Furious Feminisms

Alternate Routes on Mad Max: Fury Road

2020
•
Authors:

Alexis L. Boylan, Anna Mae Duane, Michael Gill, and Barbara Gurr

MANIFOLD EDITION

A provocative peek into this complicated film as a space for subversion, activism, and imaginative power

While both fans and foes point to Mad Max: Fury Road’s feminist credentials, Furious Feminisms asks: is there really anything feminist or radical happening on the screen? The four authors—from backgrounds in art history, American literature, disability studies, and sociology—ask what is possible, desirable, or damaging in theorizing feminism in the contested landscape of the twenty-first century.

While both fans and foes point to Mad Max: Fury Road’s feminist credentials, Furious Feminisms asks: is there really anything feminist or radical happening on the screen? The four authors—from backgrounds in art history, American literature, disability studies, and sociology—ask what is possible, desirable, or damaging in theorizing feminism in the contested landscape of the twenty-first century. Can we find beauty in the Anthropocene? Can power be wrested from a violent system without employing and perpetuating violence?

This experiment in collaborative criticism weaves multiple threads of dialogue together to offer a fresh perspective on our current cultural moment.

Alexis L. Boylan is associate professor in the art and art history department and the Africana Studies Institute at University of Connecticut.

Anna Mae Duane is associate professor of English at University of Connecticut.

Michael Gill is associate professor of disability studies at Syracuse University.

Barbara Gurr is associate professor in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at University of Connecticut.

A rich dialogue between disciplines and theories that enlightens readers to the myriad ways one can analyze a single cultural artifact: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

—

SFRA Review