"Her body is never a plot point. It is simply allowed to be."
June 30, 2015 8:50 AM Subscribe
I am just about the biggest advocate for “representation matters” there is, but as a white woman I never really felt it applied to me all that much. Watching Fury Road, I realized how wrong I was. I’ve been this way my entire life and I’ve never felt “handicapped.” I’m disabled, yes – there’s shit I just can’t do, but an invalid I am not. For the most part I’ve always approached life with a “figure out how to do it and just get it done” attitude; I am loathe to admit I can’t do anything and I never give up without exhausting all the possibilities available to me. Watching Fury Road, I felt like I was watching my own struggle brought to life (albeit in a very fantastical setting), and I don’t think I ever realized how truly profound that could be for me.Laura Vaugh talks about her response to seeing a kick-ass woman with the same disability as her on the silver screen.
In an interview with Nerdist, she explains a bit more about why Furiosa's arm was a triumph:
Not only did Furiosa’s arm look right and operate correctly when it was on, most importantly to Vaughn, it also came off. Prosthetic limbs are often heavy and hot – in reality, Vaughn tells me, no one wears them all the time. But amputees in film are almost never without their prostheses. The conclusion is that they need them to function properly. Not Furiosa. And certainly not Vaughn.
Watch Furiosa punch Max in the face, with her nubbins.
Brilliance of the moment outshined only by this description from this person.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 8:58 AM on June 30, 2015 [18 favorites]
Brilliance of the moment outshined only by this description from this person.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 8:58 AM on June 30, 2015 [18 favorites]
It's unusual to see a film chatacter with a physical disability where that's not a huge focus of the film.
It's also unusual to show serious mental illness in a film and not have it be magically 'cured' or shown as a series of cute character traits.
posted by Windigo at 8:59 AM on June 30, 2015 [21 favorites]
It's also unusual to show serious mental illness in a film and not have it be magically 'cured' or shown as a series of cute character traits.
posted by Windigo at 8:59 AM on June 30, 2015 [21 favorites]
Who had a mental illness in Mad Max? I guess Max had PTSD?
posted by Sangermaine at 9:02 AM on June 30, 2015
posted by Sangermaine at 9:02 AM on June 30, 2015
Max.
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:03 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:03 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
and yeah, I took it to be PTSD as well.
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:04 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:04 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
When they call him Mad, they don't mean he's angry.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 9:11 AM on June 30, 2015 [20 favorites]
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 9:11 AM on June 30, 2015 [20 favorites]
He is Mad, after all.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:11 AM on June 30, 2015
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:11 AM on June 30, 2015
I guess you could also say Immortan Joe suffered from narcissistic personality disorder.
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:18 AM on June 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by Dr-Baa at 9:18 AM on June 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
I appreciated how she pointed out that when there is a character with a disability in a movie - particularly big action/sci-fi/fantasy films - they are so often villains. I bet we could come up with a list of characters who have physical or mental disabilities and they would overwhelmingly be one-note "bad" guys. Hell, the Batman films alone, that's like 11 multibillionity examples right there.
posted by Windigo at 9:28 AM on June 30, 2015 [14 favorites]
posted by Windigo at 9:28 AM on June 30, 2015 [14 favorites]
qcubed: I think one of the great things about Mad Max: Fury Road is how much it leaves you wanting more of everything. I think we've been given just enough to set our imaginations loose. In other films we would have gotten a bunch of dialogue about Furiosa's past including how and if she lost the arm. Here we get a few sentences (or more likely just fragments).
The mechanic from Mad Max 2 was disabled, but I don't think anyone ever said a word about it. He's just the genius mechanic who has a crane because that's what he needs to get the job done.
posted by ODiV at 9:30 AM on June 30, 2015 [7 favorites]
The mechanic from Mad Max 2 was disabled, but I don't think anyone ever said a word about it. He's just the genius mechanic who has a crane because that's what he needs to get the job done.
posted by ODiV at 9:30 AM on June 30, 2015 [7 favorites]
Coma-Doof Warrior (aka: the flame-throwing guitarist, aka my new god) was blind (the character, not the actor). Didn't really stop him from owning the movie.
posted by signal at 9:36 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by signal at 9:36 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
I understand that due to the success of Fury Road, there is a comic coming out that sheds some light on Furiosa's backstory and it is...not great.
posted by Kitteh at 9:36 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Kitteh at 9:36 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I guess you could also say Immortan Joe suffered from narcissistic personality disorder.
also, something was wrong with his face
posted by Existential Dread at 9:54 AM on June 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
also, something was wrong with his face
posted by Existential Dread at 9:54 AM on June 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
I just watched the movie this weekend, and will need to see it again just to get a handle on all the high speed action. I too cried at points during the film; though for different reasons (of which I haven't fully articulated yet). I didn't even think about the profound effect of Furiosa's missing limb and not have it be a plot point or hashed and rehashed. It just was.
