Mad Max: Fury Road
Okay, so full confession. I know this is a Mad Max film and is therefore technically about a man and not a woman but… well, if you’ve seen the film, you know that this is objectively just not true.
Look, I will admit that the opening of the movie is incredibly misleading and honestly just kind of confusing. We see this weird origin story for why Max is being used as a ‘blood bag’ for one of the War Boys who’s sick (presumably with cancer I guess, judging by the big lumps on his neck that he refers to later on in the film). There are weird flashbacks to show that he’s gone insane and whatever whatever. Honestly, eye roll. None of it makes any sense, probably because I haven’t seen the original Mad Max films, but it also really doesn’t matter. Max is not the main character of this film. Furiosa is. Hands down, no doubt about it, Furiosa steals the show from pretty much the first moment we see her on screen.
Immediately, I thought, ‘Why would this badass woman want to be a part of any of this horrendous behaviour of these ridiculous men and their need for praise and glory?’ And that question gets answered about two minutes later. She’s very much not a part of it. In fact, she’s trying to smuggle a bunch of young women (the ‘breeders’, barf) out of the Citadel and away from the man who’s been keeping them locked away for himself, Immortan Joe. And look, Max helps a lot in this film. But it’s just help. Furiosa does all the hard work, from start to finish.
There are so many fantastic moments in this film of women being badass, not even just in the basic form of ‘kicking ass, taking names’ kind of strength we saw a lot of in the 90s and early 00s. We see women, like Furiosa, who unambiguously kick ass. This scene is the perfect example of that. But this scene is also a perfect example of the way we see other women fighting back against their oppressors (though technically they’re fighting Max in this scene, and he’s not actually the enemy… he’s just a little manic and trying to escape as soon as possible).
The characters we see fighting back in this scene are the ‘breeders’ or wives I spoke about earlier. They are determined to escape, and while they need Furiosa’s help, they certainly are not helpless and don’t intend to lay down and get dragged back to imprisonment and exploitation. This is only the first scene where we see these women fighting tooth and nail for their own freedom, and while doing so, they support and care for each other, look after each other, do things for each other. They form a little group, determined to get through this together. When one of them is killed, they are devastated and scream over and over to go back for her.
There is also a beautiful narrative of matriarchal culture being passed on. They team up with a group of other women who have been fighting for their freedom for years (since before Furiosa was born), and these women have kept their hope alive that they will find somewhere they can start again. One of these women, the Ace, carries a bag of seeds around with her everywhere, trying to plant and nurture life from the earth once again, but she hasn’t had success. She passes her knowledge onto one of the wives, the Dag (they all have weird names in post-apocalyptic Australia apparently), who is determined to carry out the Ace’s dream of replanting and harvesting these plants.
These women are also allowed to show emotion and weakness. Furiosa thinks they are driving towards a paradise she remembers from her young childhood. Instead, the green lands have been overrun with crows and scavengers and is little more than a dank wasteland, just a little less sandy than the rest. She screams and cries and grieves for the home she remembers, and it’s such a powerful moment to see this stoic, strong woman break down and let herself feel the grief of what she’s lost.
In the end, these women get the chance to take back their lives and the lives of the oppressed people suffering under the rule of Immortan Joe. They take back the Citadel and commit to a better society where there is free water for everyone and people will be given what they need. Completely led by women, by the way.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought a post-apocalyptic movie about a road war would be on this list, and I wasn’t sure I would end up writing about it once I watched it. But this movie is such a gorgeous depiction of women saving themselves and finding the strength to fight back against their oppressors. It’s also just a really great movie.
Mad Max: Fury Road is available to stream on Stan in Australia, Now TV in the UK, and HBO Max in the US. It’s available to rent or buy everywhere on YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
