A Look Back at “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015)
A Deep Dive into George Miller’s Dystopian Masterpiece
In this article, we will be taking a look at Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), the fourth film in the Mad Max franchise, the brainchild of George Miller. From a bird’s eye view, the movies in this franchise follow a pretty similar basic storyline, particularly the second installment onwards (Mad Max: The Road Warrior) — Max, the protagonist, rises to the occasion to help a group of people free themselves from the clutches of the evil. The nomadic protagonist wanders off to unknown places after accomplishing the task.
Sounds clichè? Don’t get me wrong. The storyline is still similar, but the way George Miller and his team tackle the storytelling dynamics is remarkable.
This article is not a review of the film but let me still take a moment to appreciate the movie. The film highlights and explores the themes of feminism, survivalism, objectivity, hierarchy, and many more, all the while staying true to the tag of ‘one of the best action films ever made’. The film is a monumental achievement even in terms of filmmaking. The editing, production design, score, and all other filmmaking aspects are top-notch, corroborative to the narrative, and come together to create this masterpiece.
Without further ado, let’s deep dive into Mad Max: Fury Road.
Table of Contents
· Introduction to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
· The World
· Survivalism
· Objectification and Hierarchy
· Iconography
∘ Steering Wheel
∘ Chrome
∘ Elevation
· Feminism
· A Brief Character Sketch: Nux
Introduction to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
I strongly suggest that you stop here if you haven’t watched the film. I wouldn’t want to spoil your experience; there will be spoilers ahead. Those of you who have watched it, but are a little rusty, let me summarize the plot for you.
An army of War Boys abducts Max Rockatansky (played by Tom Hardy). They hold him in the Citadel, from where Immortan Joe (played by Hugh Keays-Byrne), the antagonist, rules the wasteland survivors. Imperator Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron), Joe’s trusted lieutenant of sorts, goes rogue to help Joe’s Breeders escape and reach The Green Place. What follows is an intense road-chase-fight as Max and Furiosa join forces to beat Joe and his war parties. Nux (played by Nicholas Hoult), a War Boy, who sets out to capture Furiosa for Joe, has a change of heart and agrees to help them beat Joe.
After learning that The Green Place is destroyed, Max points out that killing Joe will be a victory in a real sense, not successfully running away from him. Hence, the team, now joined by the Vuvalini, the many mothers from The Green Place, run into Joe’s camp and finally succeed in taking charge of the Citadel.
Now, I have watched this film multiple times. I was unlucky to have not watched it in theatres (this is a film that demands theatrical experience). So, I had to settle for watching it on my home devices. There are two versions available of this movie: The colored version (given a wide release) and the Black & W̶h̶i̶t̶e̶ Chrome (you will soon see why Chrome) version.
Let’s start with a thematic analysis of this film.
The World
“Who killed the World?” — Appears repeatedly in the film
“Out here, everything hurts.” — Furiosa
Fury Road begins right in the middle of a dystopian world. From the very first frame, we get a feeling that this is a bleak world. Far and wide, all we see is desert sand and sand-covered mountains. No buildings, no skyscrapers, no houses, nothing. It is as if humanity had come a full circle, from a time when there were large expanses of forests and natural vegetation, to a time when all that remains is desert land. This desolate and barren land indicates our characters’ monotonous life and how every person would want to escape such a world.
Amid all this grimness, still, people lived — a disparaged life, but a life nonetheless. People are in a total state of shambles — no food, no water, no proper clothing. Everyone is sick and broken, on the inside or/ and the outside. And all these people bowed to Immortan Joe, the ruler of these poor souls.
Immortan Joe is the antagonist. He rules this land primarily because he controls the water. Entire water available in the region is collected in Joe’s Citadel and then distributed among the masses. This distribution is so seldom done that it is almost like a festival for people who assemble in throngs to ‘experience’ water. With water in his hands, Joe enjoys a lavish life with crops growing in his backyard (crops are a luxury here). This difference between the rough outside world, to which the protagonist belongs, and the Citadel, the antagonist’s stronghold, is a perfect contrast you expect at the beginning of the story.
