Essay On Gender Roles In Sicario And Mad Max: Fury Road

Gender roles successfully create a divide that states what acts are socially acceptable for men and women to perform. Women are expected to aid men without adapting their roles. However, society is challenging this norm and highlighting this challenge through the means of cinema. In the films Sicario and Mad Max: Fury Road, the androgynous women stand in contrast to the patronized women by the leadership roles they fulfill and their rugged appearance. There are women who occupy the both roles and are depicted in both films. Their purpose is to communicate that the structure of modern society and families is currently undergoing a change in where women can stretch beyond their typical gender role, but not without society doubting their capability to …show more content…
Bennion-Nixon asserts that a warrior woman is one that is recognizably woman, even maternal, with a capacity for leadership and weaponry just as good as a man (292). Kate is portrayed as a warrior woman in the beginning of the film, where it is brought to the viewers’ attention that not only is she the only woman in her squadron, but she is also the team leader. A group of men are under the supervision of Kate and must follow her directives. This is interesting to see because the roles are usually reversed in the manner that women are under the control of men. Though Kate was the only woman openly portrayed in the film, the patronized woman is still represented; particularly through the lack of other women and Kate herself. The lack of women in a high-action, fast-paced film, where guns, drugs, and the government are the main focus, reinforces the idea that women rarely get involved in such activities. It can be assumed that women, besides Kate, in the film are at home or working docile jobs. In short, the other women are conforming to what is laid out in gender roles. On the same token, it is interesting to note that Kate is both the androgynous and patronized woman.