Introduction
One of the most widely-appreciated and distinct films of last year, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, demonstrates many attributes of genderlect theory and its principles in its communication between its male and female characters. Taking an explicitly feminist subtext in its exploration of a group of women (Imperator Furiosa and the Five Wives) overthrowing their masculine oppressors with the help of a pair of supportive male allies (“Mad” Max Rockatansky and the War Boy Nux), the film and its character interactions are explicitly about the need for men and women to communicate more effectively, and the clear benefits to finding this mutual understanding. Several communication events involving Max and Furiosa specifically will be used to showcase the ways in which genderlect theory can be found in abundance in Mad Max: Fury Road’s text and subtext.
Characters Involved in Communication Event(s)
The male and female characters involved in the communication events to be examined have their own set of decidedly gendered characteristics that come to play in their interactions. Mad Max, for instance, is an incredibly masculine presence in the film – he is a man of few words and aggressive action. Driven ‘mad’ by isolation and the guilt of those he has failed to save in the post-apocalyptic world of the film, Max is loathe to trust anyone but himself, and operates with brutish efficiency to survive and thrive. He is skilled in the art of violence, and has almost superhuman fighting abilities, but is also driven by an essential core of humanity and heroism that he reluctantly accepts.
Imperator Furiosa, while embracing her femininity, does not outwardly demonstrate overly feminine characteristics. With a close-shaved head, androgynous appearance, and steely control of her emotions, Furiosa has a fairly masculine personality, and many aspects of her efficient, heroic behavior can be matched with Max.
Communication Event(s)
Max and Furiosa’s Meeting
The first major communication event between Max and Furiosa comes when Max first comes upon the War Rig after Nux’s car crashes during the sandstorm. After a short fight sequence in which Max and Furiosa battle (demonstrating to each other that they are both equally capable in a fight), Max attempts to start the War Rig on his own and abandon them there, as he is only looking out for himself. However, Furiosa has failsafes in the Rig to prevent anyone from using it, and offers the sequence to start the Rig if he brings them with him. Max is extremely reluctant, but Furiousa manages to communicate to him that he will need help if he is to survive against Joe’s caravan chasing after him (particularly after he accidentally nicks one of the Wives with a bullet). Max relents and allows them in, but insists that Furiosa drive and dispose of all of their weapons into a bag. Despite this, Max, Furiosa and the Wives start moving in the War Rig.
Max, Furiosa, and the Rifle
This communication event occurs later in the film, after a certain level of trust has been established between Max and Furiosa as warriors and allies. While the War Rig is stuck in the swamp they are attempting to go through, Max attempts to use a rifle to shoot the Bullet Farmer’s floodlight so they will have a harder time tracking them. With only limited bullets left, Max continues to fire until there is one bullet left in the rifle, having missed the Farmer each time. Furiosa, seeing the need to use her skills, goes up to Max, who then looks at her with begrudging understanding (of her superior aim), and hands the rifle to her. She takes the rifle, rests it on his shoulder as a support, tells Max, “Don’t breathe,” and successfully uses the last bullet to shoot the Farmer’s floodlight out.
Theoretical Analysis
When looking at these communication events through the lens of genderlect theory, these become important moments of male-female camaraderie removed from any explicitly gendered differences in capability, interests and attitudes. Max and Furiosa, throughout the film, are two of a kind, principled warriors fighting for what is right, and they gradually form a great deal of trust and respect between one another. According to genderlect theory, women primarily desire a connection to others, while men desire status among their peers. In many ways, this is echoed in Max and Furiosa’s relationship – she consistently reaches out to him as an equal, while Max has difficulty letting go of the self-centered idea that he must be the one in charge. During the first communication event, Max attempts to maintain supremacy over the event by holding Furiosa and the others at gunpoint. It is only when Max realizes that he needs Furiosa’s help to a) operate the War Rig, and b) defend him from the vengeful Joe that he allows Furiosa back on board the Rig. Even then, his taking of the weapons and continuing to hold them at gunpoint demonstrates his insecurity and need to feel in charge.
In the second communication event, with the greater relationship formed between them, Max takes the major step of letting go of his need for status and forming a connection with Furiosa instead. The decision to check his pride and acknowledge that Furiosa is the better shot shows his ability to change and communicate with her, while her use of his shoulder is a reciprocal action stating that, while he is not in charge, she still needs him a great deal. From this point onward, Max and Furiosa have a much more equal relationship, both of them taking an aggressive, masculine position that favors ‘report’ talk over rapport talk.
Theoretical Utility
Judging from the uses of genderlect theory in these communication events from Mad Max: Fury Road, I believe it was an inherently useful theory by which to judge the communication between characters in the film. Using gendered communication and relationships was a natural fit for a film so deeply concerned with male and female relations and feminist subtexts, while filtering it in an interesting way through the inherently masculine frameworks of the sci-fi action film. The film filters these masculine and feminine tendencies very well, whether it is through the masculine boorishness of Immortan Joe’s cult or the storytelling women of the Vuvalini or the listening abilities of the Five Wives.
If there is any way genderlect theory is lacking for these examples, it is that Furiosa is far from an explicitly feminine character; in many ways, her transgressiveness comes from the fact that she is just as butch and masculine as Max, which helps their budding rapport. Even so, her characterization helps to challenge stereotypes of female ideas of power, and Max’s ability to easily communicate and collaborate with a woman by giving up his need for status is clear when the film is viewed through a genderlect theory-based perspective.
References
Miller, G. (dir.). (2016). Mad Max Fury Road. Perf. Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas
Hoult. Warner Bros. Pictures.
