Mad Max: Feminist Road

        

Mad Max is not your typical testosterone-pumped action movie that limits women to pretty faces and motivation for the male lead. While still having some faults,Mad Max shows that women can be just as bad ass as men as well that women are more than objects.

One thing that separates Mad Max from other films is the bad ass female lead named Furiosa played by Charlize Theron. Furiosa isn’t your typical female action hero either as the is the leader of the group and nowhere near helpless. Throughout the film she proves herself to be strong enough to handle any situation. In one scene Max is trying to shoot an wasteland raider with a rifle but has difficulty for the raider is far away. Furiosa then grabs the gun and uses Max’s shoulder as a stand to shoot and kill the raider. Furiosa doesn’t look like your typical female action hero for she has short brown hair, a mechanical arm, and black war paint across her forehead. The decision to make the character as such breaks the cliche of women always having to look beautiful in action movies, even when it makes no sense.

While the film is named Mad Max:Fury Road it is surprising that the female lead actually has more screen time and lines than her male counterpart.The character Mad Max of which the film is named is more of a supporting role in the film, who says few lines in a deep voice and shoots guns at raiders.The female lead of the film actually saves the male at one point in a very heroic way and is also shown to be more resourceful and helpful than the male .This is seen in the scene where the Furiosa is holding onto Max by his leg as he dangles outside of the truck and dangerously fast speeds.She is even stabbed in the scene and continues to hold on.

Another reason why Mad Max:Fury Road is a more feminist action movie than most is that it that its female characters are complex and interesting. Almost all of the female actors in the film have at least a few line, and each is shown to have different personalities and beliefs. For example one of the former slaves is really tough and rude, while another was very kind and interested in killing because she believed it was a waste of human life. In the opening scene of the film the female sex slaves send a very clear message on their former prisons by writing the words “We are not things” on the wall. Mad Max is one of the few action movies in recent time to pass the simple Bechdel test in which two female characters talk about something other than a man. This can be seen in the scene where two women are talking about rare plants and seeds that could help save the world.

Mad Max: Fury Road is not a perfect feminist film. It employs the male gaze and in ways reinforces the male tough guy stereotype. However it takes a massive step for feminism in a genre known for being sexist and patriarchal. while this movie is part of a trend of feminist action movies such as Divergent and The Hunger Games I believe this film to be better in that they include a serious love interest for any of the female roles, in fact the farthest two characters go in terms of an onscreen relationship is holding hands in the back of a truck.