Firstly, SPOILERS! However, why should you read this post if you haven’t looked yet – I have no idea 🙂
Secondly, modern feminism with its slogans and demands for SPECIAL treatment of women is a stupid and generally ungodly thing. And why Mad Max has the right feminism – read below.
You leave the cinema and your heart is still pounding a little. You almost reach the entrance door and only then do you notice your happy and at the same time most stupid smile. And there is only one thought in my head: “That was awesome”.
But really, it was awesome.
Inventive battle scenes, meticulous attention to detail, a clearly maintained and conveyed atmosphere, a minimum of computer graphics, an emotional soundtrack that sometimes makes you not understand whether it’s drums or the sound of cars hitting each other, and madness, madness, madness. As they say, “there are no words – only emotions”. But in this article I want to talk about Mad Max not so much as a film, not to praise its merits as an action movie. I want to tell you why this film is an ode to correct, healthy feminism, and not the one that is now popular in these Americas.
“Well, yes, Furiosa is a strong, fighting woman. But the presence of such heroines does not yet make the film feminist” – something like that you were thinking at the moment, right? If yes, then congratulations, you didn’t see a damn thing in this film, which only adds to its advantages. Feminism is not screaming, not beating its fists on the chest in a heart-rending cry: “WE ARE WOMEN, AND THAT MEANS WE ARE GODDESSES… uhm… NO WORSE THAN MEN!”, and feminism is calm, presented as “the way it should be”, not thrusting any important details right under the viewer’s nose, they say, “look! Saw?». Nothing like that. Everything was inserted into the film so organically that… men didn’t even notice, it didn’t cause rejection among men, it didn’t cause indignation among men (here you can remember the foreign blogger who called for a boycott of the film precisely because of feminism, but either he’s a troll or no better than the wrong feminists).
So… The Future. Destroyed world, desert. The main resources for which the struggle is being waged, which determine the power of the “tribe”, are gasoline, cartridges, nitro… Well, and water and fertile land. Yes, to the heap. Women in this world are both cows that give milk (apparently the most nutritious or even the only type of food), and weak-willed carcasses whose only purpose is to bear children, give new Fighters and new Cows.
And in such a world, with a similar attitude towards women, Furiosa appears, who somehow (we are not told the details, leaving them, apparently, for the next film, which has her name in the subtitle) wins for herself the right to be on an equal footing with men. Moreover, she is the leader of the detachment and it is she who is given the almost sacred right to lead the campaign for ammunition and gasoline.
Events are developing rapidly. In just a few minutes we learn that Furiosa went against Immortan Joe and helped his Wives, his treasures, his carcasses escape in order to bear “ideal specimens” – heirs. "We are not things", "Who destroyed the world?“,” “Our children will not be barbarians” – these are the slogans-messages the Wives leave for Joe in their cell. Classic, yes? Women who want independence want to be treated differently and blah blah blah. Enraged females, no less.
Very soon, these frantic females demonstrate strength of spirit, proving that they are not the useless ballast that Max initially mistook them for. Mulatto quickly learns to load a weapon and generally demonstrates considerable interest in it, Precious covers Furiosa with her body and helps in battle more than once, Little Black, although there was a moment of her weakness, pulls herself together and plays an important role in killing Joe, Pale also helps the whole group more than once, and in the end she even becomes the keeper of the seeds (more on this later), and I want to talk about Redhead separately. They are not “walking tits”, without sexual objectification, although they walk around in scraps of fabric that cover almost nothing – they are full-fledged participants in the action. They change truck wheels, cut chains, repair, reload weapons and much more. Even if they don’t know how to do a lot, even if they are cowardly, and they lack physical strength, they are still not the classic “princesses in distress”, which in many other films, books, and games exist only to designate a certain goal for the main character. They are full-fledged heroes of the story. On an equal footing.
