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rule britannia

Boy Racer

Watch as we traverse the moonlit A-roads of Britain to embed with one of the most notorious and misunderstood youth subcultures of the last 30 years: the boy racer scene—a spotlight on what kids in souped-up cars are doing in every town in the UK.

Since the trend of teenagers modifying their "affordable" cars with go-faster stripes, neon under-lights, and dump valves really took off in the 90s, the media and public have been wary of boy racers. The British government has attempted to force them out of town centers with surveillance, and the cops spend their nights hunting them in unmarked cars. Understandably, this has driven boy racers to abandon the bright lights for industrial areas, country lanes, and parking lots where they can blare happy hardcore, jungle, bassline, and pull off handbrake turns to their hearts' content. In the film, we follow the boy racers as they try—with varying degrees of success—to unify the scene in their local area. In Essex, we find car meets with hundreds of kids in kitted up cars, showing off luxury paint jobs and bass systems that ruin their girlfriends' hair dos. And in North London, boy racers take to highways to find their own fun—which, in the past, has had grave consequences. The summer brings with it super-sized car festivals, where everyone goes to race, get wasted and get their picture taken with pouting, bikini-clad promo models. Cars get scrapped, street races get dangerous, and things get wild in a parking lot. Boy Racer is a timely spotlight on what kids in souped-up cars are doing today, or tonight, in every town in the UK.