Like the truck-machines in 'Mad Max,' the 'freedom convoy' relies on access to fuel

Truckers and supporters gather in Delta, B.C. on Jan. 23 before departing on a cross-country convoy that arrived in Ottawa five days later. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The media has been inundated by images of the ‘freedom convoy’ that began converging on Ottawa on Jan. 28. The convoy reflects our continued inability to find a middle ground when it comes to debates surrounding COVID-19 mandates and proposed vaccine passports.

The visuals produced by the ‘freedom convoy’ — loud, honking semi trucks and a party atmosphere — is eerily similar to the monstrous machines that rumble through the desolate landscapes in the 2015 Australian movie Mad Max: Fury Road. As a popular culture researcher, I am interested in how this similarity prompts a consideration of what continues to fuel, so to speak, these ongoing debates.