Aim 1 Text 1 [How is the female protagonist progressive? - independent, decision maker, leader and in positions of power]
"Only 12% of all clearly identifiable protagonists were female in 2014. Females accounted for 30% of all speaking characters (includes major and minor characters) in 2014"[21]. This Information shows the lack of female leaders in modern film. For some reason, broadcast audiences want to see men as their protagonists. Mad Max rejects this with Furiosa as a main protagonist, and the five wives as equally crucial and important aspects of the narrative.
The five wives at first appear to conform to the common archetypes of damsels in distress, dependant on others, but as the film continues their characters develop and they become resilient, adaptable, and violent in order to survive and help. In turn, Furiosa begins as this beacon of independence, who barely bats an eye when she picks off each war boy around her, hell bent on her mission to a new world, exclusively populated by females. By the end of the film, not only has Max gained her trust, but Nux, the warboy also joins the group, eventually taking the wheel and sacrificing himself for them. Also how we have a contrast of strong female and weak sex objects that both come to be incredibly useful despite differences (Breaks the mould of archetypes)
Furiosa's plot-defining decisions as leader of the text include; Swerving off the road to bullet town and to the east/ driving war rig 70% of the time/ giving max signal to drive/ telling everyone to stay in the war rig.
The five wives at first appear to conform to the common archetypes of damsels in distress, dependant on others, but as the film continues their characters develop and they become resilient, adaptable, and violent in order to survive and help. In turn, Furiosa begins as this beacon of independence, who barely bats an eye when she picks off each war boy around her, hell bent on her mission to a new world, exclusively populated by females. By the end of the film, not only has Max gained her trust, but Nux, the warboy also joins the group, eventually taking the wheel and sacrificing himself for them. Also how we have a contrast of strong female and weak sex objects that both come to be incredibly useful despite differences (Breaks the mould of archetypes)
At 39:00:00. Furiosa allows Max to drive away in her war rig, only for him to stop after a few yards due to a sequence of 'Kill switches' that only allow Furiosa to be able to drive the rig. 01:00:30. Cheedo goes running towards Immortan Joe's motorcyclist, and Furiosa shoots him dead before he gets close, knowing they had a better chance at survival if they continued to escape.
Furiosa demonstrates leadership skills and becomes not only the wives, but Max AND the Vulvalini's way to freedom. She does this by adopting masculine traits such as violence and ambiguity while keeping her femininity with a costume that establishes her female physique, but not in a way that deliberately entices the male audience, eradicating the need to abuse her sexuality to get her way, and leaving only her strength and smarts. Examples of ways she out-performs the masculine presence in terms of intelligence/ bravery/ smarts in the text are; Her and the rest of the females represent life, birth, hope, humanity, and quite literally - seeds. The men are cancerous, angry, and are seen to be falling into the old ways (how the world ended in the first place) by guzzling gas, fighting wars, creating a dictatorship. This is emphasised by the writing the wives leave in their prison "Who killed the world?" (Men). The women reject the religion/cult following the men had developed, they seek life, and two of them are pregnant - while the men have no regard for life - killing and sacrificing themselves.
Aim 1 Text 2 [How is the female protagonist progressive? - independent, decision maker, leader]
The names of female protagonists in the sci fi genre are more likely to be remembered due to the fact that there are hundreds of sci fi films with male protagonists, and very few with females: (Ripley/Trinity/Leia). 12% of sci fi leading roles are female [22] in the film industry. Sucker punch conforms to this data, as what appears to be an empowering feminine film where the females are in charge - is actually a film completely ruled by masculinity. In each of the fighting sequences, before the girls go out to battle, an old man who is implied to be a 'guardian angel' briefs them on the mission and tells them what to do, showing how this man controls even her own fantasy action sequences. The girls do not speak in these sequences, reminiscent of a time in the 60's where women were seen and not heard. In the case of sucker punch, the prostitute-esque level of clothing ensures that the girls are definitely seen. From many angles. Another aspect of the men being in control of the girls while giving an illusion of independence comes from the psychologist who controls the girls medical procedures and wellbeing. Dr Gorski is a maternal figure who is seen tending to the girls and protecting them - to an extent. When she makes independent statements or tries to help the girls, Blue(the head of the brothel) grabs her by the neck and says "You belong to me". It's later revealed that he also forges her signature on medical papers to allow him to give girls lobotomies, so that he can sexually abuse them. This shows that even the authority figure of Dr Gorski is crushed by the masculine presence in the text.