This movie was amazing, and I suspect there is more layered nuance I missed buried in the insanely fast pace "holy shit" popcorn action movie. I can't wait to see it again.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:02 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
This movie was amazing, and I suspect there is more layered nuance I missed buried in the insanely fast pace "holy shit" popcorn action movie. I can't wait to see it again.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:02 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Joe and both of his sons were disabled. All had breathing problems and some variety of mechanical breathing aid. The eldest was also physically stunted while younger, though one of the bigger war boys had the mind of a child. Joe makes a big deal out of it ("all this for a healthy child"), but every one else just gets on with things.
I think that's the point of the movie. Everyone is damaged in some way. No one escapes it. Some rise above their limits, while the villains are obsessed by them.
posted by bonehead at 10:07 AM on June 30, 2015 [15 favorites]
I think that's the point of the movie. Everyone is damaged in some way. No one escapes it. Some rise above their limits, while the villains are obsessed by them.
posted by bonehead at 10:07 AM on June 30, 2015 [15 favorites]
In an apocalyptic dystopia, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that wasn't mentally ill or traumatized.
posted by emjaybee at 10:08 AM on June 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 10:08 AM on June 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
Nux's little joke about his two brothers are a signal about how he's made that choice.
posted by bonehead at 10:08 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 10:08 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
...should I feel guilty that I thought the mechanized arm Furiosa had was actually super-badass and kinda wish that we'd seen it more?
If so, you're not alone. I guess I'm just into robot arms now, because I was super into the Winter Soldier's fancier bionic arm too. I especially liked Furiosa's because it looked like something she could have believably made herself and it so wholly fit in with the aesthetic of the other cars and trucks and things.
Also, I too appreciated that Max wasn't just mad in an audience-friendly way. I mean, yeah, there were the standard traumatic flashbacks, but he also came across as genuinely, deeply traumatized in the way he so clearly found speech difficult. Props to Tom Hardy's performance there, because everything about his body language and reactions sold that 100%.
posted by yasaman at 10:10 AM on June 30, 2015 [17 favorites]
If so, you're not alone. I guess I'm just into robot arms now, because I was super into the Winter Soldier's fancier bionic arm too. I especially liked Furiosa's because it looked like something she could have believably made herself and it so wholly fit in with the aesthetic of the other cars and trucks and things.
Also, I too appreciated that Max wasn't just mad in an audience-friendly way. I mean, yeah, there were the standard traumatic flashbacks, but he also came across as genuinely, deeply traumatized in the way he so clearly found speech difficult. Props to Tom Hardy's performance there, because everything about his body language and reactions sold that 100%.
posted by yasaman at 10:10 AM on June 30, 2015 [17 favorites]
I think we've been given just enough to set our imaginations loose. In other films we would have gotten a bunch of dialogue about Furiosa's past including how and if she lost the arm.
As others have noted in other MM:FR threads, this film is a shining example of "show, don't tell." A lesser film would be chock-full of extended flashbacks (how Joe came to power, what happened to Max's previous companions, Furiosa being taken from her tribe, etc, etc).
Plus, despite the futuristic / post-apocalyptic setting, the dialog feels natural in the sense that there aren't clunky moments written specifically to clue the audience in. For example, there's not a lengthy monologue from Furiosa explaining to Max who Immortan Joe is, what he represents to the War Boys, and why she decided to take the women with her.
posted by Dr-Baa at 10:10 AM on June 30, 2015 [21 favorites]
As others have noted in other MM:FR threads, this film is a shining example of "show, don't tell." A lesser film would be chock-full of extended flashbacks (how Joe came to power, what happened to Max's previous companions, Furiosa being taken from her tribe, etc, etc).
Plus, despite the futuristic / post-apocalyptic setting, the dialog feels natural in the sense that there aren't clunky moments written specifically to clue the audience in. For example, there's not a lengthy monologue from Furiosa explaining to Max who Immortan Joe is, what he represents to the War Boys, and why she decided to take the women with her.
posted by Dr-Baa at 10:10 AM on June 30, 2015 [21 favorites]
I need to see this movie again. I realized as I watched that part of my revulsion to the grosser deformities was privilege, nothing more.
posted by maxwelton at 10:15 AM on June 30, 2015
posted by maxwelton at 10:15 AM on June 30, 2015
I have seen this damn movie five times in the theater at this point. I almost never see movies in the theater anymore, and NEVER more than once.
