Film Theory: Mad Max Is Actually A Horseman Of The Apocalypse

As for The People Eater, his gluttonous appearance might seem the opposite of famine, but surely one leaves civilisation in a state of starvation wouldn’t necessarily be malnourished themselves. He’s a consumer, an indulger, a devourer, earning his quite literal name through cannibalism attributed to his unstoppable need to eat. Nothing is grotesque enough to stop him.

The name ‘The People Eater’ would also work when linked to famine from the body’s reaction to starvation. When we don’t eat, our bodies start to break down the fat already there, making famine the very literal people eater.

The Black Horseman as famine is also cited as not touching ‘oil and wine’ in the Bible when he comes to take away food supplies, leaving luxury items for the rich to be unaffected by his plague.

With The People Eater’s delicate jewellery and well-fed body, he’s obviously an advocate for the rich in the wastelands. Importantly, he’s also big on protecting Immortan Joe’s wives during the conflicts on screen unlike The Bullet Farmer, the women acting as property of the wealthy overlord that won’t be touched by the reach of famine for their high cost.