Idris Elba Wanted to Rethink Djinn Myth to Play One in 'Three Thousand Years of Longing'
This is perhaps why the Doof Warrior and his screaming solos become so easy to love, despite his association with the villains.'Three Thousand Years of Longing': George Miller Follows 'Fury Road' with Another Dazzling Cinematic Feat - Toolkit
#Mad max guitar guy movie
Immortan’s men are clearly menacing and predatory – but they are also safely enshrined within an action movie narrative in which hypermasculinity is under threat.Īt the same time, the playful, creative and outright fun elements of this culture are turned up to 11 and give the movie a large part of its appeal. What we see onscreen is a gratuitous and spectacular representation of traditional Australian masculinities. Miller is careful, however, to distinguish Immortan’s horde from the underclass he and his indoctrinated followers terrorise: they are the true battlers of Fury Road. Call them bogans, if you must.ĭoing so introduces the element of class to a reading of the film. Immortan’s horde resemble the disempowered, disenfranchised petrol-heads who are so maligned in Australian culture. Fury Road speaks to car culture and good old Aussie pub rock. There’s a distinctly Australian accent to the film’s critique of hyper-masculinity. Although it is no longer uncommon to see women playing electric guitars, this has taken decades to achieve, and female guitar heroes are still marginalised in the genre.Īs such, it makes perfect sense that this is the instrument that takes such a prominent place in the film – it’s not just used, but venerated. Too often, rock and roll is seen as “a man’s game”. This is partly to do with its phallic nature – and the fiery emissions from the guitar in the movie encourage this reading. The electric guitar has long been coded as a masculine instrument in western culture. It is no coincidence that it’s an electric guitar that plays these men into battle. They adhere to a warrior dogma and they’ve elevated car culture to a way of life. The film’s vision of predatory, destructive hyper-masculinity is clearly conveyed through the culture of Immortan Joe – lord of The Citadel and the film’s primary antagonist – and his followers. Pictures and © Roadshow Films Guitar rock on Fury Road Hugh Keays-Byrne as Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). In Fury Road he is often placed into positions within the action narrative that are occupied by women, and he doesn’t seem to mind. After all, he is something of a spectator and was a cajoled participant in the earlier films as well. Perhaps too much has been read into Max’s “diminished role” here.
The exception – the film’s hero, Max – is an outsider. The men, on the other hand, are portrayed as violent, cruel and selfish. This is most obvious in the rescued “brides” at the heart of the film (who represent an extreme version of femininity), but even the tougher Furiosa’s role is to strive and care for others.
The women are nurturing, kind and selfless – and they display a suite of heroic values such as fearlessness, physical strength and resourcefulness. The use of masculine and feminine signifiers creates an unbridgeable divide between the two groups of characters. The entire cast of the film is divided clearly along gender lines, and it is obvious that the men are the “bad guys”, while the women (and Max) are the ones we are supposed to be rooting for. As it transpires, the film goes far beyond just having a main female character. It seems to make perfect sense, as well, in the Mad Max world, that of course you have a bungee guitarist riffing you to war.īut why does this seem so right? What kind of man’s world is this?Ĭritics have been preoccupied with the gender politics of Fury Road.Įven before the release of the film, so-called “Men’s Rights Activists” were up in arms about the apparent focus on the female protagonist, Imperator Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron) instead of Max himself. This combination of visual and aural aspects makes the Doof Warrior the focus of any scene he is in.
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