Once I made it through the introduction and to Chapter 2: Trauma, I could barely put it down. In reading Trauma and Disability in Max Max: Beyond the Road Warrior's Fury, all of these thoughts have suddenly come flooding back, but this time, strengthened by the well written and clearly laid out discussion offered by Mick Broderick and Katie Ellis in this attention-grabbing book. While others often nodded along, eventually, I gave up on my deep reading of this now beloved film. Most importantly for me, I was full of hope for having a disabled character (though unfortunately not portrayed by a disabled actress) as a strong lead, wherein her impairment is not to be pitied, but rather is simply a part of who she is.

For weeks, I spoke excitedly to anyone who would listen about the critique of the military industrial complex, the way women are portrayed as baby making machines, the water as life both literally and as metaphor, and the idea of toxic masculinity hyping up young men to be seen as disposable in the off chance of being immortalized as a warrior. When I first saw Mad Max: Fury Road, I had not seen or even heard of the previous three films, but everyone in my feminist circles told me I needed to see it, so I proceeded to the theater and was hooked.