Something I think could’ve been pointed out is that in most of the examples of action movie heroines you’d given, the women fight to return to a normal. The Mama Bear starts at home with her kids, commits violence to remove a threat, then returns to her kids. The Last One might start in school, commits violence to remove a threat, then returns to school. In Fury Road, when the violence ends, the world has changed. This is a significant departure from the tropes as well.
Great observation! I hadn't thought before about how that is another area where The Hero's Journey and The Heroine's Journey typically differ. In the Hero's Journey, the protagonist usually accomplishes his mission and returns to a changed world (think Frodo and The Shire), but when the protagonist is feminine, she does indeed typically serve to restore order and normalcy. It's like how most traditional tellings of Mulan end with her parting with her violent ways and settling down to a quiet life, fulfilling her duties as a loyal house wife. You're a absolutely right. Female protagonists don't get to change the world nearly as often as their male counterparts.
Yes. He also mentioned how the problem with neoliberalism is that it states that "no violence is acceptable" and then makes a bunch of exceptions. Other ideologies (for better or worse) outright say “these forms of violence are acceptable” - and that is much more honest, at least. It’s tangential, but it reminds me of all these tropes that innuendo talked about, that are basically ways of making exceptions to the idea that women (or femininity) is separated from violence. Just like fury road (in the innuendo’s reading) says “this violence is good (and not necessarily masculine) because it is protective and distributes power” instead of just saying “violence is bad and masculine” and then justifying its own violence by saying “but it is cool because we are protecting the feminine from it and/or it is going to stop more violence”.
Fury road, from this series seems like an absolute masterclass in representation, diversity and forcing change. Maybe if films like this became the norm, rather than false ideas of what’s acceptable by social norms being pushed to maintain the status quo, this might actually push change
I've literally had someone argue that Fury Road wasn't good, specifically because it wasn't subtle and it was straight-forward, plot-wise, and all I could think of was that this dude must be the absolute least-fun person to hang around with ever.
Henry Voss I’m assuming then, that they aren’t a fan of any other action movies either. Because action movies as a whole tend not to be particularly subtle. Hell, most Hollywood movies generally aren’t particularly subtle- you want subtle, you go indie. And I will admit that I find those that refuse to watch anything but indie movies rather pretentious. What’s wrong with entertainment for the masses?
@@katherinemorelle7115 He definitely wasn't someone that tended to gravitate to them, but I think, for many of the same reasons that Ian and a lot of us in this comment section loved the movie, this guy was, uh, shall we say, predisposed to dislike it.
Something I noticed and thought worth mentioning is that no matter how masculine the character is supposed to be or how nonsensical it would be in the show's setting, all female characters have to adhere to certain beauty standards, specifically being hairless with perfectly plucked eyebrows and wearing at least some makeup. It's especially jarring in settings such as mad max where shaving one's armpits and legs daily would be the last thing on your mind.
That's what I've always hated about dystopian and apocalyptic movies and tv shows. I get excited when I hear creators say they are taking a realistic approach but then the women always have shaved pits, legs, pubes, and faces. They never explore the breaking down of social hygiene/beauty standards in that, yes, some women have facial hair and that, yes, all women have body hair. I guess American audiences want their women to look as prepubescent as possible at all times?
@@-._.-KRiS-._.- I've thought about this too. Honestly I think a lot of people would be put off by the natural female body and it would for sure be less profitable (except perhaps within documentary or reality tv setting). I don't think most men know --or indeed want to know-- that adult women usually start growing a dark hair or two on their faces. People (also women) like to pretend there's a fine, distinctive line between men and women.
It’s just so unacceptable for a female main character to not be sexy at all times. Even if she’s crying she’s pretty-crying, if she’s beat up she’s still got perfect makeup but with a scratch on her forehead. It shouldn’t be startling to see women just looking like real people.
There’s a specific moment in ‘Ebola Holmes’ (otherwise great feminist film’ where our female protagonist falls from a bike to indicate her lack of skill with one, and comically springs up from the ground, covered in twigs and leaves. Except beneath, like, three individual dirty leaves on her face, every other part of it is totally and utterly smooth and spotless to the point where it’s kind of hilarious
so good also liked the use of "egalitarian feminism" in a way that could in no way be mistaken for the "egalitarianism not feminism" movement but that sounded delightfully like a call for including class consciousness in intersectional feminism
yes yes yes and yes again. ive come to believe that this kind of feminst analysis can be a wonderful starting point for a discussion of violence which leads straight to anarchism. these ideas are radical in their essence. make no mistake: the analysis of violence offered here is not compatible with capitalism or the modern state. but the fact that it begins from such a deeply personal and immediately experienced form of politics (ie the distribution of violence), from issues of gender and queerness, is essential to securing that abstractions and theories don't run out of control and stop being useful. if we start from here, we feel these things deeply and with a broad multitude of aspects of ourselves while we think them deeply and act them out. bravo.
no it's the "at least half of the people who use the word egalitarianism specifically to avoid using words like feminism or womanism or whatever are really just woman-hating mra's in disguise" thing
not gonna lie, the ending made me feel emotional... ive always been feminine but also someone who relished in violent games/films/sports etc simply because, well, its fun/titillating. of course, i always felt a bit different because of that... it was validating to hear "violence being reclaimed for women" i guess
At the end of the day, it's a rehash of the similar idea of "you do you, boo." essentially saying no matter HOW you feel, you are VALID in feeling it, and should never feel ashamed in feeling it.
He uses the line about consolidating power v distributing it while explaining how conservatives think. Which now makes me realise why so many conservatives I know weren’t a fan of this movie- it goes directly against their politics.
God, when she uses herself and Joe’s unborn child as a human shield against Joe... So badass! I really should see this movie. Thank you for the awesome rundown on female protagonist movie tropes. It’s good to have subconscious ideas brought to the forefront to grow!
During this whole 8 part marathon I was like that boy from the Simpsons: Stop it, it's already dead! But where "it" certainly stands for Fury Road, the "dead" actually stands for "I already love this movie to death". It seems like every time I see that movie or watch another video essay about it, I learn some new genius thing about the Fury Road and that pleases me to no end. Seriously, I think your essays are an work of art and love and they should be preserved against the soulless ravages of copyrights bots. I certainly enjoyed watching this playlist and ponder the points you raised. Great, great work, sir. Chapeau! And cheers!
Yesterday, I literally asked myself, "Wonder what Innuendo Studios is working on, haven't seen a video from him in a while," Came back from work this morning to see *8 VIDEOS IN MY SUB FEED* Thank you Innuendo, I can always count on you for high quality work and perfect timing.
This was absolutely excellent, and I appreciated the little digs at Whedon's work. I'm not saying the dude is a straight up hack or monster, but I get so tired of people praising his "feminism" without looking closer at what he's actually portraying. Anyway, I remember just being blown away by this movie. Not just because of all the fun, impressive visuals, but because of the heart of the story. I went in thinking I was going to see your typical action movie, where a male hero leads everyone and saves some pretty, fairly useless ladies, and instead I saw a celebration of women in all their different forms. I would say that this is exactly what a feminine action movie should look like. Unfortunately I can't really think of anything that comes to this level, but I hope we see more.
I watched Fury Road wasted drunk, and in my lucid moments I thought "this is a heavy-handed art flick" but I wasn't following what was happening. I'm gonna rewatch it. I missed way more than I thought.
@@Chronically_ChiII He didn't need to. This was about what the movie meant, not what happened it in. The subversion of genre tropes to indict the seedier parts of how action movies frame women.
I never said plot didn't matter. But it wasn't that kind of analysis. He covers enough of the plot so that you understand what was going on . But it's like this. I had to write a paper in college about the toxic masculinity And such in A Farewell to Arms. Do you think I wasted any time breaking down the plot? No I picked my scenes that were important to the point of the essay. It's a dissertation, not a book report.
One thing that bugged me for the first 7 parts was the way you phrased assertiveness, brutality, bravado, etc as being "masculine" traits, and I'm very glad that you had intended to argue against that all along.
I consider Fury Road to be the greatest post-apocalyptic and feminist action film ever made. A work of art. I hope there is a commentary track for it some day. The track on the original Mad Max is excellent.
> I like the Innocent as a device to establish the villain - but an innocent/helpless boi is just as good. > I like the Vasquez, not because she is 'one of the guys', but because real physical fitness, the ability to fight in self-interest, and the refusal to die in the face of overwhelming odds embody the true spirit of femininity. > I like the Dominatrix, not because I need violent women to be sexy in order to accept them, but because *that's my kink, dammit!* > I like the Mother Bear, not because women need to have children in order to be valid, but because it's a heckin' emotionally powerful story (and I want to feel protected by a strong maternal figure). > I don't really like the virginal 'Final Girl', but I like the idea of a Machiavellian anti-heroine, who will happily throw her 'companions' to the monster in order to further her chances of survival >:) > I'm disturbed by how the Rape Revenger seems to gain her strength through being raped, as though it somehow 'builds character' or whatever - but I still think art has a responsibility to acknowledge and confront sexual violence, and that should extend to representing it on screen. I haven't seen "Fury Road" b/c my experience of action films is that they are loud dumb schlock, shown in threatening, masculine environments, that make me feel dysphoric, so I tend to avoid them. Also, does that guy have blood being pumped out of him through a straw? Eww!