However, Babydoll (the protagonist) does make significant, plot altering decisions, which does revere her as a leading character. She decides to help everyone escape, and also thinks of the plan. She also forces Sweet Pea to escape while sacrificing herself. All these scenarios end positively... to an extent. The girls reliance on their sexuality is what brings them down, it's all they know, so when the distraction of Babydoll seductively dancing doesn't work, they have no alternative, hence - Rocket getting stabbed by the cook when he falls out of the sexually induced trance. In fact, the narrative only comes to a close, and the corrupt patriarchy destroyed when Dr Gorski informs the police that Blue had been forging her signatures. The whole situation was out of their hand the whole time, reinforcing the fact that these girls had no power.
Theme of surrendering. She creates alternate worlds to escape from torture in asylum/ Having sex in brothel (You will never have me). Only free at the end when she surrenders to high roller, or when she gets lobotomised.
Aim 2 Text 1 [Are the females represented as taking on stereotypical masculine traits such as violence and aggression?]
Masulinity within sci-fi is a tool used to appease the generally masculine audience. Mad Max rejects this, however. The film leans slightly towards feminism with it's heroic female presence alongside the very masculine Max. This feminism is emphasised with the fact that George Miller had the five wives speak to the writer of the 'Vagina Monologues' before production began, to give an insight into what it means to be female. Of course, Mad Max, a classic mens film would not be complete without at least a few seconds of scopophilia from the five wives washing themselves near the start.
The Warboys in Mad Max are a great representation for masculinity in this dystopia. They worship an ultra-masculine self proclaimed god who farms and breeds women. They mindlessly kill, and kill themselves in the name of glory and honour, and they're wasteful, careless and violent. In the dystopian wasteland, this sets the bar for masculinity.
A great example of females taking on the masculine traits are shown with the Vulvalini. The Vuvalini (A very feminine name) are a group of elderly women that have learned to switch between masculinity and maternity in order to live in the wasteland. They curse, they're violent, they fight bravely and with honour, they know how to use weapons, protect themselves, and they drive motorbikes. They not only adopt the masculinity but they manipulate it, they use a naked woman as bait, knowing that it would be a man driving by, and that they'd be stupid enough* to fall for it.
On the other hand, the Vulvalini are a very gentle and maternal, they're clever enough to be wary of everyone regardless of gender (they do lean slightly towards males), as they inspect the wives as well as Max and Nux carefully before approaching them. One of the mothers has a bag of seeds, showing how women represent life, birth, and hope. The fact that they're called The Many Mothers is a stark contrast to the bleak 'Warboys'. The word 'Warboys' suggests that the society is not matured, less evolved, and focused on causing chaos rather than healing the planet. The term 'Many Mothers' suggests that these older, wiser women are here to create a new world that they could nurture (Mothers taking control of misbehaving boys).
Furiosa represents a happy medium of masculinity/femininity. She takes on all the masculine traits mentioned, yet descends from the many mothers, illustrated by how she takes care of everyone, and pretty much controls the entire plot. This is conveyed through her genderless appearance and attitude. She is dressed with efficiency and capability in mind; a simple light shirt, long trousers tucked into large boots, and sealed onto her shirt with a few belts. This neither male or female attire, coupled with a masculine haircut compensated by Charlize Theron's naturally feminine features illustrates how Furiosa is a combination of masculinity and femininity.
Aim 2 Text 2 [Are the females represented as taking on stereotypical masculine traits such as violence and aggression?]