But yes, women are women. In a fight, they try to bite and scratch, get hysterical, are emotionally unstable, and the like. And compared to them, Furiosa is something else. She is a great shooter, “emotional instability” is not at all about her. Not a single classic female vice is characteristic of her. When the Wives demand to return for Prelestya’s body, and Max refuses, she clearly asks: “What did you see?». After Max’s answer, an immediate reaction without the edge of doubt: “Let’s move on.”. No tears, no hysterics, although there is unconcealed sadness in the look.
There have been accusations against the film that the main character here is not Max at all, but Furiosa. Which is, in principle, true, but only partly. Yes, the director is clearly more interested in Furiosa than Max himself. But what’s surprising here?? The character of Max and his story have already been told in previous films, while Furiosa is fresh material to work with, and what’s fresh is more interesting. From the point of view of “coolness” and screen time devoted to the heroes, they are equal. Max and Furiosa are sometimes comically equal, this is especially clear in the next chase scene that follows immediately after crossing the canyon. Both heroes act incredibly coordinated: she leans out of the hatch, Max hands her a loaded weapon, while he himself continues to drive the truck. Enemies drive up from the left – both of them, without words, without even exchanging glances, lean out of the left window and shoot. Furiosa is approached from behind – Max insures. In this scene they are like two rivers, two currents that came together. The chemistry between the characters is conveyed better than in any other film where this is specifically emphasized.
They are equal. Furiosa is cool, but Max is not inferior. Max is cool, but Furiosa is not inferior. Each character has their own scenes in which you admire them. In some places, their equality is emphasized quite clearly. For example, when the steering wheel of the truck was torn out and you have to control the car with a wrench… Max, with a bloody hand, helps Furiosa, holding the wrench. However, a screenshot says it better than words:
So what is the right feminism, you ask?? In the absence of inactive princesses in trouble? Not without this. There is a strong woman who also plays one of the two main roles? Of course. All? No.
An ode to correct feminism lies in other details, and all of the above is just a prelude.
Wives, as I said above, remain women: hysterics, weakness, etc.n. When the Thousand Mothers are introduced into the story, the fight scenes with their participation even more clearly emphasize that Miller (the director) is not creating some unrealistic image of a woman. What am I talking about? About the fact that while the Thousand Mothers are fighting at a distance, while they have guns in their hands, and the enemy is at a sufficient distance, they are cool and distribute lyuli (within reason). As soon as the enemy approaches and only hand-to-hand combat remains, they have no chance. Women have never even been able to put up a normal block, and one good male blow is enough to take them out of the game. I would also like to remember the seemingly fleeting but important scene with the satellite… What old women say when they see a satellite in the sky? They remember TV series! TV series, Karl! A brief, fleeting, but clear illustration of women… Living conditions are such that they forced them to take up arms and fight with men on equal terms. But if everything were different, they would happily continue watching TV series and immerse themselves in the ups and downs of the relationship between Juan and Conchitta.
Remember the moment when Max was about to leave in a truck, leaving the women in the desert? When the jammer went off. Furiosa convinces him that he needs her, otherwise the truck simply won’t move. Max agrees, but: “Only you… These remain”. What did a person like Max see in these half-dressed women?? Who spends years wandering around the desert and has only one concern: to survive. He saw them as ballast. Stupid women who, under the circumstances, would be nothing but a burden. And Max, thinking logically, guided solely by the principle of survival, is absolutely right.
What’s next? In Furios, Max quickly recognizes his equal. He, without hesitation, hands her a gun in the canyon as soon as she enters the car, previously he did not take his sight off her until he could not trust her, thereby also recognizing that she can resist (by the way, he does not aim at his wife, mind you). A Wives? Only Precious, the main wife, demonstrates qualities that bring her closer to Furiosa (and maybe even make her equivalent, depending on how you look at it). She is the first to firmly head towards the truck when Max tries to leave them. She covers Furiosa with her body, knowing full well that Joe will not shoot at her. She crawls out of the safe interior of the truck, hangs on the door and cuts the chain with the harpoon, which has bitten into the dashboard of the car… And at the same time, she is pregnant, in recent months. When the child inside her begins to move and cause her pain, she does not betray herself in any way in the canyon, she endures. Not a sound.
