20 Things You Didn't Know About Mad Max: Fury Road

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the reaction to Mad Max: Fury Road is the minor brouhaha in some circles over a perceived feminist bent.

A self-proclaimed “men’s rights activist” blog recently ran a story on the alleged “feminist propaganda” masquerading as a “straight-up guy flick” that is the new Mad Max film. Return of Kings writer Aaron Clarey, who freely admits to not even having seen the film he’s criticising, managed to carve out his own fifteen minutes of fame by imploring men everywhere to boycott the movie on the basis that main man Max is undermined by Imperator Furiosa’s prominence in the plot.

It’s true enough that Theron’s character plays the more active role in the events of the film and that the central narrative itself, i.e. Furiosa helping five women who are essentially slaves escape their male captor, smacks of female empowerment. It’s also entirely deliberate.

Miller’s wife, Margaret Sixel, edited the film, and the director invited feminist activist Eve Ensler to the set to lead a workshop and give “perspective on violence against women around the world, particularly in war zones.”

Is George Miller a feminist? We’ll let him answer that one himself:

“I’ve gone from being very male dominant to being surrounded by magnificent women. I can’t help but be a feminist.”