It holds up. It really, really holds up.
posted by Windigo at 10:19 AM on June 30, 2015 [18 favorites]
It holds up. It really, really holds up.
posted by Windigo at 10:19 AM on June 30, 2015 [18 favorites]
The best part about watching it for the second time was being able to breathe. Not being sore from having every muscle clenched for two hours was also nice.
posted by Dr-Baa at 10:24 AM on June 30, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by Dr-Baa at 10:24 AM on June 30, 2015 [8 favorites]
He saw it five times! WITNESS HIM!!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:34 AM on June 30, 2015 [47 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:34 AM on June 30, 2015 [47 favorites]
For those who are disappointed about the backstory comic, I present you with a glimpse of what it could have looked like if written/drawn by Molly Ostertag.
(Molly Ostertag previously. Her main comic, Strong Female Protagonist, is still going strong and only getting better.)
posted by daisyk at 10:37 AM on June 30, 2015 [12 favorites]
(Molly Ostertag previously. Her main comic, Strong Female Protagonist, is still going strong and only getting better.)
posted by daisyk at 10:37 AM on June 30, 2015 [12 favorites]
All had breathing problems and some variety of mechanical breathing aid.
That's actually just a signifier of privilege, according to interviews. They live in a poisoned world, and so they breathe pure oxygen.
posted by maxsparber at 10:39 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's actually just a signifier of privilege, according to interviews. They live in a poisoned world, and so they breathe pure oxygen.
posted by maxsparber at 10:39 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
They live in a poisoned world, and so they breathe pure oxygen.
Yikes, that could have its own set of problems.
posted by Existential Dread at 10:44 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yikes, that could have its own set of problems.
posted by Existential Dread at 10:44 AM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Interviews also revealed that Immortan is short for Immortal Man, which means that Immortan Joe named himself after a minor DC superhero, so there's no lack of problems for that family.
posted by maxsparber at 10:46 AM on June 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 10:46 AM on June 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
He saw it five times! WITNESS HIM!!
He watches! He leaves the theater! He watches again!
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:47 AM on June 30, 2015 [36 favorites]
He watches! He leaves the theater! He watches again!
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:47 AM on June 30, 2015 [36 favorites]
I will carry you myself into the Valhalla Theater in Mount Pleasant New York that is properly called the All Westchester Saw Mill Multi!
posted by maxsparber at 10:49 AM on June 30, 2015 [14 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 10:49 AM on June 30, 2015 [14 favorites]
That joke took more research than it probably deserved.
posted by maxsparber at 10:50 AM on June 30, 2015 [25 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 10:50 AM on June 30, 2015 [25 favorites]
He saw it five times! WITNESS HIM!!
I am no.....man.
posted by Windigo at 10:55 AM on June 30, 2015 [20 favorites]
I am no.....man.
posted by Windigo at 10:55 AM on June 30, 2015 [20 favorites]
Do You Realize Mad Max: Fury Road Is A Miracle?
Another io9 article on the movie, which has some interesting points on facts I didn't know. For instance, while George Miller directed the prior Mad Max movies, his latest movies were Happy Feet Two (2011), Happy Feet (2006), and Babe: Pig in the City (1998), plus a few other productions since the original Babe in 1995, yet he still got $150 million to make the movie, and a lot of creative control to make a wholly new film, not a reboot, or even a follow-up sequel that tied back directly to the prior films (beyond Max, mostly).
But that article doesn't even touch on the significance of the women in the movie. It only mentions Max being a sidekick, but doesn't say anything about the key protagonist being a bad-ass lady with a prosthetic arm, despite having a screenshot of Furiosa straddling Max's chest, amputated arm out in stark contrast to the sky to strengthen it as the focal point of that shot), as detailed in the review of the backstory comic, which highlights why the film was great and how the comic throws it all out the window.
I finally saw the movie last night with my wife, and I was impressed for so many aspects of the film. The comic review really hits how this is a unique blockbuster action film, and I hope that its success shows how the generic Pretty Boy Action Star Movies are not the only way to do an action flick and still make a TON of money. I can see that Fury Road isn't a great feminist film, but is rather a really good action film.
