Action movie Mad Max wins unlikely legion of feminist fans after 'men's rights activists' label it propaganda and spark backlash
- Feminist bloggers and think pieces praise film for strong female roles such as Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa
- Mad Max: Fury Road, directed by George Miller, criticized as 'propaganda' by writer upset that 'straight-up guy flick' ruined by 'Trojan Horse feminists'
- Gender roles in the movie inspired parody of Ryan Gosling 'Hey Girl' meme
Guns, souped-up cars and hours of cinema violence may seem more catered towards popcorn-munching machos than gender theorists, but the summer's breakout action flick has found an unlikely audience with feminists.
Max Max: Fury Road, staring Charlize Theron, has launched an outpouring of internet articles debating how feminist it is after moviegoers latched on to its perceived pro-woman message.
The film from director George Miller opened on May 15, though an article on the website Return of the Kings ahead of its release caused controversy when it called the movie 'propaganda'.
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Feminists have become unlikely fans of the action movie Mad Max: Fury Road after it received praise for strong female roles. Above, Charlize Theron stars as Imperator Furiosa
Waves of backlash followed an article labeling the movie 'feminist propaganda'. Above (from left), Abbey Lee, Zoe Kravitz, Courtney Eaton, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Riley Keough in the movie.
Contributor Aaron Clarey said that he first expected a 'straight-up guy flick' but was disappointed when he realized that Tom Hardy was not the real star of Mad Max and that 'Charlize Theron sure talked a lot during the trailers'.
The actual movie, which Clarey had not seen, sees the actress play Imperator Furiosa and lead a small group of fighters against male rulers holding women as sex slaves.
Clarey urged men not to see the film, blaming Hollywood for the 'subterfuge they will use to blur the lines between masculinity and femininity'.
Though the writer says he is not a 'men's rights activist' as he has been labelled, his article about 'Trojan Horse feminists' provided a foil to bloggers and think pieces praising the film.
Writer Aaron Clarey (pictured) blamed Hollywood for the 'subterfuge they will use to blur the lines between masculinity and femininity' after realizing the film's main star was not Tom Hardy
The movie sees Theron's character lead a small group of fighters against male rulers holding women as sex slaves
Writer Laurie Penny wrote at Buzzfeed in favor of the film's plot, in which 'violent masculinity has become social disease'.
Others praised director Miller's bringing in playwright Eva Ensler, creator of the feminist Vagina Monologues, to advise him on how to deal with issues of sexual violence.
Ensler told the BBC that while she does not like action movies 'what was very exciting about this film was the range of women characters and the range of ages. They weren't relegated to one role. To me that's feminism.'
The debate over Mad Max's perceived feminism and its new, unlikely fans have not dampened a successful first two weeks for the movie, which received a 98 per cent positive score on cinema website Rotten Tomatoes.
It had grossed an estimated $135million worldwide as of Friday.
The feminist blogosphere has also reworked the film's scenes to mesh with other parts of Internet culture such as the theme song to 'The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' and the 'Hey Girl' meme first inspired by Ryan Gosling.
Attention played to gender roles in Mad Max: Fury Road come as part of a debate about limited roles for women in mainstream films.
The movie has been used on feminist Tumblr blogs, including a parody of the Hey Girl meme that originally featured hearthrob Ryan Gosling
Feminist observers have praised director George Miller's movie for having women do a large share of the fighting
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