Next, come the War Boys, Joe’s army. War Boys are young men who suffer from a severe disease, because of which they have a ‘half-life’. They are trained from their childhood years to run the entire empire. They form the army, the workforce, and perform every imaginable job for Joe. War Boys, right from small kids to the ones nearing their half-life, religiously follow him and consider serving him and even dying for him as the most significant purpose of their life. They crave for a glorious death — in battle, and not in bed — because they believe this will lead them to Valhalla, a magical place they go to after death. War Boys paint a picture of slaves in our minds, except that they are brainwashed and can’t see the bigger picture and hence never protest when ill-treated.
Another important aspect of this world is technology and machinery. One thing that has not stopped proliferating is machinery. The world’s downfall has not killed wars (which in the first place could have led to the collapse). Even though society has run out of resources, weapons and monster trucks are made by combining used cars, piling on old equipment, etc. A majority of these are managed and driven by the War Boys. Imperators handle the big and important ones. Although we see a lot of machinery out there, the technology has not kept pace with time. There is still a lot of manual mechanical work to do.
Survivalism
“So I exist in this wasteland. A man reduced to a single instinct: survive.” — Max
Well, if you were living in such a world, what do you imagine your goal would be? Survival, right? In such oppressive and harsh conditions, all you can hope for is to survive. There are no standards of living. There are no luxuries or privileges. It is all about managing to survive, no matter what the cost. It is as if Dante Alighieri’s Circles of Hell have come true, and there is no humanity left, just physical manifestations of humans.
Our characters also face a similar dilemma. Max, the Breeders (Joe’s perfect wives who are running away), Joe, Nux are, in their own way, fighting the world to stay afloat. Let’s see how.
Max is, simply put, a nomad. All he has is an almost-broken down car. But Max is not free, both literally and figuratively. In a literal sense, he is hunted by the War Boys, for he has a healthy physique (and a car!); hence he can act as a blood bank for dying War Boys. Figuratively, Max is trapped in the guilt of being unable to save some of his close ones in some disaster or attack. Their memories keep haunting him. Mad Max: Fury Road doesn’t delve much into this back story, but it is a significant character beat for Max. So, Max runs for his life and survival from both the living and the dead.
The Breeders, called so because Joe tries to impregnate them for a perfect healthy heir, are given all the amenities and ‘well-nurtured’. But, they are in no better position than the languishing people outside (more on that later!). They exist with little life left in them. But the fire of turning the tables and living a worthy life is never extinguished. For their and their children’s survival, they are ready to go to any lengths.
They can kill people, shoot them in the head, travel against all the odds, and do anything to reach the Green Place’s safety. While taking the risky trip on Fury Road, Angharad is heavily pregnant, and The Dag is in the early stages. Still, they choose to escape in such adverse conditions just to have a bright and meaningful future for themselves and their children. They jump doors, slid through wagons, carrying their life in their hands, because they have a glimmer of hope that they will survive through this and emerge victoriously.
Even Joe does what he does for survival itself. Of course, there is greed, cruelty, and malice at play, but it all eventually burns down to survival. He knows that if he does not control the water and other resources, he will go down and might have to suffer just like the others. He knows he needs a perfectly healthy heir so that his family can continue ruling, unchallenged. Why does he make the efforts of chasing the Breeders across the Fury Road? Because he needs the Breeders.
When it comes to the War Boys, and Nux in particular, they are frantic about reaching Valhalla by dying a glorious death on the Fury Road. Why? Because they believe after passing through the gates of Valhalla, they will leave behind their sick bodies and have a better life as an immortal. They are ‘hard-coded’ to believe that serving Joe and dying for him is the only way to do justice to their religion, reach Valhalla, and attain immortality. This incentive overpowers their sensibility of questioning Joe’s actions.