The progressive female protagonist is a relatively new character that has been introduced to film, as a response to the concern that females are not represented equally in the industry, "The average ratio of male to female actors is 2.25:1" [16]. Usually, within the sci-fi genre, the easiest way to bring a female up the ranks into the circle of the 'most significant characters', is to either make her sexually attractive, or make her out-do the males in terms of masculinity and violence, as shown in Battlestar Galactica: Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace Who's described by Cat Collins as "Foulmouthed, hard-drinking" [20] and The Matrix: Trinity "The leather-clad Trinity is a hardass". As stated in 'The Hollywood Action and Adventure film', some directors make the female protagonists more masculine in order to fit into the mould of the traditional male protagonistin sci-fi; "Hollywood action movies frequently minimize[d] the narrative significance accorded to female characters - Hollywood's female action heroes [were] are little more than figurative males"[15].
This conforms to the 5 main characters of Zach Snyder's Suckerpunch [2]. These are young, attractive women in a patriarachal world, who turn to their imagination where they dominate over men on battlefields and military operations, while sporting sexual and attractive uniforms at the same time as acting incredibly masculine, all without getting a hair out of place, or smudging their makeup. "Portraying its female action heroes as prostitutes dressed in fetish-fuel gear" [7] This supports the point that these females keep the characterstics that makes them physically attractive to men, while adopting the personalities and violence that men seek in escapism such as videogames etc.
In the scene in Suckerpunch where the girls have to kill two dragons, an orc army, and an army of knights, there are many aspects of the dialogue and action sequences that support my point that action/sci-fi films that try to incorporate females as the leading protagonists often construct the character to appease the male audience - and so the female has the characteristics and ideals of males while also being consciously sexually attractive. The song used in the sequence is 'Search and Destroy' by Iggy Pop, covered by Skunk Anansie. The fact that this song was specifically covered for this text, makes the fact that it's sung by a girl very significant, as the song is written from the perspective of a man. Lyrics such as 'I'm the runaway son of a nuclear a-bomb' and 'I'm the worlds forgotten boy, with a heart full of napalm' also contributes to the concept that these girls have male personalities, but associates this with chemical warfare as if; to be male, means to be violent and explosive.
The leader of the group of girls is a relatively older man who instructs them on their mission as they listen silently. In most of these pre-battle briefs, this unnamed man is the only one who speaks throughout the whole scene, suggesting not only that females are ruled over by men, and could not function without them, but reduces the value of female dialogue, suggesting that females are used for their physicality rather than their voice.
After a propane tank with a flare taped to it is dropped into the battlefield, the team member (Amber) flying the plane around the fortress comments on the explosion with a nonchalant, seductive looking smirk; "Nice". This small and somehow sexual appreciation of the violence and chaos is behaviour Synder has encoded into the text to appeal to the male viewers, men can now associate with Amber, while also finding her sexually attractive.
Aim 3 Text 1 [Are the females objectified? Comparing and contrasting a variety of characters]
As said previously, the only female objectification in Mad Max is that of the five wives at the very start, when they are still chained up. When the war rig stops momentarily for the five wives to wash themselves, and remove their chastity belts, the scene is flooded with soft light, extreme close ups, and general fragmentation in slow motion while what can only be described as medical bandages covering their privates are conveniently sprayed with a giant phallic water hose. This is the only scene in the film where they are deliberately shown as sexual objects, and it's also the first impression we have of them. This serves only to deepen the character development. The transition from sexual tools to strong, independent heroines is illustrated with the lack of immediate focus on their bodies as the film continues, and the increased parts they play in the dialogue. Their costumes remain the same however, as an illustration that beautiful women in film are not just background props.
George Miller allegedly had the wives go into a room with many different cloths and materials [17], and had them design their own outfits. The women knew their characters and how brave they were, they know how they rejected the idea of being sex objects and yet they chose to wear what was considered objectifying clothing because they understood the development of the characters and the importance of how they were shown at the start.
George Miller allegedly had the wives go into a room with many different cloths and materials [17], and had them design their own outfits. The women knew their characters and how brave they were, they know how they rejected the idea of being sex objects and yet they chose to wear what was considered objectifying clothing because they understood the development of the characters and the importance of how they were shown at the start.
