The more I sit with Beyond Thunderdome in particular, the more I like it through the lens of myth and story. This is the version of a Max story you'd tell a bunch of gathered children - the edges smoothed out, but not sanded off. Max's decision at the end of the Thunderdome fight and Aunty Entity's at the end of the chase work really well as this showcase of honor and mercy, pedagogically.
That and recasting Bruce Spence as a second small aircraft pilot is such an inspired meta-textual bit. You've only ever pictured one guy doing this sorta thing in this setting, of course you'd recycle that image in your head as someone told you this story.
Really great point about the Bruce Spence casting - I love the idea of this functioning in line with the series' thesis. And yes, I think Beyond Thunderdome is in some ways the fulcrum of the whole series - the film in which Miller's ideas about, as you say, myth and story start to become explicit, and pave the way for the more focused explorations of the Furiosa films.
Your essay got me to thinking about the first Mad Max movie, and I don't think I've seen it since I was a young'un. So I pulled it up on a streaming service and, wow, that's a good movie! It has a kind of "art house" feel to it (although it might be more accurate to call it a "film student" feel). It also has nods to the horror movie genre, with a few jump scares and some suspense-inducing soundtrack moments. And there were occasional moments when I suspected they were riffing on Star Wars (although maybe it's just that a young Mel Gibson looked a bit like a young Mark Hamill).
As I watched it, I really enjoyed thinking about how it was a foundational myth, as if I am an observer from the world of Furiosa, sitting around the fire and hearing the tale of the original hero, when the world was different. It really worked that way, thinking about how the latest movies draw on nascent motifs in the original — barely noticable, as if they are shadows from the ancient past. This was your essay's inspiration for me, so thank you! It really helped me understand why I like the new movies so much.
Thank you for reading and I'm so glad you enjoyed! I honestly felt like I didn't deal heavily enough with the first one here, since it's great, but the kinds of ideas I'm dealing with here are more present with each successive installment basically.
This is such a great analysis of the franchise as a whole and really helped me solidify my understanding of the earlier films!
“There is, in the end, an inescapable optimism to George Miller’s Mad Max films, as strange as it may sound to say it.” — definitely the conclusion I also came to in the wake of Fury Road and Furiosa. We’re may be in the Wasteland but we’re all just searching for our better selves.
The more I sit with Beyond Thunderdome in particular, the more I like it through the lens of myth and story. This is the version of a Max story you'd tell a bunch of gathered children - the edges smoothed out, but not sanded off. Max's decision at the end of the Thunderdome fight and Aunty Entity's at the end of the chase work really well as this showcase of honor and mercy, pedagogically.
That and recasting Bruce Spence as a second small aircraft pilot is such an inspired meta-textual bit. You've only ever pictured one guy doing this sorta thing in this setting, of course you'd recycle that image in your head as someone told you this story.
Really great point about the Bruce Spence casting - I love the idea of this functioning in line with the series' thesis. And yes, I think Beyond Thunderdome is in some ways the fulcrum of the whole series - the film in which Miller's ideas about, as you say, myth and story start to become explicit, and pave the way for the more focused explorations of the Furiosa films.
Your essay got me to thinking about the first Mad Max movie, and I don't think I've seen it since I was a young'un. So I pulled it up on a streaming service and, wow, that's a good movie! It has a kind of "art house" feel to it (although it might be more accurate to call it a "film student" feel). It also has nods to the horror movie genre, with a few jump scares and some suspense-inducing soundtrack moments. And there were occasional moments when I suspected they were riffing on Star Wars (although maybe it's just that a young Mel Gibson looked a bit like a young Mark Hamill).
As I watched it, I really enjoyed thinking about how it was a foundational myth, as if I am an observer from the world of Furiosa, sitting around the fire and hearing the tale of the original hero, when the world was different. It really worked that way, thinking about how the latest movies draw on nascent motifs in the original — barely noticable, as if they are shadows from the ancient past. This was your essay's inspiration for me, so thank you! It really helped me understand why I like the new movies so much.
Thank you for reading and I'm so glad you enjoyed! I honestly felt like I didn't deal heavily enough with the first one here, since it's great, but the kinds of ideas I'm dealing with here are more present with each successive installment basically.
Came here on Brett Devereaux’ recommendation and will stick around. Great piece.
Thank you! Very happy to have you!
This is such a great analysis of the franchise as a whole and really helped me solidify my understanding of the earlier films!
“There is, in the end, an inescapable optimism to George Miller’s Mad Max films, as strange as it may sound to say it.” — definitely the conclusion I also came to in the wake of Fury Road and Furiosa. We’re may be in the Wasteland but we’re all just searching for our better selves.
Thank you for reading, I'm very glad you found it compelling! Incredibly rich and rewarding movies in my view.
You’ve done so well to express the core of this franchise. —Now you’ve got to expand the analysis to Babe and Happy Feet. :]
Thank you! - and tbh I have heard this from a couple people...might have to get in there...