Did the Alien franchise get a lot of interest and/or flak for making Sigourney Weaver the bad-ass hero, not saving the day for love or her kids or something equally "womanly"?
posted by filthy light thief at 11:15 AM on June 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
Another io9 article on the movie, which has some interesting points on facts I didn't know. For instance, while George Miller directed the prior Mad Max movies, his latest movies were Happy Feet Two (2011), Happy Feet (2006), and Babe: Pig in the City (1998), plus a few other productions since the original Babe in 1995, yet he still got $150 million to make the movie, and a lot of creative control to make a wholly new film, not a reboot, or even a follow-up sequel that tied back directly to the prior films (beyond Max, mostly).
But that article doesn't even touch on the significance of the women in the movie. It only mentions Max being a sidekick, but doesn't say anything about the key protagonist being a bad-ass lady with a prosthetic arm, despite having a screenshot of Furiosa straddling Max's chest, amputated arm out in stark contrast to the sky to strengthen it as the focal point of that shot), as detailed in the review of the backstory comic, which highlights why the film was great and how the comic throws it all out the window.
I finally saw the movie last night with my wife, and I was impressed for so many aspects of the film. The comic review really hits how this is a unique blockbuster action film, and I hope that its success shows how the generic Pretty Boy Action Star Movies are not the only way to do an action flick and still make a TON of money. I can see that Fury Road isn't a great feminist film, but is rather a really good action film.
Did the Alien franchise get a lot of interest and/or flak for making Sigourney Weaver the bad-ass hero, not saving the day for love or her kids or something equally "womanly"?
posted by filthy light thief at 11:15 AM on June 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
Did the Alien franchise get a lot of interest and/or flak for making Sigourney Weaver the bad-ass hero, not saving the day for love or her kids or something equally "womanly"?
There is a motherhood theme in Aliens (the Ripley-Newt relationship), but I'd say it's an explicitly feminist portrayal of the idea of motherhood, culminating in a pitched battle between the two key maternal figures in the film.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:40 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
There is a motherhood theme in Aliens (the Ripley-Newt relationship), but I'd say it's an explicitly feminist portrayal of the idea of motherhood, culminating in a pitched battle between the two key maternal figures in the film.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:40 AM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
I have seen this damn movie five times in the theater at this point. I almost never see movies in the theater anymore, and NEVER more than once.
Three times, same, same. I hadn't been to a movie theatre in ten years before moving to Paris and deciding I could probably go to the huge complex ten minutes from my place at least twice a month to justify a 20/month unlimited pass. Even with that I've been mostly meh about the films. But this? Holy crap the awesomeness. I need to go back a fourth time before the cinema stops showing it. (I went last week and the theater was still half full at noon on a Sunday, which is usually pretty slow. First two times, the theatres were sold out.)
First view: wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Second view: oh this is GREAT omg love
Third view: little fiddly bits stand out more and make it richer, love the saturation (don't know why it stood out to me even more on third view - maybe because I paid more attention to the settings)
posted by fraula at 11:53 AM on June 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
Three times, same, same. I hadn't been to a movie theatre in ten years before moving to Paris and deciding I could probably go to the huge complex ten minutes from my place at least twice a month to justify a 20/month unlimited pass. Even with that I've been mostly meh about the films. But this? Holy crap the awesomeness. I need to go back a fourth time before the cinema stops showing it. (I went last week and the theater was still half full at noon on a Sunday, which is usually pretty slow. First two times, the theatres were sold out.)
First view: wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Second view: oh this is GREAT omg love
Third view: little fiddly bits stand out more and make it richer, love the saturation (don't know why it stood out to me even more on third view - maybe because I paid more attention to the settings)
posted by fraula at 11:53 AM on June 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
In regards to the comic, one of the writers took to Twitter to defend depicted rape and demonstrated a complete misunderstanding of a lot of what made the movie important.
posted by yellowbinder at 12:02 PM on June 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by yellowbinder at 12:02 PM on June 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
I can see that Fury Road isn't a great feminist film,
Corrected link.
Some good points in that article, but one remarkably obtuse one:
posted by stebulus at 12:13 PM on June 30, 2015 [30 favorites]
Corrected link.