What is worth noticing is that this instinct of survival fuels all the actions and decisions that the characters make. No one does anything to help the other. The world has stooped to the level where everyone does everything keeping himself or herself in mind. No one cares about anyone else. Max only agreed to help the girls because he needed to escape. Initially, he had no willingness to help them out.
Similarly, Furiosa and the Breeders collaborate with Max only because he has hijacked the War Rig. Joe mindlessly sacrifices his resources, War Boys, weaponry just to get the Breeders back, because they are crucial for him. So, people find ways out of circumstances for surviving in this turbulent world. They have nothing else on their mind. This survival instinct takes over the decision-making process.
Objectification and Hierarchy
“We are not things.” — Appears repeatedly in the film
Why were the Breeders not happy? Why did they want to escape? Despite being given all the facilities and having resources at their disposal, they were treated like things. Immortan Joe did not respect them, did not have any emotional attachment with them, and valued them only for their bodies. He saw them as a machine to help him fulfill the purpose of an heir. They were not loved or made to feel ‘human’ but instead objectified. This is also a probable explanation for their weirdness. Also, the name itself gives away that they are considered no more than mere ‘breeders’, people used for breeding.
Similarly, the loyal War Boys are treated with no respect. They are just seen as military acumen to run the empire and go to wars. They are human robots (oxymoron!) that are made to follow commands from the superiors. When the War Boys near their half-life, i.e., they are about to die, they are paid no respect or appreciated for their services. Instead, they are kept in a dingy room, and fervent attempts are made to increase their life span using blood banks.
Although not elaborated in the film, breast milk is an essential commodity for Joe in the movie. It could be used as a trading object by Joe to exchange other resources with neighboring empires. Nonetheless, the way Joe obtains this milk is probably the most brutal scene of the film. Women are attached to machines, which, when pumped by War Boys, extract milk from the ladies’ breasts. This inhumanity and inconsiderate nature once again show what an evil person Joe was.
Just like any other dictatorship, there is a strict hierarchy that is followed. Immortan Joe is at the top of the pyramid. He is aided by his physically-disabled son Rictus Erectus (played by Nathan Jones). In the army, there are the Imperators. Furiosa was one of them. They lead teams for missions and drive large vehicles like War Rigs. They are followed by the War Boys and then come to the young children being trained to become War Boys. The Breeders are kept aside in a safe vault so that they can avoid the harsh conditions of everyday life. These protocols are strictly followed, and no exceptions are made.
Iconography
There are particular objects which act as a metaphor for certain philosophies and ideologies. These icons are frequently mentioned in the narrative, and enough stress is laid to grab our attention.
Steering Wheel
The steering wheel represents power. It is a symbol frequently used to denote who is in-charge and has a higher authority. In this wasteland, vehicles are essential for various purposes, and the one who drives them is said to have a higher position over the ones accompanying them. And since cars can’t run without the steering wheel, the wheel is considered a sacred item. The larger and more powerful the vehicle you drive, the higher you are on the power pyramid.
Furiosa drives the massive War Rig, which clearly shows us that she is powerful and feared. In the first act, Nux has to fight with another War Boy wielding a steering wheel to get the wheel and drive on the Fury Road. He is ready to go even though he is about to die. Such instances clearly point towards the importance and significance of this object.
Chrome
This point directly relates to the themes of objectification of people and feminism. Humans have some obsession with the fair, white, chrome people and things for no logical reason. Maybe it is the Western penetration across the globe or something else, but anything white and fair is usually held in high value compared to their counterparts. Things are changing nowadays, but we still have a long way to go.
Fury Road tackles this very ideology in its narrative. The War Boys are trained to think that they need to die all shining and ‘chrome’ for them to reach the gates of Valhalla. They spray a fluid of sorts that shines their face, just as they are about to make a sacrifice, possibly by undertaking tasks that could end in glorious death. This behavior is based upon the mindset that all shining and fair things are great, and hence they will be readily accepted in Valhalla.
