‘We Are Not Things’: Infertility, Reproduction, and Rhetoric of Control in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Mad Max: Fury Road

  • Emily Rowson Northumbria University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31165/nk.2017.103.515
Keywords: Mad Max, Pregnancy, Infertility, Gender, Whedon, Reproductive Rights, Heteronormativity

Abstract

Pregnancy occupies an uncertain position in Hollywood cinema, and discussions of infertility are notably absent. Indeed, two blockbusters (Avengers: Age of Ultron and Mad Max: Fury Road) invested in the politics and rhetoric of reproduction met with disparate critical and popular opinion. This article will examine the potential reasons for this, whilst establishing ideological parity between the films.

Author Biography

Emily Rowson, Northumbria University

Emily Rowson is a PhD candidate at Northumbria University, Newcastle. Her current research is primarily concerned with gendered identities, sexualities, and bodies in science fiction film and television. She has presented papers on the potential for a mutually beneficial conversation between feminist theory and science fiction media, depictions of female monstrosity within Doctor Who, and currently works on the construction of gendered bodies in British science fiction television.

Published
October 17, 2017
How to Cite
Rowson, E. (2017). ‘We Are Not Things’: Infertility, Reproduction, and Rhetoric of Control in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Mad Max: Fury Road. Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network, 10(3), 57–70. https://doi.org/10.31165/nk.2017.103.515
Issue
Vol. 10 No. 3 (2017): Sex and Sexualities in Popular Culture
Section
Articles