Some good points in that article, but one remarkably obtuse one:
And it makes no sense, either. What does Furiosa need redemption for? Getting abducted from her home as a child? Being a good truck driver? Helping other women? Max is the one who’s having the failure-flashbacks, so maybe that was supposed to be his line, or rather, his subtext.Joe honours Furiosa by name as they set out; she had access to the wives; the warboys readily accept her complete non-explanation of taking the convoy east. How does a person come to have such a trusted and respected position, in such a society? How does a person earn the title Imperator?
posted by stebulus at 12:13 PM on June 30, 2015 [30 favorites]
Some good points in that article, but one remarkably obtuse one
There's a lot of obtuseness there, particularly in the discussion of Theron, who the author essentially says is too pretty to be a feminist:
Of course, Charlize Theron as Furiosa benefits from proximity to the supermodels who make her seem, by comparison, ferociously strong and a better actor than Meryl Streep. She’s tall enough to seem physically imposing, and she moves with athleticism. But she also brings with her the legacy of so many Dior perfume ads: the soft, tiny-nosed, blonde prettiness that her crew cut merely accentuates and that John Seale‘s lovely cinematography enshrines in innumerable close-ups. Just compare this example of onscreen feminism to Sigourney Weaver in Alien (1979). Weaver was six feet tall, odd, angular, smart and forceful, with highly individual, non-model looks and a remarkably ambitious actor’s resume, shot in unforgiving light and wearing a unisex worker’s uniform. In movies, we haven’t come a long way, baby.
Urgh.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:34 PM on June 30, 2015 [17 favorites]
There's a lot of obtuseness there, particularly in the discussion of Theron, who the author essentially says is too pretty to be a feminist:
Of course, Charlize Theron as Furiosa benefits from proximity to the supermodels who make her seem, by comparison, ferociously strong and a better actor than Meryl Streep. She’s tall enough to seem physically imposing, and she moves with athleticism. But she also brings with her the legacy of so many Dior perfume ads: the soft, tiny-nosed, blonde prettiness that her crew cut merely accentuates and that John Seale‘s lovely cinematography enshrines in innumerable close-ups. Just compare this example of onscreen feminism to Sigourney Weaver in Alien (1979). Weaver was six feet tall, odd, angular, smart and forceful, with highly individual, non-model looks and a remarkably ambitious actor’s resume, shot in unforgiving light and wearing a unisex worker’s uniform. In movies, we haven’t come a long way, baby.
Urgh.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:34 PM on June 30, 2015 [17 favorites]
And seriously, that bit about "resume"? Theron's resume in 2015 makes Weaver's resume in 1979 look like chickenshit. She's done serious, excellent, award-winning work across a range of genres. She has a best actress oscar, for Christ's sake, and she didn't exactly play a traditional "leading lady" to get it.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:38 PM on June 30, 2015 [18 favorites]
posted by mr_roboto at 12:38 PM on June 30, 2015 [18 favorites]
What does Furiosa need redemption for?
If you don't get this, I'd argue you really didn't get the whole movie. Otherwise it must look a huge incomprehensible mess.
posted by bonehead at 12:40 PM on June 30, 2015 [13 favorites]
If you don't get this, I'd argue you really didn't get the whole movie. Otherwise it must look a huge incomprehensible mess.
posted by bonehead at 12:40 PM on June 30, 2015 [13 favorites]
Yeah, the author of the article isn't wrong about Eve Ensler's unwarranted (IMO) position as the Ur-Feminist in terms of being a consultant in the movie but a lot of it sounds like she went in looking specifically for things to find un-feminist in the film.
posted by Kitteh at 12:44 PM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 12:44 PM on June 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
Apropos of nothing: this is also a movie in which the outcome of a crucial tactical moment is determined by which man can suck harder.
Best. Subversion. Ever.
posted by stebulus at 12:53 PM on June 30, 2015 [23 favorites]
Best. Subversion. Ever.
posted by stebulus at 12:53 PM on June 30, 2015 [23 favorites]
All I want to say is...
DADGUMIT I POSTED ABOUT THIS FIRST!
I almost did an FPP on Laura's essay, and then I thought, "Well, it's just a single link to Tumblr...." Should've had more faith in m'self, I reckon.
Whine, whine, whine....
posted by magstheaxe at 1:14 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
DADGUMIT I POSTED ABOUT THIS FIRST!
I almost did an FPP on Laura's essay, and then I thought, "Well, it's just a single link to Tumblr...." Should've had more faith in m'self, I reckon.
Whine, whine, whine....
posted by magstheaxe at 1:14 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
I approve of the fact that this is.....what? The 4th Fury Road post since the movie's come out that has taken off?
posted by Windigo at 1:17 PM on June 30, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Windigo at 1:17 PM on June 30, 2015 [7 favorites]
Oh, this is probably as good a time as any to ask: when Nux and that other Warboy are spitting gas into the tops of the engines to make them go faster: can you do that? Is this a thing that can actually be done? What part of the engine is that? How does that work?