This was the 1st "violent action movie" I ever really, REALLY enjoyed. I was allowed to enjoy it, without being any of the tropes myself. That's for breaking down the subconscious permission I felt - the gift the artists who made this movie gave to me, that every other movie never had.
Wow, this series of video essays was honestly just brilliant. I watched your Alt-Right Playbook series because, honestly, that's what was interesting to me *personally* as a *male* leftist with a penchant for debate. I regret to say that I, despite proclaiming myself an Anarchist, have failed to treat all struggles equally. I focus on the class struggle because that's what appeals to *me personally* as someone who is only repressed under that specific hierarchy. This series absolutely opened my eyes not only to the depth of sexism that still exists today in the West but the fact that I probably internalized it to some degree without even knowing. And that, I have not done the reading I ought to have done on feminist theory. This series has opened my eyes to the fact that I can and *must* support the feminist struggle - and all struggles - as having equal merit. Sincerely, thank you.
Fury Road is my all time favorite movie and this series shed a new light onto how I see it. Deep down I think I always knew this side to it but you helped me realize that fully. Thank you.
This. He hits the nail on the head when he says "Fury Road isn't good because it's subtle". It's still a movie that tries to fit in as much explosions, cars, and fight choreography as possible, and cut out as much dialogue as possible. It is groundbreaking in its feminist themes, but I rolled my eyes at the way those themes were conveyed. I can appreciate that it's a masterpiece, it's just a masterpiece of a genre I'm personally really not into. But hey, it disrupts Hollywood's patriarchal norms while staying true to the genre most known for pushing those norms, and that's awesome.
i never stopped to think about that, about how violence was never actually a manly trait or a male creation, they just took it for themselves and now that's how we see it. I'm a feminist and I love reading feminist theory and I think that's the first time I've ever heard something like that. Very interesting, will for sure change my views in certain areas...
I really wasn't comfortable with all the takes saying Fury road wasn't feminist because it's an action movie, and therefore aping masculine narratives. It struck me as a narrow viewpoint because a) certain types of feminism can be wrong, we only have to look back at the early 20th Century to realize that and b) it was just another roundabout way to say violence is masculine. Violence is used for power, and power is maintained through access to violence. To say that women don't want and use power, that they don't express violence, is just to say that women are submissive, and that a space for them cannot be found. Patriarchal societies, that is to say most societies, are still patriarchal even as people within those societies find spaces for feminine perspectives and stories. That's inevitable, and it's bound to produce problematic implications. George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nico Lathouris all wrote Fury Road. They're all guys. And they wrote a film about a bunch of people mutilating each other on flaming muscle cars for the fate of a few sex slaves. You don't have to look far to see how any injection of feminism into that might come back with some additional problematic results to supplement those already present. Yet the result of Fury Road is something noteworthy because its narrative is almost anthropological. With the story taking place so far from the collapse of society that Max's age doesn't make any sense and the old world almost plays no role in the story of this new one (with the exception of the seeds and the guns/cars everyone uses to murder each other), Fury Road explores how a new society is built, rather than how a prelapsarian world is re-built. Sure, they're bringing back some old seeds; but will they return society to the one the Keeper of the Seeds remembers? I don't think anyone is left with that impression at the end. Unable to escape into another world, the good guys have to take over the one they just escaped. It has to be theirs because it is the only place they know with the power to see their hopes become reality. In the end they win, obtain power over a society that has likely known nothing except Joe's authoritarian rule, and are left to create something entirely new. It's pragmatic, and all the more striking for how they come to the inevitable conclusion that Joe must be destroyed for them to truly live free. The women of Fury Road show that violence, and therefore power, doesn't have to be strictly self-serving. In this way, women are shown bringing order from chaos, in ways both feminine and masculine. Is this how a woman would frame Fury Road? Fuck, I don't know. Maybe a feminine perspective would make a better film with these themes at play. Maybe even in a non-violent way, if that would help. I look forward to it, or whatever other film comes along to top Fury Road.
What a series. I came to this channel for the Beginner's Guide / Storytelling video (which was excellent, by the way), and then absolutely devoured the Alt-Right Playbook and, now, this one. What can I say? Bravo.
You changed my mind about violence. I thought that the one amazing strength of women was that they weren't violent but peaceful. And not because there is a biological reason or something inherent in women that makes them this way. I know it's probably because that's how women are expected to be in this society. This thing that violence is kept from women is really interesting. I never thought about it but it seems right. I never questioned that this belief that women are peaceful that's why they are better would also make women passive and not retaliate against their patriarchy.
The great bit is that "Imagine the answer is yes" Is literally used in mathematics to work out things. Can f(x) ever be a certain value k? Well let's make f(x)=k. Oh? There's no major logical contradictions like dividing by zero? I guess it's possible then.
@@xCorvus7x true but those are exceptions to the rule, in most cases finding out that what you did caused a divide by zero means its not a possible operation or equasion
I look forward to the comments filling with "examples" of the Avenging Female from people who don't quite understand the difference between the letter and the spirit of the proposed trope...while also hoping that the coming years will see more Avenging Females, enough to _make_ it a trope.
I Don't think this it will be a trope. The necessary change it will required to the society to make this trope possible. at the same time they will make it obsolete....But I hope this trope come back in historical movies... For our time...
Happypast because Katniss is an honorary man. The most feminine thing she does is wear pretty dresses, but that’s not really her choice. Other people dress her up. In fact, most of her arc is just her reacting to the world around her.
If you only argue by the outside circumstances of feminity, Furiosa'd be an honorary man too... Katniss actually has kind of a Mama bear thing going on with Prim and Rue... it's hard to actually say what kind of female revenge is not rape revenge/mama bear behaviour even in a somewhat symbolic way She's also much more sexualized by the camera than Furiosa @@suadela87
As always, you nailed it. Definitely coming back for a rewatch at some point. Not to be too dramatic, but thank you for continuing to be a voice of reason in a climate where those feel increasingly rare to find.
I hated Fury Road for a very long time because of a bad experience, but this series has opened my eyes to not only the depth of the film, but the threads the wind themselves through film as a whole. I knew about misogynistic tropes and violence against women in media, but this sheds a whole different light on it. I cried. Good job.
I did not give Fury Road the appreciation of deserved. I saw it and just thought "meh. Guns and explosions, cool I guess." Thanks for showing me it was so much more, I'll have to give it another watch.
What a fantastic series of videos, well done Innuendo Studios. Also, each time I watch Fury Road and each time I watch or read analysis of it I become a little more convinced that it’s the greatest movie ever made.
Thank you for fleshing out so thoroughly what I loved so instinctively about the film. Plus I got weepy somewhere around the 3rd part and that's always a good sign.
Sorry I was so absorbed in all your videos I didn’t think about “liking” them, but I loved each and every one of your videos and will go back to give a thumbs up and subscribe. This was great!
I'm gonna mention Deleuzian Corporeality. Well not really. A slight critique of your final section is that you place too much emphasis on the ends of that violence, while a Deleuzian reading would cast aside the ends/means distinction, and I think this abandoning is essential to the film. The characters are not interested in creating a specific new world but experimenting. It is significant, for instance, that they do not return to the Citadel "with a plan" for tomorrow, but instead arrive as the film ends: there is no specific plan for a new society, only the possibility that a better world may be found with Joe's hierarchal structures dismantled. Furthermore, I think one can read a lot of what you have spoken with across these essays as experimentation: the characters experiment with violence, with motherhood, with femininity, with masculinity, with vulnerability, with resilience. They take what is useful to them and they abandon what isn't, but they do not limit anyone else's experimentation with those things. It is a truly anarchist films, and, in a certain way, truly Deleuzian.