And what do we see in the scene where Prelest very clearly dodged the rock?? A screenshot, as usual, will tell you better.
Treating a woman as a more https://casinolottoland.co.uk/ imperfect being, if she does not cross the boundaries of reason, is, whatever one may say, correct. Women are weak, narcissistic and, as already noted, emotionally unstable. But if suddenly a woman is deprived of all these shortcomings, if suddenly she deserves respect, then the reaction of an intelligent man, whose eyes are not clouded by prejudice, is to recognize the merits of this woman. Treat her as an equal. In everything. And treating an equal implies both communication and the opportunity to hit her thoroughly with a car door, if circumstances require it (which, in fact, Max also does 🙂 ). No concessions, in other words.
And also, this is the willingness to admit that a woman is better in some way, if this is really the case.
Now I’m talking about the very scene that caused indignation among some viewers. When Max gives Furiosa the sniper rifle with its last round and allows her to use his shoulder as a "solid surface"
There’s really nothing to be outraged about. In this very scene, Max fires two shots from his rifle, missing both times. “One cartridge left,” Mulatto reminds him. Furiosa comes up from behind. She doesn’t say a word, but only makes an awkward, even somewhat embarrassed gesture with her hands, as if saying: “Maybe, let me?». I was touched at that moment. What reverent attention to male pride 🙂 But Max is not a dork, Max has already demonstrated his sober view on the issue of attitude towards a woman. He gives her the rifle and agrees to be a “hard surface”, although he is clearly not very happy about this turn. In addition, do not forget that Max agrees to this arrangement for a reason. During the course of the film, the audience is twice very clearly shown that a woman is an excellent shooter. Not even like that… She shoots better than Max. And, more importantly, Max notices this, which the operator’s camera also clearly concentrates on. Therefore, in the scene described above everything is more complicated. A man does not bow down to a woman, as those who were outraged described it. The man realizes that in this situation, the fate of the last cartridge would be much better managed by Furiosa, because this has been proven to him more than once. And he’s just ready to admit it.
I repeat, this doesn’t make Max any less cool. This only makes him not omnipotent. And Furiosa and Prelest clearly demonstrated that they are capable of being equal with men. This means they deserve appropriate treatment. That’s all proper feminism. Not just "respect me, treat me as equal even though I’m a woman", no. And another: “yes, I’m a woman. But here are the facts, here are the actions where I prove that I am no worse. Admit it".
There are two more aspects in the film that I would like to talk about, although they have almost nothing to do with the issue of proper feminism. If interested, read on. If not, you can finish reading this, thank you for your attention.
About Redhead and the role of a woman in a relationship with a man
Nux and Redhead. Odd couple, yeah? I would like to immediately note that we are not talking about love. On his part, this is a childish attachment to someone who believed in him, to someone who pulled him out of the abyss of despair. With her – curiosity, faith, the role of a certain guardian angel.
Nux (or Nax, whichever is more convenient) – fanatic. A boy of 17-18 years old, raised from childhood in the wild, crazy customs of this world. Immortan Joe is God to him. The greatest triumph of his life was Joe’s approval, his attention. Literally a moment later the greatest fall of his life occurs. He disgraced himself in front of his idol. “Nothing,” says Joe. And Nax’s life ended at that moment, he just lies curled up somewhere on the roof of a truck, eaten up by self-hatred. But Redhead appears… It’s probably unknown what they were talking about, but through Redhead, through her attitude towards him, her kindness, faith in him, Nux undergoes some kind of… cleansing. Suddenly he wants to help, suddenly turns against Joe and generally takes the path of good.
Tell me, in your life there are examples of friends/acquaintances who, for example, led a very unhealthy lifestyle (well, they drank, took drugs, hung out in bad company), but then a woman appeared in their life and everything changed? A bad guy becomes a great guy.