That's the air intake. I doubt they're spitting gasoline; that would just flood the engine. It might be nitromethane or a nitromethane/alcohol mixture. It's used as a fuel in drag racers; it can burn much richer (i.e. with less oxygen) than gasoline.
posted by mr_roboto at 1:21 PM on June 30, 2015
That's the air intake. I doubt they're spitting gasoline; that would just flood the engine. It might be nitromethane or a nitromethane/alcohol mixture. It's used as a fuel in drag racers; it can burn much richer (i.e. with less oxygen) than gasoline.
posted by mr_roboto at 1:21 PM on June 30, 2015
What does Furiosa need redemption for?
If you don't get this, I'd argue you really didn't get the whole movie. Otherwise it must look a huge incomprehensible mess.
Yeah, I'm not clear how that author missed that Furiosa is a war boy herself -- indeed, a leader of the war boys, as the title Imperitor suggests. We never see the horrible things she must have done in this position, but, then, the film doesn't offer many backstories at all, instead allowing us to imagine the horrors that were the prelude to the movie.
posted by maxsparber at 1:22 PM on June 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
If you don't get this, I'd argue you really didn't get the whole movie. Otherwise it must look a huge incomprehensible mess.
Yeah, I'm not clear how that author missed that Furiosa is a war boy herself -- indeed, a leader of the war boys, as the title Imperitor suggests. We never see the horrible things she must have done in this position, but, then, the film doesn't offer many backstories at all, instead allowing us to imagine the horrors that were the prelude to the movie.
posted by maxsparber at 1:22 PM on June 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
He saw it five times! WITNESS HIM!!
Basically everyone I know saw it five times. Some of us watched it on Friday night and went back on Saturday or Sunday.
posted by pullayup at 1:35 PM on June 30, 2015
Basically everyone I know saw it five times. Some of us watched it on Friday night and went back on Saturday or Sunday.
posted by pullayup at 1:35 PM on June 30, 2015
Who had a mental illness in Mad Max?
Everyone.
It's part of the basis of that world.
posted by VTX at 1:46 PM on June 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
Everyone.
It's part of the basis of that world.
posted by VTX at 1:46 PM on June 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
I am utterly confounded by how many people seem to think Fury Road would have been improved by massive injections of Nolan-style exposition dumps.
MAX: At least that way we'll be able to...together...come across some kind of redemption.
FURIOSA: THAT IS GOOD BECAUSE I DID MANY TERRIBLE THINGS IN THE PAST IN ORDER TO GAIN MY POSITION AS IMPERATOR. LET ME TELL YOU WHAT THEY WERE.
* ten minute flashback, with narration and questions from other characters *
FURIOSA: NOW YOU UNDERSTAND WHY I NEED REDEMPTION. *breaks fourth wall, looks at audience*
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:57 PM on June 30, 2015 [19 favorites]
MAX: At least that way we'll be able to...together...come across some kind of redemption.
FURIOSA: THAT IS GOOD BECAUSE I DID MANY TERRIBLE THINGS IN THE PAST IN ORDER TO GAIN MY POSITION AS IMPERATOR. LET ME TELL YOU WHAT THEY WERE.
* ten minute flashback, with narration and questions from other characters *
FURIOSA: NOW YOU UNDERSTAND WHY I NEED REDEMPTION. *breaks fourth wall, looks at audience*
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:57 PM on June 30, 2015 [19 favorites]
*rips off fourth wall's face with bionic arm*
posted by stebulus at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by stebulus at 2:03 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
stebulus: Some good points in that article, but one remarkably obtuse one
Well, I think there were a lot of points missed. I think that particular review got hung up on the fact that some people touted Fury Road as a feminist movie, then extrapolated that to mean it was not going to be a smash 'em, crash 'em action flick of the standard sort (lots of fighting, dubious lines and imagery that lays the symbolism on with a putty knife).
That's why I paired that particular link with one that looked at Avengers: Age of Ultron as a counterpoint, even without focusing on how this is a bad-ass action flick featuring a woman with a prosthetic arm as the hero of the story. Yes, there will be some schlock, and it's not going to be perfect, but I'm clearly witnessing to the warboys (and girls) here that this is a great action film that doesn't retread all the sad, tired "women are weak/ insipid/ helpless/ in need of saving/ only looking for love" set of tropes.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:16 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well, I think there were a lot of points missed. I think that particular review got hung up on the fact that some people touted Fury Road as a feminist movie, then extrapolated that to mean it was not going to be a smash 'em, crash 'em action flick of the standard sort (lots of fighting, dubious lines and imagery that lays the symbolism on with a putty knife).