I know it's selfish to ask for more content to my tastes, but I'd really like to see your take on Dredd, personally I love it, and see it as an example of strong female characters, it has a female protagonist and antagonist who (in my opinion) aren't sexualised, don't have their suffering played up for entertainment and who aren't completely stripped of their femininity. The women in the film (There's not a lot of women, unfortunately given how well they're written) are allowed to be human and characters, the villain is allowed to be violence and cruel despite being a woman and yet she is also humanised and has her reasoning without being turned into a tragic waif. The film does, like all films, have flaws, but it's definitely good in terms of having good female characters, especially for a film with around 8 named characters
This is central to Christianity, and perhaps other religions/philosophies as well. Certainly to the Abrahamic ones. The reason Viking-age Scandinavian women had more freedom than their counterparts in continental Europe is that their culture did not have as formulized gender roles as that of Christianity. Basically, the only limitations for women were their physical limitations. A warrior woman (the Amazons) would be an abomination in the eyes of God. The British accused the Vikings of employing female warrior. The Muslims accused the Crusaders of the same. This was to illustrate just how low and immoral the other side was. In patriarchal and misogynist societies, the women is the symbol of the society. She is to remain pure and virtuous. If she isn’t, it’s the fault of their men, because they did not keep her under control. Farrakhan once said that the true worth of a race must be measured by the character of his woman. (This switch from “race” to “his” is exactly how Farrakhan worded it.) During the Finnish Civil War, female red-guards, young maids and workers, were among those who were killed first. The SS units on the Eastern Front waged war as well as were active in genocide. Not everybody who fought on the German side in the then-USSR was part of the Waffen-SS, or even German. There were volunteers from Finland and Sweden, for example. Regardless of unit, all of them took prisoners of war. There was one exception to this. Female Red Army soldiers were shot on the spot, or were mutilated. Females who took part in war (there were one million of them in the Red Army) were seen as deviant and outright frightening. They were said to be hermaphrodites by the Nazi propaganda. One female Red Army soldier retold how a German POW seemed to be more worried about her and others in the unit actually looking like women than his exposed situation as a prisoner. These women were largely shun by society and families when returning home after the war, sometimes viewed as prostitutes.
Thank you for the comment, had no idea women were in the Red Army, it's nice to know and at the same time painful because of how society shunned them after they were more targetted by the enemy for solely being women.
@@tairademisheva3230 Look at nachthexen (nightwitches how nazis called them) they were piloting airplanes (old ones from WW1, nicknamed flying coffins, because the more recent had to mostly serve the men, right?) Nazis were scared to death of them. Some women also fought with men in air squadrons like Lily Litviak, the Rose of Stalingrad, it is said it took 11 planes against her to bring her down. Russia had many women fighters, snipers and any kind of fighters. Those Russians fighters were not hidden from others but the US and England had women pilots who didn't fight but were carrying things in danger zones so still faced life or death situations, yet when one of them was killed, the body was returned home without any honor, the family had to pay for discrete funerals, since it was so shameful to have employed females for such jobs, so the allies said they never used them. The women returned home without the medals the men had gained and without any honors. They could not say they were veterans. It took years for those women to be recognized (in the 90, in think).
History nerd here. Just realized that the name vuvalini is a reference. One of the leaders of the greek revolution (though not as well known) was Laskarina Bouboulina. First female admiral of the imperial russian navy. Quite fitting as the initial idea also had greek roots as they were depicted as harpies. (initial idea was them using gyrocopters) Combining all you said with this possible reference, an actual woman who historically was a violent badass, makes this even more awesome and pushes the narrative even further.
Captain Marvel is maybe the second best fit for your avenging feminine, in her solo movie. She's not innocent or passive. She performs femininity without shame or apology. She's not sexless, nor needs to be driven to violence by maternal instinct or suffering. If she's sexualized, it seems to be in a way mostly lesbians appreciate. And she's not virginal or special in any way other girls in the movie aren't. But most importantly, the power of violence is what was stolen from her. Spoilers ahead. She was military, long before the movie started, she had power. The Kree brainwashed her, stole her memories, told her to submit and suppress her emotions. More accurately, they stole her agency to decide how her violence would be used, and to what ends. The Kree tried to turn her into an instrument, performing a cold, masculine brand of violence. And I don't think it's coincidental that when she finally lets loose against them and stops playing by their rules, her long, feminine, flowing hair is one of the parts of her that glows brightest.
When you published the part on the rape revenger trope early on patreon, I certainly wasn't expecting an instant 8-part series to drop. Binged: check. Decoupling certain traits from classic stereotypes (often gender) is something many movies and forms of entertainment in general could benefit from; among others you've brought up victimhood and violence, which are sort of diametrically opposed and as a theme mostly seem to differ in whom we're supposed to identify with. For me at least, the most interesting characters are usually those that don't just submit to our subconscious expectations or even subvert them, if done believably. In terms of Fury Road, this stood out to me most with how much agency the wives are given throughout the film, unexpected in any scenario but particularly in this post-apocalyptic hellhole. To some people, any subversion of expectations will always seem "unbelievable", of course. I had a real good laugh at the screenshotted headlines.
I could write a novel about how much I appreciated this series.. But right now I just want to say THANK YOU for making the base volume louder than most people do with their videos lol
This series was one of the best things I've watched this year. Amazing insight, presentation, everything! I couldn't stop watching... just Wow... blown away. You got yourself a new subscriber here.
Brilliant! I so hope you make video essays on female and male tropes of other genres too. Your speech, editing, thoughts and choice of words are beyond amazing. I feel so blessed I got to watch this.
this was great. I was surely expecting you'd bring up The Cabin in the Woods when you discussed the innocent or the final girl and now I'd love to see your thoughts on it.
You know, would have been nice if people talked about Mad Max better. I was never even informed before now it was *good* let alone moving or idealistic. All anytime ever talked about were the special effects and the cars. Has I known it was more than that I might have been interested in watching it.
Even disregarding all the writing its technically impressive, relying very rarely on CGI, all those cars you see are real, function and function well, and when you see them crash they crash well. The war rig actually has two interlinked V8 engines, they didnt have to do that but they did.
@@leuk2389 That's fascinating. Thank you for proving my point. You could have stated something else that this video series hadn't about the movie and it's world, characters, themes, anything else really. But instead went back to the reason I didn't care to learn anything about by talking up it's surface appeal like it's the Michal Bay transformers. And now I'm back to doubting if it's really worth watching. If, while the things this series says are in fact in it, the movie instead is 50%> driving, fighting, and spectacle that will make it's narrative seem worthless compared to the slog it took to get there. Because no matter how good the narrative, it's not worth watching meaningless noise for more time than I'll get out of it.
@@fortello7219 wow there bud no need to get your uptight pants in a twist, sorry for saying that side from the writing they alsp put a shit ton of effort and care in the rest of the movie which is a rare sight in filmmaking nowadays. Its why people talk about it, I can hardly see how that retracts from the expereience but truly its your loss
I do remember hearing, at the time, that it was groundbreaking and even a bit controversial, but not much was said about why. It's like it was so outside-the-box that people didn't immediately have the vocabulary to talk about it meaningfully. Also, I can totally appreciate that the care the filmmakers put into it was on multiple levels: characters, world, action choreography, effects, props, and setting. It really seems like every single detail of the film was honed to perfection.
It took me a long time to see it myself, but I'm super glad I did, despite being neither a mad Max or action flick fan. I want to add that it uses the medium of film to communicate information super well! You learn not through slabs of exposition so much as watching. They take a kinda silly world concept and make it feel immersive and real! That and I do really appreciate how awful the villain is and how it makes him so heinous without resorting to dogkicking shlock imagery. So yeah, I'd say it's worth a watch!
For the most part, tropes aren't inherently bad-even the ones discussed in this series. They're just patterns that exist, and what matters is the purpose they're serving within a given work.
@@Dorian_sapiens true. Maybe it's better I say I want to avoid harmful or overused tropes so that I can challenge myself creatively and make something that stands out.
I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your content. You are showing so many people that there is an alternative to what we are used to, that there is a better world out there that is worth fighting for. You are making the world a better place. Please never stop.
absolutely amazing , thoughtful and in depth analysis i love this essay so much and after your analysis of kenny's character in ttg twd and this i am looking forward to binge watching all your content!! liked and subscribed!!
This was an excellent essay dude. Really glad you took your time with this one and it is really nice to be able to watch new stuff from you. What you've discussed has give me a lot to think about.
There's so much going on in this movie. All great, indepth points here, especially when considered in conjunction with Max's journey towards compassion, healing and aid.
I have seen this series several times. As a woman, a big fan of action cinema, and a filmmaker, I think this series deserves the re-watches I've devoted to it. You did a great job breaking down tropes and patterns that take lots of time to analyze and dissect in film school, and its really appreciated. I really hope I can take this knowledge and apply it to my own films soon.
CAPT MARVEL SPOILERS Watching this after seeing captain marvel, I think Carol (imperfectly, but close enough) fits the avenging feminine. She’s fighting to take back what was stolen - her memories, her name, her history, identity, and eventually, most of her power (given - sort of - by another woman who rebelled against a rigid, supremacist culture). One could definitely go into that more, but it was nice to see some similar portrayal. I also loved seeing Okoye in Black Panther - she was violent to protect her culture, her home, and in extension - her identity.
@@Moonlitwatersofaqua I do too. I didn't get around to seeing TROSW; but I do like Rey and I will defend her as a character (especially considering her potential). But TFAW and TLJ as their wholes.... felt average at best.
