More than 15% of the population has some form of disability and yet in pop culture this
demographic is seldom seen or valued in a positive manner. In movies and television for
example, only about an estimated 1% of the characters are portrayed with a disability (World
Report on Disability). In some genres, such as science fiction, disabilities are common trope used
to indicate evil or to draw out a negative emotional response from the audience. Rarely is it ever
assigned to leading roles (Ellis 59). In this paper I will argue that Mad Max: Fury Road does not
follow this prevailing trend, but successfully includes disabled characters as positive and active
participants. Stereotypes are a familiar technique utilized by filmmakers
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More to the point, while pairing
disability with villains and secondary characters may be the norm, it 's how Miller portrays his
heroes that truly break the tradition.
Along with Joe and his evil followers, prominently displaying problem bodies, Fury Road
also displays both of the primary protagonists in the same manner. Furiosa is an amputee, fitted
with a metal and robotic looking prosthetic for a hand. Even Max, titular hero of the movie, is
mentally ill, suffering from symptoms akin to PTSD and exhibiting very strong antisocial
tendencies. Further to that, Max is himself a partially crippled warrior, sporting a leg brace.
What 's more about the presence of disability in regards to the protagonists, is that they
aren 't used to conjure up a negative response from the audience. In fact, their disabilities aren 't
given a whole lot of focus. When their impairments do become visible, however briefly, they
exist outside of the villain-disability formula mentioned above. For example, Furiosa 's metal arm
is never presented as a weakness and although Max 's haunting hallucinations are a minor
impediment to his fighting, they also help save his life on one occasion. There 's