Mad Max in popular culture

The Mad Max series of films, which debuted in 1979, has had a significant impact on modern popular culture. Mad Max references are deeply embedded in popular culture; references to its dystopian, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic themes and bizarre landscape and desolate wasteland imagery have inspired some artists to emulate the look and feel of some aspect of the series in their work. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Franchise as a whole

• Pop singer Kesha noted that the vibe of her Get $leazy Tour (2011) was "very heavily influenced" by the Mad Max series. Several of the costumes she and her friends wear throughout the show are very reminiscent of characters throughout the Mad Max franchise. ^[7]
• The Fallout series of video games, which has a post-apocalyptic world as their setting, lists Mad Max as one of its influences. ^[8]
• The 1985 John Hughes teen comedy Weird Science features a scene where a bunch of mutant bikers smeared in face paint and dressed as Mad Max road warriors crash a party that the two main leads, Wyatt and Gary are hosting.
• Other video games inspired by Mad Max or its sequels include Twisted Metal , Carmageddon , Borderlands , Rage , Overwatch and Fuel . ^[9]
• Author of the Metro book and video game series, Dmitry Glukhovsky, credited Mad Max as an influence. ^[10]

Mad Max

• Manga author Buronson stated the setting of his manga and anime series Fist of the North Star was "heavily influenced by the film Mad Max." ^[11]
• James Wan and Leigh Whannell credit the film's final scene, in which Max handcuffs Johnny's ankle to an overturned car and gives him a hacksaw to cut off either the handcuffs or his own foot to escape imminent death, for inspiring the entire Saw series. ^[12]
• The music video for the 2001 single "Addicted to Bass" by Puretone was heavily inspired by the opening chase sequence in Mad Max featuring a Pursuit Special. Two Falcon XB coupes were used in the video - one painted in the livery of the MFP vehicles seen in the film. ^[13]

Mad Max 2

• Filmmakers Guillermo del Toro, ^[14] David Fincher, ^[15] Robert Rodriguez, ^[16] and Zack Snyder, ^[17] and video game director Hideo Kojima have cited Mad Max 2 as one of their favorite movies.
• Akira Toriyama's 1982 manga Mad Matic was inspired by Mad Max 2. ^[18]
• Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, creators of the comic heroine Tank Girl , describe her as "Mad Max designed by Vivienne Westwood". ^[19]
• Waterworld co-writer David Twohy cited Mad Max 2 as a major influence on the film. Both films share the same cinematographer, Dean Semler. ^[20]
• Scenes from Mad Max 2 are parodied in South Park episodes, including "Proper Condom Use" (2001) and "The Passion of the Jew" (2004). The character Stan Marsh also has a poster inspired by the film on his bedroom wall.
• The music video for Hunters & Collectors' 1982 single "Talking to a Stranger" has a post-apocalyptic aesthetic that the video's director, Richard Lowenstein, compared to Mad Max 2. ^[21]
• The music video for Phil Collins' "Don't Lose My Number" features a sequence inspired by Mad Max 2. ^{[1] [22]}
• The music video for Duran Duran's "The Wild Boys" took design influences from Mad Max 2.
• The animated series ReBoot features an episode titled "Bad Bob", which is heavily influenced by this film. One of the artists who worked on the episode was Brendan McCarthy, who would later go on to serve as co-writer and concept artist on Mad Max: Fury Road . ^{[23] [24]}
• Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P. cited the film as having a huge effect on the visual theme they were to employ in their 1980s stage shows. ^[25]
• Mortal Engines author Philip Reeve stated that the film was an influence on the creation of his particular post-apocalyptic universe. ^[26]
• The Road Warriors, a professional wrestling tag team, were inspired by the film's villains; their name is taken from the film's subtitle.
• Episode 8 ("Mad Tony: The Food Warrior") of season 2 of Anthony Bourdain's television series A Cook's Tour is set in Australia and features a Road Warrior theme. The final shot mimics the departing scene from the movie, with Bourdain standing in for Gibson.
• The music video for "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" by My Chemical Romance is heavily inspired by Mad Max. ^[27]
• Sydney band Front End Loader named their third album, Last of the V8 Interceptors in August 1997, referencing a direct quote from the film.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

• The term "Thunderdome" was adapted by popular culture and appears in various contexts with a meaning similar to that used in the film.
• A 2015 television advertisement for NBC's The Voice parodied the "Thunderdome" concept. ^[28]
• The 1996 music video for 2Pac's "California Love" includes elements inspired by the Mad Max film, such as car chases in the desert and the Thunderdome itself, according to director Hype Williams. ^[29]
• World Championship Wrestling held a "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal" match at their Halloween Havoc 1992 pay-per-view event between Sting and Jake "The Snake" Roberts that was based on the film. The match was promoted with a segment where Sting and Roberts met in a tavern full of tough customers that resembled Bartertown. The stipulation of their match would be determined by spinning a wheel, similar to the scene in which Max's punishment is determined by a wheel. The bar patrons repeatedly chant "Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal" like in the film. ^[30]
• The film is parodied in the Rick and Morty episode "Rickmancing the Stone" alongside Mad Max: Fury Road. ^[31]

Mad Max: Fury Road

• The film is parodied in the Rick and Morty episode "Rickmancing the Stone", alongside Beyond Thunderdome. ^[31]
• Director Christopher Nolan acknowledged the influence of Fury Road on his 2017 war film Dunkirk . ^[32]
• In Moana, the Kakamora's appearance and behavior are heavily based on the War Boys of Fury Road, confirmed by both John Musker and Ron Clements. ^[33] Mark Mancina, the film's composer, furthers this reference during the Kakamora's theme music by directly quoting several measures of "Brothers in Arms" from the Fury Road score.

