Original horror stories, a sequel to an Aussie hit, and a Christmas film: the best of Australian cinema in 2024.
Articles on Mad Max
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Fury Road prequel is a testament to the power of storytelling in tackling the big issues of our time.
There is a glaring absence of Indigenous people and culture at the heart of the Mad Max films.
Even when Furiosa doesn’t speak, the new films are a huge step forward for the portrayal of women’s stories in the Mad Max world.
The film’s focus on Furiosa’s amputation exploits disability, and closes down the related commentary and critique previously expanded in each progressive Mad Max film.
The Mad Max films are set in an arid, barren, apocalyptic world known in the movies as ‘the wasteland’ – what does this tell us about the Australian environment?
To understand how ‘Furiosa’ and other new films challenge car culture’s male-centric conventions, it’s useful to look closely at how car culture has favoured a certain kind of male hero.
The movie franchise ‘Mad Max’ contains a cautionary tale about our over-reliance on fuel for vehicles. This dependence has been highlighted by the ‘freedom convoy’ and its relationships with fuel.
The Mad Max franchise offers a distinctively Australian take on the action genre. And the fifth film, Furiosa, promises to be yet another extravaganza
Climate scientists often bombard their audiences with facts and figures - a method of communication that often doesn’t work. Perhaps this is where cli-fi can step in, with its compelling characters and just slightly embellished science.
Australian cinema has offered striking, intelligent and forceful evaluations of our national identity. Rather than play an outdated gambling game this Australia Day, why not watch the best of Aussie film?
Mad Max is Australia’s most successful Oscar winner, scooping six statues. This testament to Australian filmmaking will have a big impact on the domestic industry.
It seems to me no coincidence that in Australian popular culture our founding colony is usually the site of major onscreen attacks. Might this speak of cultural guilt and repressed truths?
Mad Max: Fury Road has generated heated coverage since its release last month. But focussing on the film’s terse script may be missing the point: it should be read as a poem, and a provocative one at that.
From Furiosa’s revenge to Max’s exodus, there are shades of Judaism in this desert epic.
The Doof Warrior in Mad Max: Fury Road is a red-jumpsuited, masked guitarist, bungee-strapped to the front of the Doof Wagon, a massive, mobile speaker stack, replete with on-board drummers. What’s not to love?
There are metal spikes, sadistic implements of torture galore, massive machine guns mounted on the top of buggies, jeeps, motorcycles, and more leather than a Judas Priest concert. But does it work?
George Miller’s Mad Max films have aged remarkably well – perhaps because they have had such a profound influence on the films that followed them.
Top contributors
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Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Lecturer, Media, University of Tasmania
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Professor of Film Studies, Bangor University
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Former Honorary Research Associate, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University
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Deputy Director, Engagement and Impact, The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century, Australian National University
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Professor in Human Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London
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Honorary Fellow, RMIT University
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Lecturer in Music Industry, RMIT University
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Professor in Internet Studies, Curtin University
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Senior Lecturer, Griffith University
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Lecturer in Film Studies, King's College London
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Adjunct Professor, Centre for Culture and Technology, Curtin University
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Associate professor, English, University of Sydney
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PhD Candidate, School of Media, Film & Journalism, Monash University
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PhD Candidate, American Literature, Dalhousie University