Fun post from steelweaver about how Mad Max was inspired by the 1976 oil crisis and has some unsettling parallels with our current situation:
as I remember it, the setting for the first movie in the Mad Max series is a world where oil scarcity has led to economic disaster and the beginning of the breakdown of social order; where, whilst the police and justice systems continue to function, governmental cutbacks have diminished their ability to effectively maintain control; and where, whilst small pockets of civil society remain relatively unchanged (Max lives in a comfortable suburb with his wife and child), increasingly large areas are plagued by criminal gangs of looters.
Just saying…
In fact, the three-movie arc of the Mad Max films is in many ways a beautifully realised totally ridiculous, but excellently costumed, account of the slow breakdown of order (I), followed by total chaos (Road Warrior), followed by the first stages of re-establishing technology, trade and culture (Thunderdrome).
(Via Brainsturbator)
September 4, 2011 at 5:52 pm
‘Thunderdome’ has aged remarkably well and bears a re-viewing. I see it as a kind of exploration of alternative society: what IS beyond Thunderdome? Auntie Entity is a fascinating creation. I hear they’re making another one, which is always a Sign that something’s up with the original. But Tina Turner’s a hard act to follow. 😀