Hannah Rayner- Blog Post 6

The scene where Furiosa decides to return to the citadel suggests that dystopian societies contain aspects of hope as well as utopian possibilities.   

Detail 1: The bare and bleak landscape shown while the characters are riding their motorcycles suggests that the dream the characters are chasing may not actually exist. 

Detail 2: The camera view shown from above the characters suggests that only God knows whether the characters are trying to find utopia exists.  While the camera view from the characters, suggests that the characters have no way of knowing whether the utopia is in existence or not. Lastly, the close up view of the map suggests that a map is an important part of the film.  The map is shown in the center of the screen implying that the map is showing something of pivotal importance. 

2. Y: now look at the portable concepts in SP4. Pick one portable concept and in two sentences, describe how it extends your original reading in step 1. Relate this to a visual concrete detail.

In the “Preface” to his book Scraps of the Untainted Sky; Moylan says, “In some form, a utopian horizon, or at the very least a scrap of hope, appears within the militant dystopia” (Moylan xiii).  Moylan in this quote is explaining that in a dystopia the characters can either find a small section of hope or discover a possible utopia.

Detail: In this scene, Max draws a map on a scrap of cloth he finds.  He ends up drawing on the map the location of the citadel with his blood.  This detail suggests that the citadel is the ending destination of the dystopian story and it suggests that blood will be shed in order to reach this goal.  The map drawn on the scrap of cloth represents the “scrap of hope” that Moylan refers to in his quote because the characters are filled with a feeling of hope when they realize that the citadel could be the answer to all of their problems. 

3. Following the suggested thesis structure, write down your X/Y thesis.

The plot of Mad Max: Fury Road suggests that the characters return to the citadel rather than venture into the unknown because they know the city is left unguarded and has resources.  However, when considering the insights of Moylan and Wolmark, the framing and camera work shown in this scene suggest that the characters are acting on the sense of hope they have created from their previous knowledge.  This film scene suggests that characters should not chase an unknown possibility, rather they should return to what they know.