That's why I paired that particular link with one that looked at Avengers: Age of Ultron as a counterpoint, even without focusing on how this is a bad-ass action flick featuring a woman with a prosthetic arm as the hero of the story. Yes, there will be some schlock, and it's not going to be perfect, but I'm clearly witnessing to the warboys (and girls) here that this is a great action film that doesn't retread all the sad, tired "women are weak/ insipid/ helpless/ in need of saving/ only looking for love" set of tropes.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:16 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Everyone.
It's part of the basis of that world.
Some kind of civilization-wide psychosis via chemical or biological weapons or whatever handwavy macguffin could make that happen (doomsday-sized meth lab explosion?) actually makes more sense than anything else as a backstory to the franchise and explains away all the inconsistencies and I love it.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:51 PM on June 30, 2015
It's part of the basis of that world.
Some kind of civilization-wide psychosis via chemical or biological weapons or whatever handwavy macguffin could make that happen (doomsday-sized meth lab explosion?) actually makes more sense than anything else as a backstory to the franchise and explains away all the inconsistencies and I love it.
posted by jason_steakums at 3:51 PM on June 30, 2015
My assumption has always been that sanity became a weakness and the weak have all died. If things got bad enough you'd end up with a world where nobody who survived the collapse did so with having done awful stuff in a myriad of different ways and for different reasons good and bad. So everyone is messed up for some reason. Some people just sort of ran with it and you end up with guys like Imortan Joe and they spread their particular flavor of crazy. And then there are guys like Max who merely have extreme PTSD.
posted by VTX at 4:10 PM on June 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by VTX at 4:10 PM on June 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
imagery that lays the symbolism on with a putty knife
I wondered if there was something going on with all the people looking through binoculars and telescopes and things. Just a practical bit of tech for the post-apocalypse, or something symbolic too? Perception mediated by optical equipment for perception mediated by cultural complexes or something?
posted by stebulus at 4:45 PM on June 30, 2015
I wondered if there was something going on with all the people looking through binoculars and telescopes and things. Just a practical bit of tech for the post-apocalypse, or something symbolic too? Perception mediated by optical equipment for perception mediated by cultural complexes or something?
posted by stebulus at 4:45 PM on June 30, 2015
Hey fraula, here's some Fury Road trivia you might appreciate: when I watched it in Lyon, the subtitles used 'soyez témoins' to translate 'witness,' while in Genève they used 'admirez' (which seems like a curious choice to me).
Also my wife is pretty convinced that the screenwriters took 'witness' from the Islamic idea of shahada which has meanings of both witnessing and martyrdom. But then again, a quick Google search tells me that martyr comes from the Greek for 'to witness,' so...
posted by Peter J. Prufrock at 4:49 PM on June 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
Also my wife is pretty convinced that the screenwriters took 'witness' from the Islamic idea of shahada which has meanings of both witnessing and martyrdom. But then again, a quick Google search tells me that martyr comes from the Greek for 'to witness,' so...
posted by Peter J. Prufrock at 4:49 PM on June 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
Thanks ODiV for reminding us of The Mechanic. That was such a perfect scene: e.g. "Okay."
posted by cleroy at 6:14 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cleroy at 6:14 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
yellowbinder: In regards to the comic, one of the writers took to Twitter to defend depicted rape and demonstrated a complete misunderstanding of a lot of what made the movie important.
Um, that's beyond a "complete misunderstanding," that's serious "holy shit, did he really say that? Did he see the same movie I did, and come from the same planet I live on?"
posted by filthy light thief at 6:49 PM on June 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
Um, that's beyond a "complete misunderstanding," that's serious "holy shit, did he really say that? Did he see the same movie I did, and come from the same planet I live on?"
the use of institutionalised rape by Immortan Joe is not only central to the story but without it, the story could be viewed merely as a bunch of young spoilt girls whining about being kept in relative luxury by an older man who's concerned with their safety. Not really much room for dramatic tension there..!Let's count the ways this statement is wrong:
- Without "institutionalized rape," the young ladies (older girls?) would still be held captive against their will
- They were kept "in relative luxury" because they were to produce Immortan Joe's "perfect boys"
- He treats both the girls and the babies they grow as "his property"
posted by filthy light thief at 6:49 PM on June 30, 2015 [11 favorites]
They weren't called "breeders" because they raised dogs.
posted by VTX at 6:54 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by VTX at 6:54 PM on June 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Interviews also revealed that Immortan is short for Immortal Man, which means that Immortan Joe named himself after a minor DC superhero, so there's no lack of problems for that family.