I really enjoyed this series and I can only imagine the amount of work put into it. Thank you for it. Although I wouldn't agree that the solution to male violence is equality (that we should have feminine violence to counter balance it), rather to undermine the myth of redemptive violence and the lie that the only way to shape society is through using violence (or the threat of).
I mostly agree with you, but popcorn flicks are going to always exist, and hey, they make good money, and people like watching things to kaboom. I think these videos are suggesting egalitarianism in our popcorn flicks. Take away the exclusivity of the assumed male audience, put more diverse stories into our vicariously explosive entertainment.
Also, anyone committed to awareness of injustices around the world rapidly comes to appreciate just how violent it truly is. Not in the glamorous Vin Diesel way, but in the gritty and unequal and infuriating and sometimes hopeless Fury Road way. No war but class war, but pretending that "violence is not the answer" when just acknowledging those injustices can expose you to these levels of violence, idk, it just feels detached and scolding to me. You wouldn't tell Furiosa that she should have found a nonviolent solution, right? How do you feel about the fact that a huge percentage of the women in prison today were sent there for defending themselves against abusive partners? Sometimes, there's no way out, and the violence has already come to you, and at those times it helps no one to wring your hands about how "there must be a better way."
No. Speaking as someone from an under privileged community, when the people who control you employ violence then the only way to make them stop is to take action. Nonviolence works on the expectation that you can tap into the empathy of those who subjugate you and make them remorse. But when the privileged don't see the people they're violating as humans then It Does Not Work. There is an imbalance of power. The powerful are exercising their right to violence and withholding it from those they subjugate. True change comes from the redistribution of that power. Some of those things might be nonviolent, even as simple as openly disagreeing with their ideals. But one of the most powerful and vital aspects of returning the power to the people is retaking the right of violence. Violence is not the right owned solely by the privileged. The liberation of people throughout history has worked because of the violence that was used to defy it. Do you know why people say "Punch Nazis"? Because it works. Because otherwise the only thing that will stop the violence is the extermination of every single thing that the powerful seek to destroy.
This is still a FANTASTIC essay/series; thoroughly insightful and enjoyable. I come back to it on occasion to help do a diagnosis/progress-check on whatever characters I happen to be developing for my own stories.
Christmas came early this year or what?! What an incredible surprise!! A video series about one of my favorite movies done by one of my favorite youtubers all in one day?? Thank you so much for your hard work!! I loved every minute of it and look forward to more from you :D
This series was amazing 🙌🏻❤️ I love how you succinctly summarized the most familiar female tropes in film and then showed how Fury Road subverted them. I also really appreciated the care you took in explaining how these tropes are not hard and fast rules to apply to a single film but rather a name for a pattern. In my own experiences, it has been difficult to explain to (mainly) men why these tropes are harmful even if there are exceptions, and even if there are some damn good movies and cool female characters within them. (I did name my dog Ripley, after all.) As I watched this series, I tried to imagine what a different kind of feminine violence would look like and I realized that I really struggled to come up with something that didn’t feel absurd. I think that, more than anything, speaks to the over-saturation of these tropes, to a point where it hinders the imagination. (Or that could just be a personal failing, lol.) All of this is to say, I really appreciate your smart analysis and the way in which you present it.
the idea that violence is evil and violence is men is so deeply ingrained within us. The violent woman is seen as the necessary evil and the violent man is seen as either a backslider to our inhuman roots (the villain) or as a necessary evil to protect us from such men (the hero) we are violent, we will always be violent, that will never change and all though that we can overcome it is a tool of violence to keep us oppressed. it doesn't matter that we ARE violent, it matters why we are violent. Protection, love, community, coming together, nurture. All of these things need violence to one degree or another. If we take violence back, stop condemning violence and start condemning the why then we will become a better society. It doesn't matter what your ideologies or beliefs or religion are, how you treat those who are powerless, that says who you are, not a label. And I do not care how nonviolent you are, if you sit by and watch suffering, you are participating in that suffering.
I'm a woman and really enjoyed Fury Road, but I was a little uncomfortable throughout it. Now I know why! I'm a fan of "traditional" action movies that follow the rules--like, the guy who thinks he knows better than the hero will die, the noble sacrifice, etc. They're fun. But this one didn't follow that roadmap, so I guess my brain was a bit confused. Now I have to go watch it again wit this new knowledge! And one other question--WHAT ABOUT SARAH CONNOR? Terminator came out when i was 19 and I saw it in theaters so many times I wanted to be her. When II came out I became a bodybuilder. Not kidding--I was badass. So where would she fit in here? I'd love a whole deep dive on her alone.
I'm a huge fan of T2 as well. It's really cool to see such a badass emerge from a stereotypical delicate female. I'm going to guess she would be a Mamma Bear since her power is a response to protecting her child. What do you think?
@@legzfalloffgirl5148 That might be it--but it's interesting in T2 that although she IS protecting her child, at first she doesn't really connect to him as her CHILD--it's more that she's protecting the future and he is the vessel of that. It's later in the film that she sees him as a person.
Something I think could’ve been pointed out is that in most of the examples of action movie heroines you’d given, the women fight to return to a normal. The Mama Bear starts at home with her kids, commits violence to remove a threat, then returns to her kids. The Last One might start in school, commits violence to remove a threat, then returns to school. In Fury Road, when the violence ends, the world has changed. This is a significant departure from the tropes as well.
Very astute!
Charlotte Butcher +
That's a very cogent point, thanks for mentioning it!
Holy fuuuuuuuuck you're right !
Great observation! I hadn't thought before about how that is another area where The Hero's Journey and The Heroine's Journey typically differ. In the Hero's Journey, the protagonist usually accomplishes his mission and returns to a changed world (think Frodo and The Shire), but when the protagonist is feminine, she does indeed typically serve to restore order and normalcy. It's like how most traditional tellings of Mulan end with her parting with her violent ways and settling down to a quiet life, fulfilling her duties as a loyal house wife. You're a absolutely right. Female protagonists don't get to change the world nearly as often as their male counterparts.
I remember Oliver "PhilosophyTube" Thorn once saying (and I paraphrase) "All political ideologies are about deciding *which* violence is acceptable."
i love PhilosophyTube
Yes. He also mentioned how the problem with neoliberalism is that it states that "no violence is acceptable" and then makes a bunch of exceptions. Other ideologies (for better or worse) outright say “these forms of violence are acceptable” - and that is much more honest, at least.
It’s tangential, but it reminds me of all these tropes that innuendo talked about, that are basically ways of making exceptions to the idea that women (or femininity) is separated from violence.
Just like fury road (in the innuendo’s reading) says “this violence is good (and not necessarily masculine) because it is protective and distributes power” instead of just saying “violence is bad and masculine” and then justifying its own violence by saying “but it is cool because we are protecting the feminine from it and/or it is going to stop more violence”.
@@fadechicobuarque1989 Everything I don't like is neoliberalism.
@@eshansingh1 Really? Wow. You must be a really focused guy. Well, good luck with that.
Hitting a puppy = bad violence
Punching a nazi = good violence
"I selfishly want another Fury Road"
I don't see how that's in any way selfish, another Fury Road would be an objective good for humanity.
I think that was a cheeky joke.
Fury road, from this series seems like an absolute masterclass in representation, diversity and forcing change. Maybe if films like this became the norm, rather than false ideas of what’s acceptable by social norms being pushed to maintain the status quo, this might actually push change
@@Dastankbeets9486 no it won’t. You know that.
It's selfish because he's focusing on his own concerns. Whether other people benefit from that is irrelevant.
Replying 5 years later to bring up how disappointing the latest cgi nightmare marvel-one-liner fury road trailer is
I need "FURY ROAD AIN'T GOOD BECAUSE IT'S SUBTLE" on a shirt.
Let me know when it's available to buy.
As subtle as a 2hour heavy metal music video..
I've literally had someone argue that Fury Road wasn't good, specifically because it wasn't subtle and it was straight-forward, plot-wise, and all I could think of was that this dude must be the absolute least-fun person to hang around with ever.
Henry Voss I’m assuming then, that they aren’t a fan of any other action movies either. Because action movies as a whole tend not to be particularly subtle. Hell, most Hollywood movies generally aren’t particularly subtle- you want subtle, you go indie.
And I will admit that I find those that refuse to watch anything but indie movies rather pretentious. What’s wrong with entertainment for the masses?
@@katherinemorelle7115 He definitely wasn't someone that tended to gravitate to them, but I think, for many of the same reasons that Ian and a lot of us in this comment section loved the movie, this guy was, uh, shall we say, predisposed to dislike it.
Something I noticed and thought worth mentioning is that no matter how masculine the character is supposed to be or how nonsensical it would be in the show's setting, all female characters have to adhere to certain beauty standards, specifically being hairless with perfectly plucked eyebrows and wearing at least some makeup. It's especially jarring in settings such as mad max where shaving one's armpits and legs daily would be the last thing on your mind.
