Future Shock Film: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

In a world where resource scarcity leads to ravaging globals wars, societal remnants scavenge post-apocalyptic wastelands in search of fuels to sustain what little remains of civilization. Somewhere between projected future failures and unreliable mythic narrators emerges the chainmetal capper to Mel Gipson's star-making role of "Mad" Max Rockatansky in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Released in 1985 and co-directed by series creator George Miller and his confidante George Ogilvie, this tamer sequel to the anarchistic original Mad Max (1979), as well as its gearhead follow up Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), repositions the previously young hero as an aged-up wanderer amidst the increasing calamity of the post-apocalyptic outback.     

Host Garret Castleberry welcomes Scott McMurry into the dystopian discourse that foregrounds the "Future Shock Film" season of Special Topic in Media. he dystopian spaces that haunt not only sci-fi film but also the fears and anxieties of storytellers and their audiences. The pair organize their analysis around genre themes concerning presence versus absence, imitation versus innovation, and make a case for what moments situate Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome as future shock. 

"Future Shock" originated as Season 3 of Special Topics in Media, and the first batch of film conversations comprise a RETRO REWIND mini-series. Following these Retro Rewind film talks, Season 3 will collide with its altered future as we converge with a new season (and NEW university film course!) of future shock analyses.

Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurry

Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)

Recommended readings to pair with Season 3 "Future Shock Science Fiction Film":

Keith M. Johnston. Science Fiction Film: A Critical Introduction. Bloomsbury, 2011.

Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.

Laurie Ouellette and Jonathan Gray (Eds.). Keywords for Media Studies. NYU Press, 2017.

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Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.