Abstract
Major, minor and background characters are prominently disabled throughout the Mad Max series seemingly for a variety of narrative and atmospheric purposes. However, importantly, these characters are never represented as DIS-abled—their visible, physical impairments do not prevent them from functioning productively in the futuristic world, nor are they ridiculed or otherwise marginalised by their community. In fact, many have highly specialised capacities that are crucial to a post-apocalyptic world. Further, perhaps due to the prevalence of disability throughout the Mad Max films, characters’ impairments are rarely mentioned as part of the overall narrative. This is particularly noticeable as the world descends further into (post-)apocalypse and increasing numbers of impaired bodies populate and attempt to rebuild it.
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Broderick, M., Ellis, K. (2019). Disability. In: Trauma and Disability in Mad Max. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19439-0_3
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