The Mad Max Effect: Road Warriors in International Exploitation Cinema (Global Exploitation Cinemas)

The Mad Max Effect provides an in-depth analysis of the Mad Max series, and how it began as an inventive concoction of a number of influences from a range of exploitation genres (including the biker movie, the revenge film, and the car chase cinema of the 1970s), to eventually inspiring a fresh cycle of international low budget 'road warrior' movies that appeared on home video in the 1980s. The Mad Max Effect is the first detailed academic study of the most famous and celebrated post-apocalypse film series, and examines how a humble Australian action movie came from the cultural margins of exploitation cinema to have a profound impact on the broader media landscape. "In a series of case studies, and by analysing the individual films of the Mad Max series, this book examines how the kinetic energy and aesthetic design of a number of divergent exploitation films filters into the Mad Max series and resulted in a fresh cycle of international low-budget post-apocalyptic movies that appeared on the new home video markets in the 1980s. Mad Max: Fury Road signalled the return after 30 years of the most famous and celebrated post-apocalyptic film series, one that had a profound influence on numerous dystopian films, video games, and comic books. Fury Road 's Academy Award success helped to reestablish the series as a mainstream cultural icon. By contrast, the first Mad Max was an inventive concoction of influences from a range of exploitation genres, including the biker movie, the revenge film, and the car chase cinema of the 1970s. The first in-depth academic study of the extraordinary journey of Mad Max, The Mad Max Effect reveals how a humble low-budget Australian action movie came from the cultural margins of exploitation cinema to have an indelible impact on the broader media landscape."-- Provided by publisher Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Chapter One: Origins of the Road Warrior -- Chapter Two: The Death Race Lineage -- Chapter Three: Contextualising Mad Max -- Chapter Four: The Politics of Mad Max -- Chapter Five: MadMaxploitation! Transnational Road Warriors -- Chapter Six: Fury Road and the Imitation of Exploitation -- Chapter Seven: Mad Max and the metatext: Fan Engagement and Online Culture -- Conclusion: A Few Years From Now -- List of Films -- Reference List -- Index Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Origins of the road warrior 2 The Death Race lineage 3 Contextualizing Mad Max 4 Post-apocalypse now! The politics of Mad Max 5 MadMaxploitation! Transnational road warriors 6 Fury Road and the imitation of exploitation 7 Mad Max and the metatext: Fan engagement and online culture Conclusion: A few years from now Films Cited References Index