The Breeders are mostly fair, white, beautiful creatures with the ‘perfect’ bodies. Immortan Joe has had them maintain their body that way, probably. He thinks that he should mate only with such beautiful women for the sake of a healthy heir. The antagonist places such women above the rest and considers them superior.
But by the end of the film, both of the above propositions are proved to be incorrect. Nux, a War Boy, dies a glorious and brave death by sacrificing himself for others’ sake. He doesn’t care about looking ‘chrome’ and wanting his fellow War Boys to witness his death. He only has eyes for the love of his life, Capable, one of the breeders. Similarly, the perfect Breeders meet the Vuvalini, a group of women from The Green Place living in the desert and passing their days. These women are not of conventional beauty like the Breeders, but they are as good as warriors you can find. They are strong, have a rugged look, kind-hearted, and ready to sacrifice themselves for the well-being of others. This once again proves that anyone can be capable and talented, irrespective of their bodily well-being.
On a side note, the use of Chrome color and spray is why the Black and White version of this film is called the Black and Chrome version.
Elevation
Again a power symbol. This icon is not exactly new. It has been referenced in many films before, most recently in Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019). Elevation conveys the idea of authority — the sense of looking over the ones below. Just like the Judge is seated the higher than others in a court, The Citadel is a tall mountain-like structure with Immortan Joe sitting at the top. The ordinary sick people living in terrible conditions are all at the bottom ground of the Citadel. They all aim to manage to go up the Citadel for a better life, but they rarely manage to.
Feminism
As discussed at the beginning of this article, Mad Max: Fury Road’s storyline might seem a little too familiar and old, especially when compared with other Mad Max films. But no. Fury Road keeps up with today’s culture and waves of feminism in society. Feminism is the centerpiece that holds the entire thing together.
Imperator Furiosa is the symbol of feminine strength. She embodies all the qualities that you would expect in any capable brave warrior. In her tender years, she was plucked apart from her family and brought to the Citadel. She kept working for Joe and rose through the ranks to become an Imperator, but she was on the look-out for an opportunity of redemption. And there she had it; a chance to rescue the Breeders and herself from Joe.
Most certainly, we could enlist many more qualities of Furiosa that make a strong female character, but here we are going to focus on how, as a whole, this film embodies the values of feminism. Whenever you think of action films, the first thought that comes to your mind is a male protagonist — James Bond, Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible series), Jason Bourne, and so on. There is an endless list of male action heroes who lead the film with female characters in supporting roles, even the Mad Max franchise, before this film. But Fury Road changes all that. One could argue that Furiosa is the protagonist in this film and not Max. This film places men and women on equal footing, even in what is considered a predominantly masculine task.
Rarely in action films, the ‘mission’ or problem at hand is caused because of a social issue. Usually, it is something technical, military, science fiction, etc. But, Fury Road begins with the intent of destroying Joe and exiting the patriarchial system he has created for everyone. We can say that the Breeders wanted to escape from the patriarchal trap, from various misogynist deeds of Joe discussed before. For the first half of the film, women are running from the men. In the second half, the tables turn. The women come for the men and plan to take over the Citadel, ending the tyrant Joe’s reign.
In the second half, the Vuvalini enter the fray. Once their homeland, The Green Place, was destroyed, these women have been living in the open in such harsh conditions for years. They have protected themselves from any evil that comes towards them. They ride bikes, carry guns, and are brave warriors. They are not as beautiful and fit as the Breeders, but they are much more than them in specific ways. This idea of strong independent women protecting themselves bashes the notions that girls cannot survive on their own in this land, need to look beautiful to be of any value, and so on.
After killing Joe and claiming the Citadel, there is a sense of liberation in the wasteland. It’s time for the girls to run the place with a good heart. The women used for extracting Mother’s Milk are freed. They are the ones who open the gates of water to the public, indicating the victory of the oppressed over the oppressors. Unlike before, irrespective of gender, age, health conditions, etc., everyone is allowed to come to the Citadel’s top. So, all in all, by the end of the film, all the wrongs committed against the girls are set right, an attempt is made to set them right, and I believe that is something truly exceptional that you can find in an action film.