What is it about? About very simple and vital things. That a woman can be an inspiration to a man. His light, his guiding star when it comes to sincere love. And no, this doesn’t mean that a woman controls a man or anything like that, no. She becomes a kind of beacon that will light the way in the night. Or a harbor that will accept a ship battered by a storm, allow it to gain strength and help it set off on a new voyage. A woman who is the keeper of the hearth, who is a support for a man, who covers his rear. A fighting friend, if you like… However, I’ll stop spouting epithets here. Thought, I think you understood even better than me 🙂
By the way, just an observation:
Contrasting masculine and feminine principles
Men and women. Male and female. We are different. It’s different. Not recognizing this is being a very stupid person.
But what is feminine and what is masculine?? Men are strength, they are aggression, they are determination, they are… destruction. Women are weakness, this is calmness, this is a family hearth, this is… the beginning of a new life.
What do we see in the film? While men are concerned about having a sufficient number of cartridges, benzack and nitro, women, represented by Thousand Mothers, are looking for fertile soil, water and carefully storing seeds. Men created a new religion, where combat is something sacred, and dying in battle is an honor for every young man. Women dream of finding new Green Lands or at least fertile soil and creating these Lands themselves.
It is Furiosa who kills Joe. It is with the arrival of Furiosa in the Citadel that we are given a clear understanding that the future and hope for restoration, the beginning of a new life belong to women.
I note that this message in the film should not be taken as some kind of humiliation of men and exaltation of women. No. I see simple symbolism here, a simple distinction between male and female, without any indication of the dominant role of one of the sexes. After all, without destroying the old you cannot build a new one. After all, a woman is not able to give new life if there is no man.
Instead of a positive:
Best comments
Either I don’t know anything about these male-female isms of yours, or the heat has completely baked my brain, but it seems like captaincy is at the level of nine thousand, not?
In general, now that I’ve had some sleep and thought a little, I realized that I mostly didn’t enter into something else: wherever you mention the notorious “correct feminism,” I would say something like “this is logical”. But this is rather my stubborn misunderstanding of the term “feminism” and all these movements for equality and the rest.
Just as a fun fact: I just read the title of the topic as “Ode to Correct Fascism”. And I even thought a little.
It’s simple. If a homeless person comes up to you and asks you to prove the existence of a solar system, you will actually sit and prove to him? I will personally pass by.
It’s a bad example, and I’m not even talking about the fact that you’ve now equated the guy to a homeless person. Here, rather, you yourself went up to the homeless man and said that there is a solar system, and he doesn’t give a damn to you – the world is flat. And the initiator of this dispute is more likely you than him.
Yes, no one seemed to think of being offended.
And arguing with believers is quite fun (until they tie you to a pole and start setting you on fire, of course), because they have quite a lot of bombs. But this is so, a lyrical digression.
For example, I largely agree with you. Especially about the wrong feminism in Western countries and what this feminism should really be.
But for example, I also didn’t have any particular idea that Furiosa was a girl at all. She’s just… a guy with tits. And such girls really exist, just as there are “women with pussy”. Apparently this somehow… offends you.
In general, this is not the first time I’ve seen you raise a gender issue, and in a feminist way. From this we can conclude that whoever hurts is the one who saw it in the film. And the fact that most of your friends didn’t notice all these things in the film only says that they are quite normal guys who don’t give a damn about this topic.
I wanted to convey the idea that suddenly, a film made by a man seems to touch on themes of equality – and it presents it in the best possible way, more correctly and yes, more logically.
Maybe the secret of this logic is precisely that it was filmed by a man. A man’s view of women’s freedom, a man’s view of feminism that is simply logical, you’re right, and does not bash your brain with stupid, unfounded slogans.
