Aromantic Assassins

Mad Max Fury Road – fictional arm amputee “Imperator Furiosa” played by Charlize Theron [review] This article, written by an arm amputee, discusses the issues with the way Furiosa represents arm amputees. For those of you who don't have spoons to read it (it's pretty intense) I summarize and respond to what I considered crucial points.

1. Charlize Theron is not an amputee.
   
   
   
   • This is true.
     
   • This is a problem.
     
   • Disabled actors exist, and should be hired to play disabled characters.
     
   
   
2. The prosthetic Furiosa uses throughout the film is really poorly designed as an actual prosthetic. It's heavy, complicated, has lots of extra parts and shouldn't even work.
   
   
   
   • This is a problem.
     
   • This wouldn't have happened if they had hired an amputee to play Furiosa, or at least consult on design.
     
   • Accurately portraying prosthetics would probably make people who wear real prosthetics happy.
     
   
   
3. In the final scene when Max walks away, Furiosa's stump gets more and more obvious.
   The author of the article reads this as Max deciding that Furiosa is not an appropriate relationship partner because she is disabled.
   
   
   
   • This is a problem.
     
   • Given how deliberate the directing usually is in this movie, the fact that this reading is so easy means that the director either didn't think about how people with this disability would read this scene, or deliberately put in that interpretation.
     
   • I personally don't think that Max and Furiosa not staying together is a problem.
     
   • Still, the implication that Max left because Furiosa is disabled is really distressing.