Dystopian Feminism: An Exploration of Women’s Agency, Resistence and Empowerment from The Stepford Wives (1975) to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Abstract

The focus of this thesis is the analysis of the representation of women in four dystopian films, The Stepford Wives (1975), Children of Men (2006), The Handmaid’s Tale (2017) and Max Max: Fury Road (2015). I selected these films because they have markedly different settings, which allows for a more diverse and comprehensive examination of representation within the dystopian genre. In my analysis I have three main aims: Firstly, to examine the portrayal of gender roles and identity in the films, secondly to explore the socio-political contexts of the films as well as their reception and impact, and lastly to analyze the feminist themes and female agency featured in the films. I argue that while the films represent drastically different worlds, there are certain feminist themes that connect them, such as the resistance against oppressive patriarchal systems, liberation, the objectification of women and the struggle for agency and autonomy. By examining these films, we can trace the evolution of women’s representation and the feminist themes in dystopian cinema, highlighting both similarities and divergencies in their execution.