Aim 3 Text 2 [Are the females objectified? Comparing and contrasting a variety of characters]
In the parts of the text that Babydoll (the protagonist) is imagining, she and her fellow inmates wear very revealing clothing, tailored for prostitutes. The initial part of the text (The only part that's real) features her wearing a very modest, almost childlike pair of pyjamas. Only when she's in her own mind, do the costumes become more vulgar, and the environments become more violent. This is not only very objectifying to the females who have to spend 90% of the text in drag, but it suggests that every female has a subconscious need to be objectified.
The girls are also objectified through dialogue. Blue refers to them as "My girls" several times throughout the text, and when one is disobedient she is killed. He coaxes an apology out of Amber, whom he then forgives and consoles. He then proceeds to shoot her in the head in front of the rest of the girls as an example to people who cross him. This is Blue degrading the girls to the status of mere objects.
Zach Snyder states "I did not shoot the girls in an exploitive way", "I didn’t shoot the movie to exploit their sexuality. There’s no close-ups of cleavage, or stuff like that. I really wanted it to be up to the viewer to feel those feelings or not" [8]. This is inaccurate, as there are many parts of the fight scenes where specifically Babydoll jumps over a camera, baring her underwear, and also many cartwheels. The only part of the film where they're not objectified by their clothing is at the end when they are free, as they choose to wear what they like. The rest of the film shows them being forced to wear the vulgar uniforms because they're being forced to have sex with men. He says that the idea of the girls dancing to the audience of men who sit quietly in the dark represents us, the audience; "The men in the dark are basically me: dorky sci-fi kids." This is emphasises the point that the girls were objectified as a representation of how they appeal to the audience which is largely comprised of male sci-fi fans.
*I consider the male characters in this dystopian future to be stupid, sexist, and sick, unrelated to real life males.
Cultural Hegemony
Bechdel Test
(1) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) George Miller
DVD - Australia - Warner Bros
(2) Suckerpunch (2011) Zach Snyder
DVD - United States - Warner Bros
(3) Allison Pearson (2015) Why every mum should take their son to see Mad Max: Fury Road
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/mother-tongue/11632789/Why-every-mum-should-take-their-sons-to-see-Mad-Max-Fury-Road.html
(4) Mandalit Del Barco (2015) The women pull no punches in fiery, feminist Mad Max
http://www.npr.org/2015/05/15/406731120/the-women-pull-no-punches-in-fiery-feminist-mad-max
(5) Cavan Sieczkowski (2015) Charlize Theron on why Mad Max is an 'Incredible feminist movie'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/15/charlize-theron-mad-max-feminist_n_7292506.html
(6) Carolyn Cox (2015) Incredibly peeved men's rights activists call for boycott of Mad Max are unintentionally hilarious
http://www.themarysue.com/mra-to-the-max/
(7) Christopher Powell (2013) The curious feminist subtext of SuckerPunch
https://practicaltheorist.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/is-zack-snyders-sucker-punch-a-radical-feminist-deconstruction-of-action-movies/
(8) Jack Giroux (2011) Zach Snyder on the sexuality and fanboy hate of Suckerpunch
http://filmschoolrejects.com/features/interview-zack-snyder-on-the-sexuality-and-world-of-sucker-punch.php
(9) Rebecca Keegan (2011) Zach Snyder says films with heroines still a challenge 'economically'
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/sucker-punch-zack-snyder-says-films-with-heroines-still-a-challenge-economically/
(10) Bonnie Laufer (2011) Zach Snyder: Suckerpunch interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQaCSml7NW4 (Zach Snyder interview)
(11) A. O. Scott (2011) Gosh sweetie, thats a big gun
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/movies/women-as-violent-characters-in-movies.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
(12) Margot Magowan (2013) Movies with female protagoinsts ages 10 and up
http://reelgirl.com/2013/11/reel-girls-working-list-of-movies-with-female-protagonists-for-ages-10-and-up/
(13) Anita Sarkeesian (2011) Snyders Suckerpunch is a steaming pile of sexist crap
http://feministfrequency.com/2011/04/04/zach-snyders-sucker-punch-is-a-steaming-pile-of-sexist-crap/
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