertation if it hasn’t been done already).
Reflection 2:
While waiting, my daughter and I happened to be standing next to renowned race car driver Chris Evans #92. He and Baby Girl bump into each other and they apologize. He laughes and says, ”Well, we don’t have to feel alone because they were bumping into each other all over the place today.” We didn’t realize who he was until he stepped onto the podium to receive the 3rd place medal in the XGT category. I remember seeing his whole crew last year in the paddock at the Sonoma Raceway. In any case, he wasn’t lying. We saw at least three cars or so hit the barrier, getting turned around on the track. One car hit the barrier so hard, he had to drop out of the race. (#46 - Tim Carroll)
March 2024
I watched Gran Turismo on a flight to NY. Gran Turismo is car racing simulator designed by Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital. The film is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a Gran Turismo player who becomes a professional car racer after qualifying as one of the top racers in the simulator. He goes on to train in the GT Academy, a Nissan-sponsored program that expands access to professional car racing to people who developed the skills by playing the simulator, but can’t afford the sport. The GT Academy ultimately demonstrates that sim drivers are capable of competing with professional race car drivers. Aside from the beautiful cinematography, a great soundtrack, a strong lead and fresh new face, Archie Madekwe (as Jann Mardenborough), and big names like David Harbour (Jim Hopper in Stranger Things and Santa in Violent Night), Orlando Bloom (Legolas from The Lord of the Rings and Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean), and Djimon Hounsou (Solomon Vandy in Blood Diamond and Cinque in Amistad), the film raises themes relevant to what’s possible and what inspires (or doesn’t inspire) us to believe in what’s possible :
Following your dreams in the absence of family support
Attempting to protect your child from the disappointment of lofty dreams only for the child to be bound by your own fears and limitations.
Reflection: I never want my child to be limited by my ideas of what’s possible and not possible; As an educator, I would never want to be someone who’s admired by her students for being supportive, but fails to nurture the budding star in her own home.
Tender moments between father and son
The power of seeing representation of biracial folks making big things happen
Good coaches and mentors who continue to believe in you even when you don’t believe in yourself
Confronting traumatic experiences
Power of the imagination and what we experience as real in the virtual world
Reflection: Virtual reality can kickstart the imagination and inspire a person or a group of people to believe what’s possible in virtual reality is possible in the real world. The film made me toy with the idea of how the virtual, simulated world can gives us the permission and the power to self-actualize in our real, everyday lives. It also sparked my curiosity about hyper-realism in virtual reality games and other virtual reality experiences and how this allows players/participants to be more fully immersed in the experience. Made me wonder if there are any hyper-realistic elements integrated into Gran Turismo.
Opening ceremony rituals marking the start of car races
Reflection: I was completely fascinated with the symbolism of the opening ceremony of the 24 hour of Le Mans featured near the end of the film. Hundreds of thousands of people singing La Marseillaise (the French national anthem). Soldiers from the French Army descending from the sky via helicopter, running to deliver the French flag to the starter of the race. The urgency, unmistakable. By a power larger than itself, Le Mans is given the responsibility of fulfilling the great mission of starting this nonstop 24-hour race. More than a flag leaves the hands of those soldiers; the ritual signifies the transmission of courage as permission is granted to begin the race while over 250,000 spectators bear witness. The opening ceremony I saw at Laguna Seca may have given me a frame of reference, but it certainly was no match from what takes place at Le Mans. Their opening ceremony alone makes me want to go to Le Mans in-person one day. We’ll see.
Catch Gran Turismo on Netflix and check out the real story behind Jann Mardenborough and the GT Academy.
