As with the previous installments of the Mad Max series, Beyond Thunderdome has influenced popular culture in numerous ways. Of particular note is the widespread use of the term "thunderdome" to describe a contest in which the loser suffers a great hardship.[30]
On Wednesday, July 19th, Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party will host a thunderdome debate with policy experts on trade and economic engagement with China. The event will feature two bipartisan, two-person teams debating three main policy areas, including: China trade relations, technology exports controls, and investment flows. Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) will moderate. The Hon. Christopher Padilla, former Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Mary Lovely, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, will argue for limited decoupling from China. The Hon. Nazak Nikakhtar, former Undersecretary for Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce (Acting), and international trade attorney Elizabeth Drake, will argue for broader decoupling from China.