That's what I've always hated about dystopian and apocalyptic movies and tv shows. I get excited when I hear creators say they are taking a realistic approach but then the women always have shaved pits, legs, pubes, and faces. They never explore the breaking down of social hygiene/beauty standards in that, yes, some women have facial hair and that, yes, all women have body hair. I guess American audiences want their women to look as prepubescent as possible at all times?
@@-._.-KRiS-._.- I've thought about this too. Honestly I think a lot of people would be put off by the natural female body and it would for sure be less profitable (except perhaps within documentary or reality tv setting). I don't think most men know --or indeed want to know-- that adult women usually start growing a dark hair or two on their faces. People (also women) like to pretend there's a fine, distinctive line between men and women.
It’s just so unacceptable for a female main character to not be sexy at all times. Even if she’s crying she’s pretty-crying, if she’s beat up she’s still got perfect makeup but with a scratch on her forehead. It shouldn’t be startling to see women just looking like real people.
There’s a specific moment in ‘Ebola Holmes’ (otherwise great feminist film’ where our female protagonist falls from a bike to indicate her lack of skill with one, and comically springs up from the ground, covered in twigs and leaves. Except beneath, like, three individual dirty leaves on her face, every other part of it is totally and utterly smooth and spotless to the point where it’s kind of hilarious
@@Dastankbeets9486 EBOLA HOLMES LMFAOO
Your subtle use of anarchist rhetoric to discuss the use of violence in this film is excellent
so good
also liked the use of "egalitarian feminism" in a way that could in no way be mistaken for the "egalitarianism not feminism" movement but that sounded delightfully like a call for including class consciousness in intersectional feminism
yes yes yes and yes again. ive come to believe that this kind of feminst analysis can be a wonderful starting point for a discussion of violence which leads straight to anarchism. these ideas are radical in their essence. make no mistake: the analysis of violence offered here is not compatible with capitalism or the modern state. but the fact that it begins from such a deeply personal and immediately experienced form of politics (ie the distribution of violence), from issues of gender and queerness, is essential to securing that abstractions and theories don't run out of control and stop being useful. if we start from here, we feel these things deeply and with a broad multitude of aspects of ourselves while we think them deeply and act them out. bravo.
Is that the 'if you say egalitarianism instead of intersectional feminism then you are the enemy' thing?
no it's the "at least half of the people who use the word egalitarianism specifically to avoid using words like feminism or womanism or whatever are really just woman-hating mra's in disguise" thing
Half based on what?
"Violence is not masculine by nature but by custom." is an answer to those who impose the trope of "kind-caring female" on women.
Binge watched it and, uh, you're amazing. As a student of cultural sciences, your analyses and your narrations prove to be excellent every time.
Every time.
I like your god damn point.
(I would love to see you and Ian collab someday.)
Well fancy seeing you here
And I like your god damn channel!
How glad I am that I’m not seeing that very loud percentage of youtube commenters here who are always shouting “SJW this and SJW that”.
It's my hope that they learn
Scroll down long enough and you'll find em. Probably.
The red pill comes in suppository form too. It's the alt-right of the consumer! Socialism won't give you that!
they're just bumped lower so you don't see them first. *edited out*
enjoy your safe space
@@mufasas111 go away
not gonna lie, the ending made me feel emotional... ive always been feminine but also someone who relished in violent games/films/sports etc simply because, well, its fun/titillating. of course, i always felt a bit different because of that... it was validating to hear "violence being reclaimed for women" i guess
At the end of the day, it's a rehash of the similar idea of "you do you, boo." essentially saying no matter HOW you feel, you are VALID in feeling it, and should never feel ashamed in feeling it.
"Is your violence for consolidating power or distributing it? Is your power structure vertical or lateral?"
#politics in a nutshell
He uses the line about consolidating power v distributing it while explaining how conservatives think.
Which now makes me realise why so many conservatives I know weren’t a fan of this movie- it goes directly against their politics.
Uh...only one axis of it.
"I selfishly want another Fury Road"
WELL GUESS WHAT IAN
Thanks for 8 videos in less than a minute, Ian. See you in 2024!❤️
Now I'm sad.
As someone currently living in 2024 i can confirm he is still with us
I go back and watch these from time to time, and upon every return, they are
insightful,
delightful, and
meaningful.
Thank you, good sir
God, when she uses herself and Joe’s unborn child as a human shield against Joe... So badass! I really should see this movie. Thank you for the awesome rundown on female protagonist movie tropes. It’s good to have subconscious ideas brought to the forefront to grow!
During this whole 8 part marathon I was like that boy from the Simpsons: Stop it, it's already dead! But where "it" certainly stands for Fury Road, the "dead" actually stands for "I already love this movie to death". It seems like every time I see that movie or watch another video essay about it, I learn some new genius thing about the Fury Road and that pleases me to no end. Seriously, I think your essays are an work of art and love and they should be preserved against the soulless ravages of copyrights bots. I certainly enjoyed watching this playlist and ponder the points you raised. Great, great work, sir. Chapeau! And cheers!
Hahahah, feel excalty the same
"Stop it, Fury Road is already I already love this movie to death!"
Yesterday, I literally asked myself,
"Wonder what Innuendo Studios is working on, haven't seen a video from him in a while,"
Came back from work this morning to see *8 VIDEOS IN MY SUB FEED*
Thank you Innuendo, I can always count on you for high quality work and perfect timing.
This was absolutely excellent, and I appreciated the little digs at Whedon's work. I'm not saying the dude is a straight up hack or monster, but I get so tired of people praising his "feminism" without looking closer at what he's actually portraying.
Anyway, I remember just being blown away by this movie. Not just because of all the fun, impressive visuals, but because of the heart of the story. I went in thinking I was going to see your typical action movie, where a male hero leads everyone and saves some pretty, fairly useless ladies, and instead I saw a celebration of women in all their different forms. I would say that this is exactly what a feminine action movie should look like. Unfortunately I can't really think of anything that comes to this level, but I hope we see more.
The praise of Whedon's "feminism" is more a damnation of the rest of the industry if he is seen as a progressive outlier.
I watched Fury Road wasted drunk, and in my lucid moments I thought "this is a heavy-handed art flick" but I wasn't following what was happening. I'm gonna rewatch it. I missed way more than I thought.
This was the best breakdown of this film I've seen. Great job,man.
Except it didn't go deep into the plot.
@@Chronically_ChiII He didn't need to. This was about what the movie meant, not what happened it in. The subversion of genre tropes to indict the seedier parts of how action movies frame women.
@@andrewraby8008 plot matters.
Especially if we're talking about a breakdown of a film.
Then it matters a lot.
I never said plot didn't matter. But it wasn't that kind of analysis. He covers enough of the plot so that you understand what was going on . But it's like this. I had to write a paper in college about the toxic masculinity And such in A Farewell to Arms. Do you think I wasted any time breaking down the plot? No I picked my scenes that were important to the point of the essay. It's a dissertation, not a book report.
@@andrewraby8008 Fair enough. I guess I found it to have lost potential to only focus on gender roles in this movie.
This series was great, but I was super not ready for eight videos to just show up
One thing that bugged me for the first 7 parts was the way you phrased assertiveness, brutality, bravado, etc as being "masculine" traits, and I'm very glad that you had intended to argue against that all along.
I consider Fury Road to be the greatest post-apocalyptic and feminist action film ever made. A work of art. I hope there is a commentary track for it some day. The track on the original Mad Max is excellent.
I love how 1 guy overpowers a whole team of women. hilarious.
mufasas1lion go cry about it
the future is avenging feminine
> I like the Innocent as a device to establish the villain - but an innocent/helpless boi is just as good.
> I like the Vasquez, not because she is 'one of the guys', but because real physical fitness, the ability to fight in self-interest, and the refusal to die in the face of overwhelming odds embody the true spirit of femininity.
> I like the Dominatrix, not because I need violent women to be sexy in order to accept them, but because *that's my kink, dammit!*
> I like the Mother Bear, not because women need to have children in order to be valid, but because it's a heckin' emotionally powerful story (and I want to feel protected by a strong maternal figure).
> I don't really like the virginal 'Final Girl', but I like the idea of a Machiavellian anti-heroine, who will happily throw her 'companions' to the monster in order to further her chances of survival >:)
> I'm disturbed by how the Rape Revenger seems to gain her strength through being raped, as though it somehow 'builds character' or whatever - but I still think art has a responsibility to acknowledge and confront sexual violence, and that should extend to representing it on screen.
I haven't seen "Fury Road" b/c my experience of action films is that they are loud dumb schlock, shown in threatening, masculine environments, that make me feel dysphoric, so I tend to avoid them. Also, does that guy have blood being pumped out of him through a straw? Eww!
Along side the balancing masculine (coz you girls have been on the fulcrum for too long)...