That's a shame. I was certain it was a bastardization of "Important" as in Important Joe. Which tickled me to no end.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 6:34 AM on July 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's a shame. I was certain it was a bastardization of "Important" as in Important Joe. Which tickled me to no end.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 6:34 AM on July 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
And here I was thinking that it was some kind of descriptor--i.e., "immortan", "somebody who's immortal".
THEMOREYOUKNOW.GIF
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 6:59 AM on July 1, 2015
THEMOREYOUKNOW.GIF
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 6:59 AM on July 1, 2015
I appreciated how she pointed out that when there is a character with a disability in a movie - particularly big action/sci-fi/fantasy films - they are so often villains.
A friend and I were once watching a Hong Kong kung fu movie, and I quipped "You can always tell who the bad guy is in a movie like this, because he always has a physical deformity of some kind." It was a joke, you see, because we were watching The Crippled Masters. (True to form, although one of the heroes has no arms and the other has unusable legs, the villain has a big facial scar and a hump on his back.)
I was also cheered to see one of Australias more well known disability advocates acting in the movie - okay he was one of the bad guys but there was no back story, he just was. I literally smiled when he was first on screen.
Quentin Kenihan's character is named Corpus Colossus, he's another son of Immortan Joe, and the background materials indicate that he possesses a supergenius intellect. He's a major asset to his father's power structure, even if he's not able to ride out on raids.
There was one thing about Kenihan's cameo that hurt my suspension of disbelief, though. Obviously I know why things had to be done this way, but I couldn't help but notice that the plastic tubing of his nasal cannula was exceptionally clean. Couldn't they have added in some grime in post-production, at least?
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:19 AM on July 1, 2015
A friend and I were once watching a Hong Kong kung fu movie, and I quipped "You can always tell who the bad guy is in a movie like this, because he always has a physical deformity of some kind." It was a joke, you see, because we were watching The Crippled Masters. (True to form, although one of the heroes has no arms and the other has unusable legs, the villain has a big facial scar and a hump on his back.)
I was also cheered to see one of Australias more well known disability advocates acting in the movie - okay he was one of the bad guys but there was no back story, he just was. I literally smiled when he was first on screen.
Quentin Kenihan's character is named Corpus Colossus, he's another son of Immortan Joe, and the background materials indicate that he possesses a supergenius intellect. He's a major asset to his father's power structure, even if he's not able to ride out on raids.
There was one thing about Kenihan's cameo that hurt my suspension of disbelief, though. Obviously I know why things had to be done this way, but I couldn't help but notice that the plastic tubing of his nasal cannula was exceptionally clean. Couldn't they have added in some grime in post-production, at least?
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:19 AM on July 1, 2015
I couldn't help but notice that the plastic tubing of his nasal cannula was exceptionally clean.
Wow. Tough crowd tonight.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:57 PM on July 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Wow. Tough crowd tonight.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:57 PM on July 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
I assumed those in the upper echelon of the Citadel lived a relatively pampered life. If Joe's "prized breeders" can have clean white clothing, I don't think it's too hard to imagine Corpus Colossus and Rictus Erectus would have War Boy children on hand to clean their breathing apparatus.
posted by Dr-Baa at 7:08 AM on July 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Dr-Baa at 7:08 AM on July 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
Also my wife is pretty convinced that the screenwriters took 'witness' from the Islamic idea of shahada which has meanings of both witnessing and martyrdom.
It does? /confused actual Muslim
posted by cendawanita at 8:49 PM on July 2, 2015
It does? /confused actual Muslim
posted by cendawanita at 8:49 PM on July 2, 2015
I'm too lazy to dig around for etymology right now, but witness and martyr are occasionally interchangeable and definitely closely related words in Persian at least.
posted by yasaman at 10:42 PM on July 2, 2015
posted by yasaman at 10:42 PM on July 2, 2015
However it should be noted that the shahada is the testimonial of faith (the "there is no god but God" thing) and is not necessarily related to martyrdom. Istishad is more properly and commonly used to mean martyrdom.
posted by yasaman at 10:46 PM on July 2, 2015
posted by yasaman at 10:46 PM on July 2, 2015
I wondered if there was something going on with all the people looking through binoculars and telescopes and things. Just a practical bit of tech for the post-apocalypse, or something symbolic too?
A month later, and I don't have an answer, but it struck me as a callback to a (relatively) lighthearted scene in The Road Warrior where Max and the Aviator use binoculars and a telescope to spy on the refinery town.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 5:57 AM on July 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
A month later, and I don't have an answer, but it struck me as a callback to a (relatively) lighthearted scene in The Road Warrior where Max and the Aviator use binoculars and a telescope to spy on the refinery town.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 5:57 AM on July 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
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