10 Movie Messages Everybody Misunderstood

9. It's All About Humanism (Not Feminism) - Mad Max: Fury Road

What Everybody Thinks

George Miller's Oscar-winning Mad Max sequel is without question one of the greatest action films of all time, and at the time of its release it was widely praised for its perceived "feminist" leanings, whereby female characters were given an uncommon degree of agency - especially Charlize Theron's ferocious Furiosa.

Hell, some even cried foul that the film was too feminist, sidelining Tom Hardy's titular, near-mute hero in favour of Theron's more effervescent one. Aside from this being a gross take, they're not even right about the film really being feminist.

The Real Message

While Fury Road undeniably does a fantastic job with the women who inhabit its male-dominated world and sees Furiosa seeking to smash Immortan Joe's (Hugh Keays-Byrne) revolting patriarchy, the end result is really more indicative of a humanist tone than anything.

After all, the film is defined by a heroic man and woman teaming up to eliminate the threat to their mutual existence, and many of the film's strongest moments see Max and Furiosa combining their efforts in order to succeed.

The debate has raged for literally years over whether or not Fury Road is indeed a feminist film, with even some feminist commentators arguing that it doesn't do enough to address the uneven power dynamic between men and women to be truly feminist.

But we can all agree that the film is wholly concerned with people, whatever their gender, age or physicality, stomping out tyranny for their collective prosperity. That is humanism.