I read an article by a foreign blogger, no, it’s definitely not a troll. And he’s not the only one who’s bombing: “Max in the Indian Kingdom,” that’s how this film should have been titled. I don’t know what roads director George Miller had in mind, but I hope that when creating the action movie they weren’t cocaine tracks. The picture is terrible. It feels like Hollywood has gone back to the 1930s. The only thing that saves you from complete disappointment is the well-choreographed stunts. In the story about Max, Rockatansky is de facto 0%. Feminists lobbied for the plot of the film, threatening otherwise to drag the creators through the courts for sexism and discrimination. As a result, the disabled woman Furiosa: rescues young concubines from sexual slavery, drives the truck herself, fights the bandits herself (and very successfully), and develops a plan of action herself. Why she even needs Max is not clear in the whole picture. Healthy, two-meter “boars” drink breast milk and die in batches from the shots of gray-haired old women who are defending the truck. The young bandit, who was decomposing at the beginning of the film, towards the end of the film, cheerfully jumps on cars. Australia, in which (according to the original plot), the energy crisis has just begun, looks incredibly older than its years, as if not years, but centuries have passed since the death of civilization. But the apotheosis of absurd tolerance becomes Max himself, hiding in a hiding place with two pregnant concubines. In one word – BULLSHIT. A film from the second category, like the one about Sharkopus and Crocosaurus.
Despite all the apparent masculinity of the genre, the film turns out to be almost feminist in its essence. Thus, the character of the warrior Furiosa is developed much more carefully than Max himself: the latter hardly has ten lines in the entire film. They are accompanied by wives who have escaped from their tyrant husband, and at one of the turns they meet a tribe of Amazons on motorcycles. This is a film about the fact that women are tired of men who torture and use them, and want to get rid of them – they are ready to confirm this desire by shooting from large-caliber weapons. “Fury Road” is a fairly convincing film about emancipation (feminists can honestly thank the director), and Max in this world appears as one of the few decent people, even though he is a man.
although he didn’t even watch the movie. Although I myself do not quite understand why George Miller consulted with Feminists on the topic “how best for actresses to get used to the image of Sex Slaves,” IMHO it is better to consult on this topic with Pakistani women who were doused with acid for refusing or with Arab women whose clitoris was cut off so as not to cheat.
No no, I’m too lazy to make an excuse.
In my opinion, the guy is right about something, and your desire to divert the topic from this conversation suggests that you simply have nothing to cover this argument with.
No feminism. Women they remained women – crybabies and serial addicts, as rightly noted. And Furiosa is a typical butch, there are still such people today. You don’t treat them like women, I don’t know, but many people who have such acquaintances will understand me. Boys, that’s all. There are fake ones that I just pretend to be. There are real ones – like Furiosa. But this does not confirm feminism, because, as you know, exceptions only confirm the rule.
For repeatedly writing “Wife” with an “e” you should be executed with a uranium poker. And I’m not kidding. Hellishly tortured to death with irradiation of the whole family.
And yet. Feminism as a line is certainly shown in an interesting way, and is, of course, present in the film. But. Max is not talking about that. And not even close to talking about it. Max is about finding himself, about moving towards a dream, about devastation and trying to survive in it, about forgotten souls on a forgotten land in a godforsaken world, and undoubtedly about mad drive and bang-bang-booms.
Of course, even in such a world, not everyone is equal, because the hierarchy is still very broken, but still built by men. But, as it were, outside of this little world of theirs with water and greenery, in the desert where everyone is for himself and there are no economic relations, no one absolutely gives a damn whether you have tits or a penis. And this is determined by the world itself. And it’s obvious. And that same feminism is shown in an interesting way, because it’s not what was shown. And an interesting world, part of which is universal equality, achieved not because someone achieved something and demanded the right. But because the world shown is structured this way.
In the end, the point is: whoever sees this understands it and is not interested, because it is far from the main thing. And who doesn’t, especially. But we can probably be happy for you.
You saw it, you’re great. My boyfriend watched the film twice, but only noticed it after my explanations. If this is captaincy for everyone, well, ok… So the world is not completely rotten, and my boyfriend is an inattentive dork 🙂