OPINION: Hollywood take note, I’m going to see “Mad Max: Fury Road” because of Furiosa
May 20, 2015
Maybe you, like me, haven’t seen “Mad Max: Fury Road” yet. But for the last three days you’ve been bombarded with people telling you to go see it. Friends, co-workers and half of my Facebook feed have said it’s a must-see-movie.
Their number one reason for recommending? Charlize Theron’s co-starring role as Furiosa. According to the reviews I’ve read and my friends, Theron might as well have been dubbed as the leading lady to begin with because the film is mostly about her.
The movie is all about her being a kickass lady chomping at the bit to fight, winning against all odds and saving the day while the film’s namesake, Max himself, has been more subdued. And that sounds awesome!
Strong female characters aren’t often portrayed beside male action hero counterparts. There’s usually something quieter about them or maybe more sexualized. In fact, they’re usually a love interest.
So far I haven’t heard any of that about Theron’s character, instead hearing from many other feminists that they loved her character.
Self-proclaimed feminist website The Mary Sue has been covering a lot about Mad Max, and it’s all been good, from reviews to the feminism found in the film to just pure fan love of Furiosa.
The Mary Sue also covered the perspective of Men’s Rights Activist (MRA) blogger Aaron Clarey,
who declared a boycott against “Fury Road” because of Furiosa starring over Max.
Clarey’s rallying cry was that if “Fury Road” makes it big, audiences around the world “will never be able to see a real action movie ever again that doesn’t contain some damn political lecture or moray about feminism, SJW-ing and socialism.”
Oh no! Equality of men and women in films! What will my explosions and giant car crashes be like if there are badass ladies involved? Everything will be ruined! What’s next? Human sacrifice? Dogs and cats, living together? Mass hysteria? Or Not.
How about success? You did it Hollywood! Somebody out there under the big white sign has been listening, and people are happy about it.
The proof is in the pudding. The proof is in the pudding. While “Pitch Perfect 2” definitely blew “Fury Road” out of the water, the film was a box office success this past weekend, earning $50,767,601 domestically and $115,767,601 worldwide, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
In a Forbes article, part of that success was attributed to not only the way females were portrayed in the film, but in the sheer quantity of them.
Most action films get one or two female characters, tops. The good guy’s love interest and the sexy bad girl, who often gets in on the action but only if she’s in a fight scene with the other female character. And if there are any other women in the film at all, it’s probably because they’re a group of victimized young ladies who need to be saved by the main character.
“Fury Road,” in having many different females shown in the film, didn’t have to portray the entirety of the gender through two characters. All the different women can protray different characteristics without one making or breaking the film for female audience members.
The Forbes writer cites Black Widow in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” as a great example of this. Fans were up in arms about Black Widow’s romantic sub-plot, but would it have been such a big deal if she wasn’t bearing the weight of the portrayal of an entire sex on her shoulders?
Hardcore angry fans would certainly disagree, but I think it makes a whole lot of sense and Hollywood execs worrying about the reception of their single female character should definitely take note.
So Hollywood, listen up, I wasn’t going to watch this movie in theaters. Now, because of Theron and Furiosa I’m going to go watch it- and bring a ton of friends with me.