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Mad Max contd: further along the Fury Road [spoilers]


Fez

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Instead of filling in the blanks, we can narrow it down to what we know for sure. Furiosa works for a guy who keeps a harem of breeders against their will, in a vault. Furiosa comes from a matriarchal society initially. She knows what Joe is doing would be considered horrid by the standard of her ancestors. Her role in Joe's community would be frowned upon. When her shot at redemption rears its' head, she jumps on it. I don't see why it needs to be so complex.


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The movie shows-not-tells plenty of stuff but the stuff we've been discussing here I think it doesn't really show either - at best it shows evidence that it could be the case.

But that's fine, because no-one said everything has to be explained, out loud or otherwise, and the discussion this movie is generating is great fun.

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I hate to admit it, but I fear I'm in danger of going full fanboy on this movie. I can even see myself buying this, though I suppose it's likely to disappoint....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Max_%282015_video_game%29

Apparently the baddy in the game is another one of Joe's sons, called Scabrous Scrotus. Got to give it to the the man, he gives his kids unique names, maybe he was upset at being called something as standard fare as Joe

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I just honestly can't believe someone watched the same movie as I did if they genuinely believe Furiosa would have sold the wives for passage. The mind just boggles...

No way in hell would she have done that. She very CLEARLY states her whole purpose is REDEMPTION and considering how INSTANTLY Joe checks on his wives as soon as he suspects her of going rogue it seems she clearly had contact with them, was 'friends' with them and that indicates he trusted her...

I mean...I do not want to sound like a bitch and I understand this movie was all show and no tell but some of the things people are saying but makes me think we were not watching the same movie...I know I have seen it twice but I picked up on a lot of things the first time even and i don't particularly think i'm smart or good at analyzing movies like critics are but there's TONS of stuff going on in this movie if you're paying attention...

I am debating going a third time :P If it's still in cinemas by mid june when I go home for a bit I will go with one of my old friends to see it

Well I can tell you how I got the idea, but as you say the movie wasn't exaclty big on exposition and with plenty of long bows being drawn so here's mine.

When Furiosa was travelling through the canyon controlled by the crusty demon dudes she clearly didn't think that handing over the fuel tanker would be enough to get her safe passage. She tells Max the secret start sequence for the truck because she's sure she'll be crossed. So it begs the question of how she was intending to get through the canyon given that the original plan was her driving up there alone with the girls hidden in the tanker? If the biker dudes insisted she hand over the girls for safe passage would she have said yes?

She wanted to go to the green place, her childhood home. When she spoke of redemption this could have multiple meanings beyond the saving the damsel in distress trope. Was she redeeming herself from the horrible things she had to do while in Joe's service or from her sense of abandonment from her original home?

And for a movie supposedly drowing in feminism she is guided and saved by a man, a man who asks for nothing in return. Fury Road is Max's redemption story not Furiosas, who ultimately ends up taking Joe's throne and becoming the warlord she ran away from.

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The movie shows-not-tells plenty of stuff but the stuff we've been discussing here I think it doesn't really show either - at best it shows evidence that it could be the case.

But that's fine, because no-one said everything has to be explained, out loud or otherwise, and the discussion this movie is generating is great fun.

that's all i am saying :)

i am not saying one idea is wrong and one idea is right, it just seems more fun not to try to shut down different ideas and interpretations :)

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Well I can tell you how I got the idea, but as you say the movie wasn't exaclty big on exposition and with plenty of long bows being drawn so here's mine.

When Furiosa was travelling through the canyon controlled by the crusty demon dudes she clearly didn't think that handing over the fuel tanker would be enough to get her safe passage. She tells Max the secret start sequence for the truck because she's sure she'll be crossed. So it begs the question of how she was intending to get through the canyon given that the original plan was her driving up there alone with the girls hidden in the tanker? If the biker dudes insisted she hand over the girls for safe passage would she have said yes?

She wanted to go to the green place, her childhood home. When she spoke of redemption this could have multiple meanings beyond the saving the damsel in distress trope. Was she redeeming herself from the horrible things she had to do while in Joe's service or from her sense of abandonment from her original home?

