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Monday 14 March 2022

English Practice


In English, we've been getting ready to write our close-viewing essay. This year we're doing Mad Max: Fury Road, directed by George Miller. We began by doing a practice paragraph, using the scene after the gunfight with the Bullet Farmer as an example. Most of us did this paragraph in groups and I paired up with Jessica. Nearly our entire paragraph is the same, however, I wasn't here when we were finishing up our paragraphs, so the latter part of the two paragraphs is going to be different. One thing I'm not sure about is whether I managed to connect my aspect well enough in the final few sentences.

Paragraph

In the scene where Furiosa drives the War Rig on the final stretch, Max wakes up after a traumatic nightmare, while the wives sleep and Nux protectively holds Capable. Furiosa’s dialogue, “It’s okay. Sleep. Get some rest.” shows how Director George Miller uses the aspect of dialogue to effectively show the development of their relationship. Through the undertones of affection in her speech, Miller shows how Furiosa and Max have bonded through their journey of survival. Specifically, dialogue is used to show the audience how Furiosa has come to trust Max and had become concerned over him and his wellbeing. Prior to this scene, the audience sees how the characters, Max and Furiosa, have been uncertain of each other - due to the circumstances of their meeting. The lack of dialogue between the characters makes this interaction significant to the audience, as beforehand, this degree of communication was saved for life-threatening circumstances. This minor interaction created by George Miller means that the audience can understand the degree of trust that the two characters now shared. The development of their relationship is complemented by Furiosa’s make-up - in particular, the oil smeared on her forehead and around her eyes. In life-threatening situations prior to this scene, Furiosa has applied the oil to her face, showing how she is putting on a mask to create emotional distance from what she is doing. However, during the conversation, we see that the oil has faded, reflecting how she has become comfortable enough around Max to show her true self. We also see how the two have begun to trust each other in another scene prior to this one. In the previous scene, the Bullet Farmer is shooting at the group and Max attempts to shoot at him, however, continuously misses. We learn that there is one left and, in a moment of trust, Max hands the gun over to Furiosa, the first time this has happened in the film. This shows that this new sense of trust between the two characters isn't unrequited. Because Max shows Furiosa that he trusts her, Furiosa, in return, shows that she trusts him.