Tools of Characterization

Characterization in Mad Max: Fury Road

Actions

In a movie that relies a lot on visual storytelling, a character's deeds are for sure going to matter a whole heckuva lot more than their words—which are few and far between. So when we see Max go from violent and aggressive towards the women, to joining their team and risking his life for them, we know his character has changed, too.

Actions are a quick way for the filmmakers to establish key attributes for secondary characters too. Angharad's insistent nonviolence tells us that she's somehow managed to hang on to herself in a world where violence often seems the only way to survive. On the other side of that coin, we know the War Boys are totally devoted to Immortan Joe because of their consistent willingness to commit violence and lay down their lives on his behalf.

Physical Appearance

Immortan Joe looks as fearsome as he behaves, and his physical deformities are an outward expression of his inward twistedness. The same goes for Bullet Farmer and the People Eater, too. The Bullet Farmer literally has bullet teeth. Doesn't get more literal than that. And the People Eater? He looks like a walking stereotype of an overweight and gluttonous banker, profiting off of the destruction that rains down around him.

Names

• Max is Mad.
• Furiosa is furious.
• Immortan Joe is, well, not immortal, but everyone sure treats him like he is.

Need we say more? We'll just share this one tidbit: "Nux" is Latin for "nut," which makes a certain amount of sense: Nux certainly seems crazy. Of course it can also refer to something worthless, which makes sense, too. Nux believes he'll make it to Valhalla, but it's clear that Immortan Joe couldn't care less about his devotee. Oh, and Angharad? She's loved by everyone, which makes perfect sense, since that's what her name means in Welsh.

Cars

In Fury Road, your ride says everything about you. But rather than give you the rundown here, we'll point you toward "Symbols and Tropes," where we've given cars in Fury Road the full Shmoop treatment.

Class

Let's see here…

• We've got Immortan Joe on top—a sort of feudal warlord ruling over the masses who depend on his whim for survival.
• Below him, we've got the Imperators—in this case, Furiosa—who enforce his rule and do his bidding.
• Somewhere below them, we've got the War Boys, who get the fame and glory, but die like "old man's battle fodder."
• Below them, we've got the workers of the Citadel, who keep the cogs running, but barely have a better lot than the Wretched.
• And then we've got the Wretched, the lowest of the low—who are, quite literally, at the bottom of the Citadel.