And for a movie supposedly drowing in feminism she is guided and saved by a man, a man who asks for nothing in return. Fury Road is Max's redemption story not Furiosas, who ultimately ends up taking Joe's throne and becoming the warlord she ran away from.

Furiosa and Max work together. They're both shown to be competent, capable and strong. Let's not get into petty omg max saves her so it's no feminist lol. Let's talk about him also offering her the shot gun because he knows she's a better shot and her leaning on his shoulder to get the best shot. They work TOGETHER. I think that's what is so cool about this movie, trust and compassion and understanding between them is shown as a strength and not a weakness.

She was adamant about the women staying out of sight, and I also don't think she was expecting Joe to send ALL HIS ARMY after her.

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Well I can tell you how I got the idea, but as you say the movie wasn't exaclty big on exposition and with plenty of long bows being drawn so here's mine.

When Furiosa was travelling through the canyon controlled by the crusty demon dudes she clearly didn't think that handing over the fuel tanker would be enough to get her safe passage. She tells Max the secret start sequence for the truck because she's sure she'll be crossed. So it begs the question of how she was intending to get through the canyon given that the original plan was her driving up there alone with the girls hidden in the tanker? If the biker dudes insisted she hand over the girls for safe passage would she have said yes?

She wanted to go to the green place, her childhood home. When she spoke of redemption this could have multiple meanings beyond the saving the damsel in distress trope. Was she redeeming herself from the horrible things she had to do while in Joe's service or from her sense of abandonment from her original home?

And for a movie supposedly drowing in feminism she is guided and saved by a man, a man who asks for nothing in return. Fury Road is Max's redemption story not Furiosas, who ultimately ends up taking Joe's throne and becoming the warlord she ran away from.

So basically, you thought up an entire narrative that has no plausibility to the entire plot of the movie so you could pigeonhole a character to fit in your narrow world view?

Furiosa freed sex slaves on the way to what she believed to be a matriarchal utopia so she could sell them? I think the big explosions really distracted you.

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So basically, you thought up an entire narrative that has no plausibility to the entire plot of the movie so you could pigeonhole a character to fit in your narrow world view?

Furiosa freed sex slaves on the way to what she believed to be a matriarchal utopia so she could sell them? I think the big explosions really distracted you.

No it's not me attempting to fit the movie into their narrow worldview. In fact i'm crediting the writers and director with a degree of subtelty and complexity you completely ignore. It's perfectly possible that Furiosa felt sorry for Joe's 'wives' but would also look to barter them if it meant she could get back home. It's already been argued on here that Furiosa must have done terrible/evil things to get to the top of the food chain at the Citadel, but her motivation suddenly became entirely pure and blameless when she decided to escape Joe's service? Why? The only reason offered on this thread is because she's a woman. Really?

Remember the last shot when Max walked away with a laconic look as Furiosa ascended to the throne? What do you think the writers were implying with that? To me it was meet the new boss, kinda the same as the old boss (but hopefully not so shitty).

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Remember the last shot when Max walked away with a laconic look as Furiosa ascended to the throne? What do you think the writers were implying with that? To me it was meet the new boss, kinda the same as the old boss (but hopefully not so shitty).

Think you're reading too much into that. That's more or less a nod to the Westerns that Miller has borrowed from in this series. Victorious anti-hero loner moves on after his work is done. See The Lone Ranger, the Man with no name, etc, etc. That archetypal character doesn't want to stick around and become part of the power structure. It's not what they do.

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Remember the last shot when Max walked away with a laconic look as Furiosa ascended to the throne? What do you think the writers were implying with that? To me it was meet the new boss, kinda the same as the old boss (but hopefully not so shitty).

Its the same look Max has had for the entire film, not some knowing "oh she'll turn out to be an evil psycho, just you wait" look. And same as the old boss? the old boss had the beggars thrown off the lift when they tried to get on Furiosa and the wives were helping them up

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I suppose it just goes to show that when we go to watch a movie, sometimes we see the film we have in our head, not the one on screen.