@@wyleong4326 You do realise that men have been in charge for like... Most of western history.
excellent taste in credits music
what song is it
@@mioprytzo2790 Diablo Swing Orchestra - Ragdoll Physics
i came down to the comments to either say this or agree with the mvp that already did
That was a damn good series. And makes me even fonder of Furry Road.
I loved Furry Road, but I've gotta say the fursuits got a little distracting at times.
Aye, you got the special edition too? :P
This was the 1st "violent action movie" I ever really, REALLY enjoyed. I was allowed to enjoy it, without being any of the tropes myself. That's for breaking down the subconscious permission I felt - the gift the artists who made this movie gave to me, that every other movie never had.
Wow, this series of video essays was honestly just brilliant. I watched your Alt-Right Playbook series because, honestly, that's what was interesting to me *personally* as a *male* leftist with a penchant for debate.
I regret to say that I, despite proclaiming myself an Anarchist, have failed to treat all struggles equally. I focus on the class struggle because that's what appeals to *me personally* as someone who is only repressed under that specific hierarchy.
This series absolutely opened my eyes not only to the depth of sexism that still exists today in the West but the fact that I probably internalized it to some degree without even knowing. And that, I have not done the reading I ought to have done on feminist theory.
This series has opened my eyes to the fact that I can and *must* support the feminist struggle - and all struggles - as having equal merit.
Sincerely, thank you.
The needle drop at the end was AMAZING! I am now a fan of Diablo Swing Orchestra.
WASNT READY FOR THESE UPLOADS
Fury Road is my all time favorite movie and this series shed a new light onto how I see it. Deep down I think I always knew this side to it but you helped me realize that fully. Thank you.
I don't like action films and I didn't enjoy fury road but you've for sure made me appreciate that it exists
I have nothing to add, just that I love your statement and what it represents. You can be super glad for something that you don't necessarily like!
This. He hits the nail on the head when he says "Fury Road isn't good because it's subtle". It's still a movie that tries to fit in as much explosions, cars, and fight choreography as possible, and cut out as much dialogue as possible. It is groundbreaking in its feminist themes, but I rolled my eyes at the way those themes were conveyed. I can appreciate that it's a masterpiece, it's just a masterpiece of a genre I'm personally really not into. But hey, it disrupts Hollywood's patriarchal norms while staying true to the genre most known for pushing those norms, and that's awesome.
i never stopped to think about that, about how violence was never actually a manly trait or a male creation, they just took it for themselves and now that's how we see it. I'm a feminist and I love reading feminist theory and I think that's the first time I've ever heard something like that. Very interesting, will for sure change my views in certain areas...
I really wasn't comfortable with all the takes saying Fury road wasn't feminist because it's an action movie, and therefore aping masculine narratives. It struck me as a narrow viewpoint because a) certain types of feminism can be wrong, we only have to look back at the early 20th Century to realize that and b) it was just another roundabout way to say violence is masculine. Violence is used for power, and power is maintained through access to violence. To say that women don't want and use power, that they don't express violence, is just to say that women are submissive, and that a space for them cannot be found. Patriarchal societies, that is to say most societies, are still patriarchal even as people within those societies find spaces for feminine perspectives and stories. That's inevitable, and it's bound to produce problematic implications. George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nico Lathouris all wrote Fury Road. They're all guys. And they wrote a film about a bunch of people mutilating each other on flaming muscle cars for the fate of a few sex slaves. You don't have to look far to see how any injection of feminism into that might come back with some additional problematic results to supplement those already present.
Yet the result of Fury Road is something noteworthy because its narrative is almost anthropological. With the story taking place so far from the collapse of society that Max's age doesn't make any sense and the old world almost plays no role in the story of this new one (with the exception of the seeds and the guns/cars everyone uses to murder each other), Fury Road explores how a new society is built, rather than how a prelapsarian world is re-built. Sure, they're bringing back some old seeds; but will they return society to the one the Keeper of the Seeds remembers? I don't think anyone is left with that impression at the end. Unable to escape into another world, the good guys have to take over the one they just escaped. It has to be theirs because it is the only place they know with the power to see their hopes become reality. In the end they win, obtain power over a society that has likely known nothing except Joe's authoritarian rule, and are left to create something entirely new. It's pragmatic, and all the more striking for how they come to the inevitable conclusion that Joe must be destroyed for them to truly live free. The women of Fury Road show that violence, and therefore power, doesn't have to be strictly self-serving. In this way, women are shown bringing order from chaos, in ways both feminine and masculine.
Is this how a woman would frame Fury Road? Fuck, I don't know. Maybe a feminine perspective would make a better film with these themes at play. Maybe even in a non-violent way, if that would help. I look forward to it, or whatever other film comes along to top Fury Road.
What a series.
I came to this channel for the Beginner's Guide / Storytelling video (which was excellent, by the way), and then absolutely devoured the Alt-Right Playbook and, now, this one.
What can I say? Bravo.
You are doing a really amazing job at dismantling patriarchy. Breaking it down and explaining it really well.
You're truly amazing at it.
You changed my mind about violence. I thought that the one amazing strength of women was that they weren't violent but peaceful. And not because there is a biological reason or something inherent in women that makes them this way. I know it's probably because that's how women are expected to be in this society.
This thing that violence is kept from women is really interesting. I never thought about it but it seems right.
I never questioned that this belief that women are peaceful that's why they are better would also make women passive and not retaliate against their patriarchy.
The great bit is that
"Imagine the answer is yes"
Is literally used in mathematics to work out things.
Can f(x) ever be a certain value k?
Well let's make f(x)=k.
Oh? There's no major logical contradictions like dividing by zero? I guess it's possible then.
The world didn't fall apart?! Well I guess we can have truly feminine movie violence
There actually exist bodies of numbers where you can divide by zero which are called Wheels.
@@xCorvus7x true but those are exceptions to the rule, in most cases finding out that what you did caused a divide by zero means its not a possible operation or equasion
I look forward to the comments filling with "examples" of the Avenging Female from people who don't quite understand the difference between the letter and the spirit of the proposed trope...while also hoping that the coming years will see more Avenging Females, enough to _make_ it a trope.
Timothy McLean why not Katniss tho?
I Don't think this it will be a trope. The necessary change it will required to the society to make this trope possible.
at the same time they will make it obsolete....But I hope this trope come back in historical movies... For our time...
Happypast because Katniss is an honorary man. The most feminine thing she does is wear pretty dresses, but that’s not really her choice. Other people dress her up. In fact, most of her arc is just her reacting to the world around her.
If you only argue by the outside circumstances of feminity, Furiosa'd be an honorary man too... Katniss actually has kind of a Mama bear thing going on with Prim and Rue... it's hard to actually say what kind of female revenge is not rape revenge/mama bear behaviour even in a somewhat symbolic way
She's also much more sexualized by the camera than Furiosa
@@suadela87
@Mulan I’d argue that it’s more of a papa bear mentality. Or rather, genderless.
As always, you nailed it. Definitely coming back for a rewatch at some point. Not to be too dramatic, but thank you for continuing to be a voice of reason in a climate where those feel increasingly rare to find.
Thank you for this series on Fury Road. It’s one of my favorite movies and now I have a better sense of why I love it.
This might be your best work yet. Great videos!
This was so nice. So nice. I wish that there was more content like this.
I hated Fury Road for a very long time because of a bad experience, but this series has opened my eyes to not only the depth of the film, but the threads the wind themselves through film as a whole. I knew about misogynistic tropes and violence against women in media, but this sheds a whole different light on it. I cried. Good job.
I did not give Fury Road the appreciation of deserved. I saw it and just thought "meh. Guns and explosions, cool I guess."
Thanks for showing me it was so much more, I'll have to give it another watch.
Keep creating Innuendo Studios - you’re amazing
What a fantastic series of videos, well done Innuendo Studios.
Also, each time I watch Fury Road and each time I watch or read analysis of it I become a little more convinced that it’s the greatest movie ever made.
Thank you for fleshing out so thoroughly what I loved so instinctively about the film. Plus I got weepy somewhere around the 3rd part and that's always a good sign.
Sorry I was so absorbed in all your videos I didn’t think about “liking” them, but I loved each and every one of your videos and will go back to give a thumbs up and subscribe. This was great!
I'm gonna mention Deleuzian Corporeality.
Well not really. A slight critique of your final section is that you place too much emphasis on the ends of that violence, while a Deleuzian reading would cast aside the ends/means distinction, and I think this abandoning is essential to the film. The characters are not interested in creating a specific new world but experimenting. It is significant, for instance, that they do not return to the Citadel "with a plan" for tomorrow, but instead arrive as the film ends: there is no specific plan for a new society, only the possibility that a better world may be found with Joe's hierarchal structures dismantled. Furthermore, I think one can read a lot of what you have spoken with across these essays as experimentation: the characters experiment with violence, with motherhood, with femininity, with masculinity, with vulnerability, with resilience. They take what is useful to them and they abandon what isn't, but they do not limit anyone else's experimentation with those things. It is a truly anarchist films, and, in a certain way, truly Deleuzian.
