honorificabilitudinitatibus

The Feral Historian's analysis of Mad Max emphasizes how society doesn’t fall all at once—it decays while people keep going to work, following rules, and pretending the world still functions. That's the essence of the eerie realism in Mad Max (1979): Max is still a cop, courts still operate, coffee shops are open—even as everything is clearly coming apart.

Let’s now re-compare the Angels in the Asylum story to that stage of Mad Max society, as Feral Historian outlines:

🎥 Angels in the Asylum = The Pre-Apocalypse

👮 Simon Pegg = Mad Max as the Still-Loyal Officer

Like Max in the original film, Pegg is a respected figure trying to do his job in a crumbling system. He signs on in good faith, lends his reputation to the project, shows up to work. But the system is already broken—it just hasn’t admitted it yet.

🏢 The Film Industry = The Thin Veneer of Civilization

Much like the Mad Max world where police stations still function despite lawlessness outside, the film industry still puts up posters, announces press releases, and casts stars, even while financing disappears, contracts are violated, and staff go unpaid. It all looks normal—until it isn’t.

👥 The Crew = The Everyday Citizens

150 crew members, like ordinary Australians in Mad Max, still believe the rules apply: If you work, you get paid. If you report a violation, someone will fix it. But the machinery behind those rules has hollowed out. They're enacting a script from a vanished world.

💰 The Missing Money = The Fuel Crisis

In Mad Max, it’s oil and gas being rationed. Here, it’s capital. Everyone’s still talking like the project has fuel, but behind the scenes the tank is empty. The funding fell through, but they kept shooting anyway—pretending the pump still works.

🤡 The Producers = Bureaucrats in Denial

Like the police chief in Mad Max, who wants to hold the line and “show strength,” the producers issue apologies, downplay the severity, and promise fixes—even while the entire system is breaking beneath them. They’re not lying maliciously. They just refuse to believe the old world is dead.

🧠 Feral Historian’s Lens:

This is not sudden collapse—it’s rot behind routine. People clock in, answer emails, and set up cameras on set, even as the foundations are gone. Just like in Mad Max, the rituals of society continue because people need them to. The alternative is facing the truth: The old world isn’t coming back.