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It's perfectly possible that Furiosa felt sorry for Joe's 'wives' but would also look to barter them if it meant she could get back home.

How is trading the wives so that she, herself, gets back home, in any way consistent with her stated goal of redemption?

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Well I can tell you how I got the idea, but as you say the movie wasn't exaclty big on exposition and with plenty of long bows being drawn so here's mine.

When Furiosa was travelling through the canyon controlled by the crusty demon dudes she clearly didn't think that handing over the fuel tanker would be enough to get her safe passage. She tells Max the secret start sequence for the truck because she's sure she'll be crossed. So it begs the question of how she was intending to get through the canyon given that the original plan was her driving up there alone with the girls hidden in the tanker? If the biker dudes insisted she hand over the girls for safe passage would she have said yes?

She wanted to go to the green place, her childhood home. When she spoke of redemption this could have multiple meanings beyond the saving the damsel in distress trope. Was she redeeming herself from the horrible things she had to do while in Joe's service or from her sense of abandonment from her original home?

And for a movie supposedly drowing in feminism she is guided and saved by a man, a man who asks for nothing in return. Fury Road is Max's redemption story not Furiosas, who ultimately ends up taking Joe's throne and becoming the warlord she ran away from.

I wonder if you missed the part where the bikers only seemed concerned about the fuel tanker. They were chasing the war rig yelling "that's our fuel!" They weren't yelling "everything you have is ours" or "let's make a different trade" or "get those hotties!"

The issue seemed fairly clear here. Furiosa made a deal with the canyon people either in bad faith or she was really lying to herself about how difficult escape would be. If it was in bad faith, that means she knew a huge war party would be in close pursuit. If she was lying to herself, it could be any number of explanations. For example, perhaps she didn't think she would purposely drive her warboys into a dirtnado, leaving her without a second driver to get through the canyon. Perhaps she didn't think Joe would notice she went off route or that he wouldn't immediately guess she'd stolen the wives, thus sparking a massive war party.

As far as Furiosa simply replacing Joe, we see that doesn't look to be the case. Furiosa isn't the one who turns on the water. She isn't the one who gives the order to lift the platform.

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I wonder if you missed the part where the bikers only seemed concerned about the fuel tanker. They were chasing the war rig yelling "that's our fuel!" They weren't yelling "everything you have is ours" or "let's make a different trade" or "get those hotties!"

The issue seemed fairly clear here. Furiosa made a deal with the canyon people either in bad faith or she was really lying to herself about how difficult escape would be. If it was in bad faith, that means she knew a huge war party would be in close pursuit. If she was lying to herself, it could be any number of explanations. For example, perhaps she didn't think she would purposely drive her warboys into a dirtnado, leaving her without a second driver to get through the canyon. Perhaps she didn't think Joe would notice she went off route or that he wouldn't immediately guess she'd stolen the wives, thus sparking a massive war party.

As far as Furiosa simply replacing Joe, we see that doesn't look to be the case. Furiosa isn't the one who turns on the water. She isn't the one who gives the order to lift the platform.

She basically says it. When the biker says " you said there would only be a few vehicles in pursuit. We count 3 war parties!" she replies with " yeah, well, i got unlucky."

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She basically says it. When the biker says " you said there would only be a few vehicles in pursuit. We count 3 war parties!" she replies with " yeah, well, i got unlucky."

Ya. She wasn't counting on there being that many after her, or at the least, not to have come after her quite so soon.

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I wasn't entirely certain if it was the case that she had lied to herself about Joe's ability to organize a war party quickly or if it was all supposed to go a different way until Max arrived on the scene. If she was meant to arrive at the canyon alone, how was she supposed to get alone? Was the plan always to kill her warboys? If so, how was that to happen? Or is this just one of those plot holes that's better left ignored, like how Max still has the blood hose that just magically appears after it was cut away from him? I'm totally cool ignoring it, but it's something I really wondered about.


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