Last Friday, I watched Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome in the Rose dining hall. I had seen the newest installment, Fury Road, when it came out, and I thoroughly enjoyed it not only because of the action but because of feminist icon Furiosa. Fury Road being my first exposure to this post-apocalyptic universe, it was interesting to see how dated this movie, made in 1985, was compared to the 2015 film. The color and resolution quality of Beyond Thunderdome was one noticeable difference, but another obvious indicator could be seen from Mel Gibson’s mullet, a classic 80’s hairstyle, compared to Tom Hardy’s shorter style.

While I found Beyond Thunderdome interesting as a time piece, beyond that I found nothing extremely compelling about the plot. However, I did think the dynamic between the characters Master and Blaster was an interesting statement about the division between mind and body. Master is a dwarfed man who sits on the shoulders of the physically able and strong Blaster, and together they form one character “Masterblaster.” Master is portrayed as intelligent and power-hungry, with a deep understanding of the political heirarchy of Bartertown. He knows that though he seemingly is in charge of literal pig shit, he in fact controls the whole town because the fecal matter of the pigs powers the electricity, and without power, the town cannot function. Blaster is  portrayed as the brawn, following the commands of Master to a T. He is revealed during his fight with Max to be developmentally disabled with the mental functions of a child, as Master screams “Don’t kill Blaster! He’s just a baby!” On his own, Master is disabled by his dwarfed height, and without Master, Blaster is lost and without guidance. This symbiotic relationship to me represents that the two components, mind and body, though functional on their own, are incomplete without core aspects of the other.