Maaaan, though. Imagine if Furiosa had been played by an Indigenous Australian woman.
I don’t know how familiar people are with Australian history, but basically from 1909 until the 1970′s the government used to forcibly remove Aboriginal children from their families, mainly those who were mixed-race, and place them in foster care or missionaries, often in terrible conditions. The reason for this was to assimilate Aboriginal children into white society, cut off their link from their heritage and cultures and “breed out the black” - the assumption being that they would grow up to have fair-skinned children with a white person, and that those children would go on to have fairer-skinned children until no trace of their heritage remained. For this very reason, girls were more often targeted than boys. Thousands of Aboriginal children went through this trauma, something now referred to as the Stolen Generations.
And although the Australian government has formally acknowledged and apologised for this dark part of our history, the issues of inequality and poverty that plague Aboriginal communities today are still largely ignored and Indigenous children are still being taken from their homes and placed into foster care at alarming rates. Aboriginal children are 8 times more likely to be subjected to departmental intervention. Native languages and histories are being lost every year because no one remains to pass them on to. And of course there are many victims of the Stolen Generations alive today who still don’t know where they belong.
With this in mind, imagine how powerful it would have been if an Aboriginal woman had played Furiosa.
Furiosa, who was stolen from her home as a child by white men and subjected to sexual abuse. Furiosa, who was forced to adopt a foreign culture and ideology in order to survive, but who always clung to the memories of her childhood home and the teachings of her mother. Furiosa, who fought all her life so she could be with her people again. Furiosa, who rescued five abused women who had also been stolen from their families. Furiosa, who was filled with such joy when she saw her childhood friend again, when she was recognised and addressed by name, when she was re-introduced to their customs. Furiosa, who screamed with such agony and desolation when she discovered her people were all but gone and her ancestral home had been poisoned by the machinations of foreign invaders.
Furiosa, who decided to fight and take her land back from Immortan Joe. Furiosa, who killed the literal embodiment of the white male patriarchy. Furiosa, who liberated the Wretched and lifted up the oppressed to salvation. Furiosa, who took her land back from the men who killed the world so she could build a new Green Place with the last of the Vuvalini and the Wives.
Imagine seeing that on screen. Imagine seeing an Aboriginal woman do all these things.
I don’t mean this post to be an attack on George Miller or Charlize Theron by any means. This is just a self-indulgent ‘what if…?’
Because honestly, it would have been amazing.
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