References

1. Barra, Allen (15 August 1999). "FILM; A Road Warrior Is Still on a Roll". The New York Times . p. 2. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
2. Hartman, Matthew (14 May 2015). "Maximized Entertainment: A Look At the Legacy of George Miller's Mad Max". High-Def Digest. Internet Brands. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
3. Wade, Chris (14 May 2014). "How Mad Max Revolutionized What the Future Looked Like in Film". www.vulture.com.
4. Robinson, Joanna (15 May 2015). "8 Reasons Why Mad Max Is the Most Improbable Franchise of All Time". Vanity Fair . the legacy of Mad Max stretches all the way back to the original 1979 film, which kicked off an improbable franchise with an even bigger mark on pop culture than you might think. ... famed filmmakers from David Fincher to Guillermo del Toro to James Cameron all cite the enormous influence of Max Rockatansky and his creator-director George Miller.
5. Lewis, Maria (8 October 2020). "Mad Max's enduring pop culture power". Australian Centre for the Moving Image.
6. Byrnes, Paul. "Mad Max (1979): Curator's notes"". National Film and Sound Archive. The influence of Mad Max would be hard to overstate. Some would say it is the most influential movie ever made in Australia. The film had a profound effect on filmmakers and audiences around the world.
7. O'Donnell, Kevin (11 February 2011). "Ke$ha Talks U.$. Tour: "It's an Epic Dance Party"". Spin. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
8. "Fallout: New Vegas designer Josh Sawyer on post-apocalyptic games". The Guardian. 10 November 2010.
9. "Roaming The Wasteland: 5 Video Games Inspired By 'Mad Max'". Tech Times. 6 May 2015.
10. Jenkins, David (2019-01-16). "Metro Exodus Dmitry Glukhovsky interview – 'I lived in a post-apocalyptic state'". Metro. It's kind of a joint influence with Mad Max, Fallout, and the Soviet science fiction books by the Strugatsky brothers, who wrote Roadside Picnic.
11. "Interview with Buronson". ADV Films Presents: New Fist of the North Star. Archived from the original on 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
12. McDonough, Maitland. "Not Quite Hollywood: the Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!". Film Journal International. Vol. 112, no. 8., Aug. 2009. p.73
13. "Mad Max References Puretone - Addicted To Bass" . Retrieved 10 January 2014.
14. "Five Favorite Films With Guillermo Del Toro". Rotten Tomatoes .
15. "David Fincher's Favorite Movies of all Time". 29 October 2008.
16. "The Reformation of a Rebel Without a Crew". Archived from the original on 2011-01-05.
17. "Zack Snyder's Favorite Films, from "A Clockwork Orange" to "Blue Velvet"". 15 November 2017.
18. "[鳥山明ほぼ全仕事] 平日更新24時間限定公開！ 2020/06/12". Dragon Ball Official Site (in Japanese). Shueisha. 12 June 2020. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
19. Tarrant, Shira; Jolles, Marjorie (29 August 2012). Fashion Talks. State University of New York Press. ISBN   9781438443218.
20. "Looking back at Waterworld: overlooked or under water?". Den of Geek. 16 December 2014.
21. Behind the scenes, news.com.au. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
22. Pareles, Jon (2 November 1986). "HOME VIDEO; Recent Releases Of Video Cassettes: Photos and 'White Suit'". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
23. "Everything's Gone 8-Bit!". Everything's Gone 8-Bit!. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
24. "Exclusive: A Look At Brendan McCarthy And Grant Morrison's Long Lost Movie Pitch, Shatterland". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
25. "Welcome to the official W.A.S.P. Nation website". waspnation.com. Archived from the original on 2011-12-01.
26. Reeve, Philip. "Philip Reeve Twitter". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015– via Twitter.^{[ non-primary source needed ]}
27. "My Chemical Romance's 'Na Na Na' Video: A Pop-Culture Cheat Sheet". MTV . Archived from the original on August 27, 2014.
28. Venable, Nick (1 February 2014). "The Voice Channels Mad Max With New Trailer". CinemaBlend.com.
29. Wilson, Elliott (April 2005). "XXL". Pop Shots. Harris Publications. pp. 131–135.
30. Chin, Mike (31 October 2008). "The Importance of…10.31.08: The Importance of the Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal Match". 411mania.com.
31. "'Rick and Morty' Episode 2 Will Feature BDSM Apocalypse Warriors". Inverse. 23 July 2017.
32. Sullivan, Kevin P. (13 July 2017). "What Dunkirk owes to Mad Max: Fury Road". Entertainment Weekly .
33. Lewis, Maria (28 November 2016). ""That was a little Fury Road"". The Feed .