A Brief Character Sketch: Nux
“Witness me.” — Nux
In my opinion, Nux is the best character among all in this film. He is the reason why the film works perfectly fine on an emotional level. So, let’s discuss his character arc and see the crucial role of his transformation.
At the beginning of the film, Nux is tied to a blood bank (incidentally, Max). He is weak and nearing his ‘half-life’. Once the war is declared, even is such a perilous condition, he wants to fight for Immortan Joe. This scene tells us a lot about Nux. We understand that he is wholly devoted to Joe. He believes in the ideology of dying a glorious death on the Fury Road and reaching the gates of Valhalla, just like any other War Boy. He fights with his co-worker to get the steering wheel to drive the car in the battle. With such dedication and an unbroken spirit, he enters the battlefield.
As soon as they are out in the field, Nux races his car through the entourage to reach the War Rig. He wants to be the one who brings the traitors, Furiosa and the Breeders, to Joe. While cruising through the chase, as he nears Joe’s monster truck, he shouts his name as though he is praying to him. He wants to grab his attention because then it will be like God himself has looked towards him. And by chance, Joe successfully glances towards him. This puts Nux on cloud nine. Again, here we see the reverence Nux has for Joe. He does not think about Joe’s deeds and blindly follows him.
Nux takes a lot of risks and is even ready to blow himself up to kill the traitors. He sprays himself with Chrome and is about to blow his car away. He believes this would be a glorious death, witnessed by Joe and other War Boys, and he would reach the gates of Valhalla. Thankfully, he fails in his attempts.
After a couple of mishaps and misses at capturing the traitors, Nux is broken. When he fails in front of Joe, and The Splendid Angharad, a Breeder, dies, he blames himself and loses his morale and motivation. He questions his capability of serving Joe and goes into a sorry state, lying at the rear of the War Rig. That’s when his life changes. He meets Capable, one of the Breeders. She changes his purview of life and the lens through which he was looking at it. She helps him come out of his stupor, and a new Nux is born.
Nux now has a new goal. He realizes his mistake and understands how he is meant for so much more than just serving the wrong guy. He learns how he can help the girls and Max and help them escape from Joe, who has treated him like trash. He helps them get the rig out of a swamp and create a considerable distance between them and the pursuers. Once they reach The Green Place, he is ready to cross the desert with the girls and stay with them forever.
But then instead of crossing the desert, the group decides to go back and take over the Citadel. In doing so, they require Nux’s help since he is a War Boy, and only on his word, they can enter the Citadel. This is a crucial moment for Nux. He has to face the dilemma and choose a side. He must choose between betraying his War Boys and Joe, or betraying his new friends. He decides to side with his new friends, proving that he has changed to the core.
Nux is a primary helping hand to the group in the return trip battle. He helps speed up the engines by spewing fuel into them, he repairs them when they are broken, he helps Max a couple of times, and a lot more. The other War Boys fighting for Joe mock him repeatedly for changing his allegiance and call him a traitor.
As the group nears the Canyon, and it is time for them to end the battle, Nux has to make a sacrifice to ensure that others can safely pass. He chooses to stay back in the War Rig and crash it to block the road so that no one else can pass. Nux does not back off from this situation since he knows that this is a death as glorious as any man could die. He also doesn’t want anyone else to witness his sacrifice, but only Capable, whom he loves and cares about. No Chrome spray, no loud shoutings, just a soft ‘Witness Me’ with a finger pointed towards Capable. And that’s what we call a glorious death.
I appreciate this character so much because of the perfect transformation and a ‘human’ character arc. In this sizeable inhuman wasteland where there is no place for emotions, love, or humanity, Nux appears to be a flame of hope. He shows us that caring about others and loving them is a universal emotion, and no break-down of the outer world can stop that. And the fact that such characteristics are shown by someone who is a devotee of the antagonist initially is a positive stamp of redemption. No matter where you are in your life, there is always hope for you to be your better self, choose the right path, and do the right thing.