I had to scroll for 5 goddamn minutes to find a comment pointing this out. UA-cam...
This was so well articulated and illustrated, bravo.
The footage choice for "till the soil" alone deserves a like.
I've just watched this series again 5 years later and it's such a fantastic essay.
Hell yeah. This series fucken bumps. Best UA-cam binge in a while.
I know it's selfish to ask for more content to my tastes, but I'd really like to see your take on Dredd, personally I love it, and see it as an example of strong female characters, it has a female protagonist and antagonist who (in my opinion) aren't sexualised, don't have their suffering played up for entertainment and who aren't completely stripped of their femininity. The women in the film (There's not a lot of women, unfortunately given how well they're written) are allowed to be human and characters, the villain is allowed to be violence and cruel despite being a woman and yet she is also humanised and has her reasoning without being turned into a tragic waif. The film does, like all films, have flaws, but it's definitely good in terms of having good female characters, especially for a film with around 8 named characters
This is central to Christianity, and perhaps other religions/philosophies as well. Certainly to the Abrahamic ones.
The reason Viking-age Scandinavian women had more freedom than their counterparts in continental Europe is that their culture did not have as formulized gender roles as that of Christianity. Basically, the only limitations for women were their physical limitations. A warrior woman (the Amazons) would be an abomination in the eyes of God.
The British accused the Vikings of employing female warrior. The Muslims accused the Crusaders of the same. This was to illustrate just how low and immoral the other side was.
In patriarchal and misogynist societies, the women is the symbol of the society. She is to remain pure and virtuous. If she isn’t, it’s the fault of their men, because they did not keep her under control. Farrakhan once said that the true worth of a race must be measured by the character of his woman. (This switch from “race” to “his” is exactly how Farrakhan worded it.)
During the Finnish Civil War, female red-guards, young maids and workers, were among those who were killed first.
The SS units on the Eastern Front waged war as well as were active in genocide. Not everybody who fought on the German side in the then-USSR was part of the Waffen-SS, or even German. There were volunteers from Finland and Sweden, for example. Regardless of unit, all of them took prisoners of war. There was one exception to this. Female Red Army soldiers were shot on the spot, or were mutilated. Females who took part in war (there were one million of them in the Red Army) were seen as deviant and outright frightening. They were said to be hermaphrodites by the Nazi propaganda. One female Red Army soldier retold how a German POW seemed to be more worried about her and others in the unit actually looking like women than his exposed situation as a prisoner.
These women were largely shun by society and families when returning home after the war, sometimes viewed as prostitutes.
Interesting stuff. My feelings are conflicted, I'm torn between supporting feminism and hating war.
I LOVED YOUE COMMER
@@LimeyLassen You can still hate war and engage in it when it is necessary. Being an adult is doing the right thing especially when you don't want to.
Thank you for the comment, had no idea women were in the Red Army, it's nice to know and at the same time painful because of how society shunned them after they were more targetted by the enemy for solely being women.
@@tairademisheva3230 Look at nachthexen (nightwitches how nazis called them) they were piloting airplanes (old ones from WW1, nicknamed flying coffins, because the more recent had to mostly serve the men, right?) Nazis were scared to death of them. Some women also fought with men in air squadrons like Lily Litviak, the Rose of Stalingrad, it is said it took 11 planes against her to bring her down. Russia had many women fighters, snipers and any kind of fighters. Those Russians fighters were not hidden from others but the US and England had women pilots who didn't fight but were carrying things in danger zones so still faced life or death situations, yet when one of them was killed, the body was returned home without any honor, the family had to pay for discrete funerals, since it was so shameful to have employed females for such jobs, so the allies said they never used them. The women returned home without the medals the men had gained and without any honors. They could not say they were veterans. It took years for those women to be recognized (in the 90, in think).
The world really needs more people like Ian.
I LOVE the idea of the avenging feminine both for its own sake but also for how meta it is! Let there be many more!
History nerd here.
Just realized that the name vuvalini is a reference.
One of the leaders of the greek revolution (though not as well known) was Laskarina Bouboulina. First female admiral of the imperial russian navy.
Quite fitting as the initial idea also had greek roots as they were depicted as harpies. (initial idea was them using gyrocopters)
Combining all you said with this possible reference, an actual woman who historically was a violent badass, makes this even more awesome and pushes the narrative even further.
Captain Marvel is maybe the second best fit for your avenging feminine, in her solo movie.
She's not innocent or passive. She performs femininity without shame or apology. She's not sexless, nor needs to be driven to violence by maternal instinct or suffering. If she's sexualized, it seems to be in a way mostly lesbians appreciate. And she's not virginal or special in any way other girls in the movie aren't.
But most importantly, the power of violence is what was stolen from her. Spoilers ahead. She was military, long before the movie started, she had power. The Kree brainwashed her, stole her memories, told her to submit and suppress her emotions. More accurately, they stole her agency to decide how her violence would be used, and to what ends. The Kree tried to turn her into an instrument, performing a cold, masculine brand of violence. And I don't think it's coincidental that when she finally lets loose against them and stops playing by their rules, her long, feminine, flowing hair is one of the parts of her that glows brightest.
When you published the part on the rape revenger trope early on patreon, I certainly wasn't expecting an instant 8-part series to drop. Binged: check.
Decoupling certain traits from classic stereotypes (often gender) is something many movies and forms of entertainment in general could benefit from; among others you've brought up victimhood and violence, which are sort of diametrically opposed and as a theme mostly seem to differ in whom we're supposed to identify with. For me at least, the most interesting characters are usually those that don't just submit to our subconscious expectations or even subvert them, if done believably. In terms of Fury Road, this stood out to me most with how much agency the wives are given throughout the film, unexpected in any scenario but particularly in this post-apocalyptic hellhole.
To some people, any subversion of expectations will always seem "unbelievable", of course. I had a real good laugh at the screenshotted headlines.
I could write a novel about how much I appreciated this series.. But right now I just want to say THANK YOU for making the base volume louder than most people do with their videos lol
Sure hits different today.
Heard a rumor that the sequel is set to release May 24, 2024
Fine work.
This series was one of the best things I've watched this year. Amazing insight, presentation, everything! I couldn't stop watching... just Wow... blown away. You got yourself a new subscriber here.
Brilliant! I so hope you make video essays on female and male tropes of other genres too.
Your speech, editing, thoughts and choice of words are beyond amazing. I feel so blessed I got to watch this.
this was great. I was surely expecting you'd bring up The Cabin in the Woods when you discussed the innocent or the final girl and now I'd love to see your thoughts on it.
Just watched all these videos and got gifted by remembering Diablo Swing Orchestra! You are now my fav non-musician youtuber!
The ending was so powerful, i shed a bit of tears
You know, would have been nice if people talked about Mad Max better. I was never even informed before now it was *good* let alone moving or idealistic. All anytime ever talked about were the special effects and the cars.
Has I known it was more than that I might have been interested in watching it.
Even disregarding all the writing its technically impressive, relying very rarely on CGI, all those cars you see are real, function and function well, and when you see them crash they crash well. The war rig actually has two interlinked V8 engines, they didnt have to do that but they did.
@@leuk2389 That's fascinating. Thank you for proving my point. You could have stated something else that this video series hadn't about the movie and it's world, characters, themes, anything else really. But instead went back to the reason I didn't care to learn anything about by talking up it's surface appeal like it's the Michal Bay transformers.
And now I'm back to doubting if it's really worth watching. If, while the things this series says are in fact in it, the movie instead is 50%> driving, fighting, and spectacle that will make it's narrative seem worthless compared to the slog it took to get there. Because no matter how good the narrative, it's not worth watching meaningless noise for more time than I'll get out of it.
@@fortello7219 wow there bud no need to get your uptight pants in a twist, sorry for saying that side from the writing they alsp put a shit ton of effort and care in the rest of the movie which is a rare sight in filmmaking nowadays. Its why people talk about it, I can hardly see how that retracts from the expereience but truly its your loss
I do remember hearing, at the time, that it was groundbreaking and even a bit controversial, but not much was said about why. It's like it was so outside-the-box that people didn't immediately have the vocabulary to talk about it meaningfully.
Also, I can totally appreciate that the care the filmmakers put into it was on multiple levels: characters, world, action choreography, effects, props, and setting. It really seems like every single detail of the film was honed to perfection.
It took me a long time to see it myself, but I'm super glad I did, despite being neither a mad Max or action flick fan. I want to add that it uses the medium of film to communicate information super well! You learn not through slabs of exposition so much as watching. They take a kinda silly world concept and make it feel immersive and real!
