Hegemonic Masculinity In Mad Max's Fury Road

George Miller’s Mad Max films have continually depicted representations of hyper-masculinity, where the setting of an uncomplicated wasteland is a lawless place where men can be men. His most recent addition to the series, Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is much the same. The masculinity featured in Fury Road is similar to the hegemonic patriarchy of its predecessors, where males perform masculinity through ritualistic practices and the subjugation of women. This essay will critically discuss the way the male gender operates in the wasteland setting of Fury Road. Firstly, we will look at the way hegemonic masculinity defines itself and is maintained through the circulation of violent, ritualistic behaviour of the all male Warboy army. Next, we will look at the way this masculinity reaffirms itself through the nature/culture dualism, where the male position as culture and killers affords them dominance over the natural, reproductive resource of the female. Finally, we will look at …show more content…
The operation of masculinity in the wasteland of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is no different. Firstly, we discussed how the hegemonic masculinity in diegesis is continually maintained through the circulation of violent and ritualistic behaviours, as the Warboys continually strive to impress their hyper-masculine leader through performances of self-destructive, potentially lethal masculinity. Next, we examined how this masculinity reaffirms itself through the nature/culture dualism, as the ability afforded to man to occupy cultural positions of power, such as Immortan or Warboy, allows them to exert dominance over women, who are seen as natural resources of reproduction and in direct affinity to nature and life. Finally, we interrogated the character of Nux, and how his inability to perform the specific masculinity expected of him as a Warboy caused vulnerability and