I saw Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga over a week ago and have already forgotten most of what happens in it, which is not a good sign. The only elements to stick in my brain are the delightfully weird side characters who—more so than the car chases and the sheer Australia of it all—are the real defining features of the
Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me is the gold standard for a transformative prequel imo, and it does precisely what you lay out here. Yes, we already know Laura will die, and how, and by whom, yet the journey of her discovering that, and achieving true self knowledge, is almost unbearable to witness. As if, by watching her suffer, we the audience are complicit in it.
It's funny you should mention the Greek and Latin romances. I'm a big fan of the much later chansons de geste, and something I find amusing about them is once they've been established for a few centuries, the form becomes a bit rigid and they start pulling out all the Star Wars/Marvel tricks. There's one in particular that always makes me laugh because it's the by then standard story of rebellious vassals at war against the overbearing King Charlemagne, with an important subplot about how the knights Roland and Oliver first met (naturally they are foes on the battlefield who quickly become friends), and as a bonus there's a subplot to their duel in which Oliver first acquires his famous sword.
Chanson de Roland was such a trip to read in my college French classes. I remember almost nothing from it except their relationship and how much they loved each other, which is both objectively funny and sweet.
Great essay! I love an in media res story and have always (always) hated “origin” stories that take forever to get to the good stuff.
I enjoyed Furiosa even though it doesn’t hold a candle to Fury Road. It had interesting visuals and ideas and added more to the string of years where things collapsed in the Mad Max universe. Unnecessary but kind of cool? My big takeaway is that George Miller seems incapable of dreaming of the “after” or the “better” that could come in the wasteland. Fury Road held so much potential for the future at the end for a better way to survive but he’s not the story teller to delve into it.
Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me is the gold standard for a transformative prequel imo, and it does precisely what you lay out here. Yes, we already know Laura will die, and how, and by whom, yet the journey of her discovering that, and achieving true self knowledge, is almost unbearable to witness. As if, by watching her suffer, we the audience are complicit in it.
It's funny you should mention the Greek and Latin romances. I'm a big fan of the much later chansons de geste, and something I find amusing about them is once they've been established for a few centuries, the form becomes a bit rigid and they start pulling out all the Star Wars/Marvel tricks. There's one in particular that always makes me laugh because it's the by then standard story of rebellious vassals at war against the overbearing King Charlemagne, with an important subplot about how the knights Roland and Oliver first met (naturally they are foes on the battlefield who quickly become friends), and as a bonus there's a subplot to their duel in which Oliver first acquires his famous sword.
Chanson de Roland was such a trip to read in my college French classes. I remember almost nothing from it except their relationship and how much they loved each other, which is both objectively funny and sweet.
absolutely overjoyed to finally see people talking about how good andor is
loved your essay on it!
Great essay! I love an in media res story and have always (always) hated “origin” stories that take forever to get to the good stuff.
I enjoyed Furiosa even though it doesn’t hold a candle to Fury Road. It had interesting visuals and ideas and added more to the string of years where things collapsed in the Mad Max universe. Unnecessary but kind of cool? My big takeaway is that George Miller seems incapable of dreaming of the “after” or the “better” that could come in the wasteland. Fury Road held so much potential for the future at the end for a better way to survive but he’s not the story teller to delve into it.