That and I do really appreciate how awful the villain is and how it makes him so heinous without resorting to dogkicking shlock imagery.
So yeah, I'd say it's worth a watch!
Fantastic take! Just watched all of the videos and I will start looking for these tropes, and work to avoid them in my own writing!
For the most part, tropes aren't inherently bad-even the ones discussed in this series. They're just patterns that exist, and what matters is the purpose they're serving within a given work.
@@Dorian_sapiens true. Maybe it's better I say I want to avoid harmful or overused tropes so that I can challenge myself creatively and make something that stands out.
@Ollie - That's the ticket! That's how we get works like Fury Road, so thank you in advance!
This series was utterly masterful and gave me a profound appreciation for a movie I enjoy but didn't give much thought when I first watched it. Bravo!
The literal Chekhov’s gun is one of my favourite tropes
I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your content. You are showing so many people that there is an alternative to what we are used to, that there is a better world out there that is worth fighting for. You are making the world a better place. Please never stop.
absolutely amazing , thoughtful and in depth analysis i love this essay so much and after your analysis of kenny's character in ttg twd and this i am looking forward to binge watching all your content!! liked and subscribed!!
Wow. This genuinely made me think about a subject I love and rarely have challenged with new ideas. Thank you for this video!
Furiosa is my Halloween costume this year. Woulda been last year, but I needed an extra year to make sure it does the character justice. :)
This film looks worth watching. After all this Furiousa; Maximum Road sounds like a more appropriate name though
I've never even watched this movie but I just binged this series of videos and holy shit, you're great.
This was a magnificent series. Thanks for creating it. Please do another series like this.
Loved this series. Thank you.
I think someone might of liked Fury Road juuuuuust a lil bit
This was an excellent essay dude. Really glad you took your time with this one and it is really nice to be able to watch new stuff from you.
What you've discussed has give me a lot to think about.
This, this right here is what people need to hear to get it.
There's so much going on in this movie. All great, indepth points here, especially when considered in conjunction with Max's journey towards compassion, healing and aid.
You did good on this series, man, real good. Great work!
I have seen this series several times. As a woman, a big fan of action cinema, and a filmmaker, I think this series deserves the re-watches I've devoted to it. You did a great job breaking down tropes and patterns that take lots of time to analyze and dissect in film school, and its really appreciated. I really hope I can take this knowledge and apply it to my own films soon.
Okay, now this is epic. This was a great series, and you run a great channel. Keep it up, comrade!
CAPT MARVEL SPOILERS
Watching this after seeing captain marvel, I think Carol (imperfectly, but close enough) fits the avenging feminine. She’s fighting to take back what was stolen - her memories, her name, her history, identity, and eventually, most of her power (given - sort of - by another woman who rebelled against a rigid, supremacist culture). One could definitely go into that more, but it was nice to see some similar portrayal. I also loved seeing Okoye in Black Panther - she was violent to protect her culture, her home, and in extension - her identity.
She is also putting a suppressive into question, rejects it and states the intention to dismantle it for good towards the end of the movie.
swanpride good point!
I'm not up on action movies but I feel disney wanted Rey to be like this. But it didn't really work because the new star wars trilogy kinda sucks.
@@Moonlitwatersofaqua I do too. I didn't get around to seeing TROSW; but I do like Rey and I will defend her as a character (especially considering her potential). But TFAW and TLJ as their wholes.... felt average at best.
I loved every second of this.
Nice series! Super insightful, can't wait to put my friends on to this 👍
I really enjoyed this series and I can only imagine the amount of work put into it. Thank you for it. Although I wouldn't agree that the solution to male violence is equality (that we should have feminine violence to counter balance it), rather to undermine the myth of redemptive violence and the lie that the only way to shape society is through using violence (or the threat of).
I mostly agree with you, but popcorn flicks are going to always exist, and hey, they make good money, and people like watching things to kaboom.
I think these videos are suggesting egalitarianism in our popcorn flicks. Take away the exclusivity of the assumed male audience, put more diverse stories into our vicariously explosive entertainment.
Also, anyone committed to awareness of injustices around the world rapidly comes to appreciate just how violent it truly is. Not in the glamorous Vin Diesel way, but in the gritty and unequal and infuriating and sometimes hopeless Fury Road way. No war but class war, but pretending that "violence is not the answer" when just acknowledging those injustices can expose you to these levels of violence, idk, it just feels detached and scolding to me.
You wouldn't tell Furiosa that she should have found a nonviolent solution, right? How do you feel about the fact that a huge percentage of the women in prison today were sent there for defending themselves against abusive partners? Sometimes, there's no way out, and the violence has already come to you, and at those times it helps no one to wring your hands about how "there must be a better way."
No. Speaking as someone from an under privileged community, when the people who control you employ violence then the only way to make them stop is to take action. Nonviolence works on the expectation that you can tap into the empathy of those who subjugate you and make them remorse. But when the privileged don't see the people they're violating as humans then It Does Not Work. There is an imbalance of power. The powerful are exercising their right to violence and withholding it from those they subjugate. True change comes from the redistribution of that power. Some of those things might be nonviolent, even as simple as openly disagreeing with their ideals. But one of the most powerful and vital aspects of returning the power to the people is retaking the right of violence.
Violence is not the right owned solely by the privileged. The liberation of people throughout history has worked because of the violence that was used to defy it. Do you know why people say "Punch Nazis"? Because it works. Because otherwise the only thing that will stop the violence is the extermination of every single thing that the powerful seek to destroy.
I really enjoyed the thoughtful analysis in this series of videos. Thanks so much for taking the time to produce them!
This is still a FANTASTIC essay/series; thoroughly insightful and enjoyable. I come back to it on occasion to help do a diagnosis/progress-check on whatever characters I happen to be developing for my own stories.
this series of videos was a pleasant surprise. Got me thinking about things that I never would have thought about on my own.
Christmas came early this year or what?! What an incredible surprise!! A video series about one of my favorite movies done by one of my favorite youtubers all in one day?? Thank you so much for your hard work!! I loved every minute of it and look forward to more from you :D
This is why I back you on Patreon. Amazing work.
Or summation of the thesis statement of the film is genuinely a 10/10. I sent it to friends without any context.
This series was amazing 🙌🏻❤️ I love how you succinctly summarized the most familiar female tropes in film and then showed how Fury Road subverted them. I also really appreciated the care you took in explaining how these tropes are not hard and fast rules to apply to a single film but rather a name for a pattern.
In my own experiences, it has been difficult to explain to (mainly) men why these tropes are harmful even if there are exceptions, and even if there are some damn good movies and cool female characters within them. (I did name my dog Ripley, after all.)
As I watched this series, I tried to imagine what a different kind of feminine violence would look like and I realized that I really struggled to come up with something that didn’t feel absurd. I think that, more than anything, speaks to the over-saturation of these tropes, to a point where it hinders the imagination. (Or that could just be a personal failing, lol.)
All of this is to say, I really appreciate your smart analysis and the way in which you present it.
the idea that violence is evil and violence is men is so deeply ingrained within us. The violent woman is seen as the necessary evil and the violent man is seen as either a backslider to our inhuman roots (the villain) or as a necessary evil to protect us from such men (the hero)
we are violent, we will always be violent, that will never change and all though that we can overcome it is a tool of violence to keep us oppressed.
it doesn't matter that we ARE violent, it matters why we are violent. Protection, love, community, coming together, nurture. All of these things need violence to one degree or another.
If we take violence back, stop condemning violence and start condemning the why then we will become a better society.
It doesn't matter what your ideologies or beliefs or religion are, how you treat those who are powerless, that says who you are, not a label. And I do not care how nonviolent you are, if you sit by and watch suffering, you are participating in that suffering.
I'm a woman and really enjoyed Fury Road, but I was a little uncomfortable throughout it. Now I know why! I'm a fan of "traditional" action movies that follow the rules--like, the guy who thinks he knows better than the hero will die, the noble sacrifice, etc. They're fun. But this one didn't follow that roadmap, so I guess my brain was a bit confused. Now I have to go watch it again wit this new knowledge!
And one other question--WHAT ABOUT SARAH CONNOR?
Terminator came out when i was 19 and I saw it in theaters so many times I wanted to be her. When II came out I became a bodybuilder. Not kidding--I was badass.
So where would she fit in here? I'd love a whole deep dive on her alone.
I'm a huge fan of T2 as well. It's really cool to see such a badass emerge from a stereotypical delicate female. I'm going to guess she would be a Mamma Bear since her power is a response to protecting her child. What do you think?
@@legzfalloffgirl5148 That might be it--but it's interesting in T2 that although she IS protecting her child, at first she doesn't really connect to him as her CHILD--it's more that she's protecting the future and he is the vessel of that. It's later in the film that she sees him as a person.
0:09 "does bambi's mom count?"
is it weird that i have an opinion on this clearly joke question