Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

4 Pages 918 Words

How do you describe Mad Max 2? Well, a cheesy 80’s movie about sums it up. Mad Max 2: The Road warrior, since its debut in 1981, has played regularly on U.S. cable television and apparently entertained U.S. viewers. When I first saw The Road Warrior, I thought the settings were very strange. Furthermore, I was disturbed by how cheesy the costumes and characters appeared, however; they fit well within the Western genre iconography. For example, the association with Westerns begins in Mad Max, as director George Miller comments on society's future in the VHS “Special Edition” version.
The basic story in the film is that there exists a civilization that has decayed because of immorality and a lack of natural resources. A result is that law and order has degenerated into the evil hands of the “Warriors of the Wasteland.” They are sort of sophisticated gangs that are in a large conflict with an outlaw gang of citizens. These “barbaric” gang members ride motorcycles and dress in a variety of styles ranging from leather to rags. They are led by the Humongous, who is the representative of their evil culmination of civilization. Even his title, “Warrior of the Wasteland,” suggests a spatial conflict that is inherent in the film.
In a less than subtle alias, Humongous is also known as the “Ayatollah of Rock'n Rolla,” which I think links him with a negative stereotype of Middle East terrorists and Islamic fundamentalists, even though he looks like neither. In The Road Warrior Miller brings horrible visual style. There is no doubt in my mind that The Road Warrior was influenced by Hollywood B grade movies, comic book culture, and a whole mixture of genres (probably from various forms of gay and sadomasochistic subcultures). Similarly, Miller's visual style is so radical and visually shocking as to create a look and tone so unreal that it approaches the art of crappy comic books. The locations used for The Road War...