Questions for Thelma and Louise

Write a paragraph in response to each question. Detail and examples are required.
1.Why do Thelma and Louise leave town? Why do they go on the lam? What
happened to Louise in Texas? Would she have pulled the trigger?
They decide to flee the scene of the crime and eventually head for Mexico.
Thelma and Louise are best friends living in a small town in Aransas and living in a
depressing woring class lives. Thelma is the unloved housewife of a sexist and
obnoxious husband, and Louise is a struggling waitress whose boyfriend seems
unready to finally commit to a longterm relationship with her. Thelma and Louise
decide to leave town for a wee!end vacation together, in order to get away from
their unhappy lives. While on the road! they stop in another small town in order to get
some drins at a local saloon "a type of bar where people also can dance#. $nfortunately!
Thelma decides to dance with a disgusting man who later tries to rape her in the paring
lot. $ltimately! Louise ends up shooting this man! and thus the two of them suddenly find
themselves in a lot of trouble! unable to have the relaxing vacation they had intended to
have. The rest of the film follows Thelma and Louise as they head out on the road! far
from their hometown! and hopefully! far from the police! who may be looing for them.
They soon decide to drive to Mexico! but on the way! they continue to dig themselves
deeper into trouble with the law! and eventually! both reali%e that they can never go bac
to the lives they had before. More than anything else! this is a film about what it can
mean to be a woman in the $nited &tates! and particularly! a woring class woman with
few options in life. 't is also about women who suddenly reali%e that they may have more
potential and freedom that they ever thought was possible! particularly freedom from the
male dominated society that has so badly mistreated them over the years. To that extent!
you should be aware that this movie does not portray men very positively.
The two women stop in at a roadside bar near the beginning of their adventure. Thelma is
ready to party but Louise is more mature and cautious. Thelma hoos up on the dance
floor with (arlan! a brutish! insensitive predator of a man who gets her good and drun!
disorienting her by repeatedly spinning her around as they dance. (e then maneuvers her
out to the paring lot where he gets violent! hitting her and tearing her clothes. (e is )ust
about to rape her on the hood of a car when Louise shows up with Thelma*s gun and
quicly gets (arlan*s attention. &he is livid! not only about what is happening to Thelma!
but "as we discover later# because she herself was brutally raped in Texas years ago.
The desire to escape and do something fun is the dominating goal in Act 1. Their plan is
quite simple: go to a cabin that belongs to the day manager of the diner where Louise
works and spend the weekend there.
". #ow does Thelma change? Trac! her wardrobe for me.
In the beginning of the movie, Thelma behaves as an irrational, childish girl. She's
insecure, scared, untidy, impulsive, and careless. At the Silver Bullet, when Harlan
approaches the two gals, Thelma is welcoming, whereas ouise is confronting. In this
scene ! and throughout most of the movie ! Thelma is the outgoing, playful, immature,
innocent, and na"ve of the two. ouise, on the other hand, is the uptight, protective, and
mature woman. #hen Harlan as$s what the two friends are doing in a place li$e that,
ouise answers with %&inding our own business,' and Thelma (ust starts blabbing away.
Also, when Thelma laughs at Harlan's (o$e, ouise blows smo$e in his face.
After the murder, ouise ta$es control of the situation and creates a plan of what they
should do. Thelma frea$s out.
Their personalities go unaltered for the most of the movie. But after being robbed by )*,
the dynamics in the relationship changes. ouise gets desperate and helpless+ begins
crying. Thelma then gets in charge. She assures ouise that everything will be fine. In
order to get more money, she even robs a store.
,,,,,,,..
In the beginning of the movie, Thelma is a submissive housewife who absolutely cannot
stand up to her husband, *aryl. -or instance, in the movie, Thelma fastens *aryl.s
bracelet and serves him coffee. She is so afraid of her husband that she could not as$
permission to go with ouise. In the Silver Bullet, Thelma orders a drin$. This is perhaps
the first big revelation of her true demeanor that had been repressed in years of an
unhappy marriage and that is now, finally, beginning to flourish. After a couple drin$s,
Thelma dances with a Harlan, a patron that was hitting on her. In this scene, Thelma is
also shown smo$ing for the first time ! yet another instance of her growth. In a previous
scene, she was childishly holding an unlit cigarette and pretending to be ouise. After the
gals run away, Thelma calls her husband, *aryl. *aryl pic$s up the phone, and they tal$ a
little bit. *aryl continues to patroni/e and oppress Thelma as he'd been doing throughout
their union. But this time, he pisses Thelma off so much, that she gathers the strength to
finally say, 01o f222 yourself.0 Thelma's Arc is hard not to notice. She goes from being
an intimidated housewife who can't even tal$ to her husband to becoming a clever
criminal who stic$s up a mar$et and a policeman at gunpoint.
#A3*34B5
In the movie you see them in high6waist (eans, cat6eye shades, band tees, and wearing
denim6on6denim.
Thelma undergoes a visual transformation7 She tosses out her %e8cess baggage' !her
bi$ini and form6fitting dresses in favor of T6shirts and blue (eans.
Also, the clothes the two women wear reflect their repressed states. They, and also
ouise, are wearing prim, feminine outfits and 0tidy0 hairdos. Thelma wears a white
blouse off the shoulder, a long 9mid6calf length: s$irt, and lots of ma$e6up.
Similarly, Thelma and ouise have gone from frilly dresses and trim hairdos to (eans and
sleeveless T6shirts tied up at the waist. ouise throws away her lipstic$ and trades her
(ewelry for a cowboy hat.
Thelma's changing wardrobe reflect changes in her character.
She is wearing big sunglasses and red lipstic$, emphasi/ing her femininity. Thelma also
wears this at the bar in which she flirts with a guy, which shows that she is letting loose
after being so uptight around her husband, whom she fears. The white color also
emphasi/es her vulnerability in this scene, in which she raped when she is drun$.
Jean shirt with cut off sleeves, black collared jacket, eyeliner;Thelma loo$s
more tomboyish as she travels with Thelma. She loo$s tougher while still
maintaining her femininity by showing her d<colletage and cleavage by $eeping
the top of her shirt unbuttoned. Thelma, after calling her husband 9who curses at
her for being away and clearly doesn.t miss her: and telling him to %-uc$
=himself>,' goes bac$ inside the car and puts on a lot of eyeliner. This shows that
she is completely rebelling against her old life. Thelma also wears ouise.s blac$
collared (ac$et, which shows how her personality has become more li$e ouise.s.
Thelma is no longer sweet and na"ve 9she wanted to go to the cops to tell their
story after murdering her rapist, not reali/ing that they wouldn.t believe her story
of being raped because she was drun$, which ouise points out:. By the end,
Thelma robs a convenience store to continue supporting her and ouise.
No wedding ring, baseball hat, jean shirt, jeans;Thelma, while playing a game
with a man, lets him ta$e off her ring for the game, indicating that she has let go
of her past and her husband completely. At the end of the movie, she loo$s dirty
and un$empt. She is wearing a dirty baseball hat she stole from a truc$ driver who
made crude se8ual (o$es to both of them while they were driving. She is still
wearing her (ean shirt with (eans. This loo$ is a great contrast from her frilly,
feminine, sweet costumes she wore at the beginning. She is no longer feminine
and sweet+ throughout the movie, she has become tougher and sought more
freedom in her life.
$. Tal! about the men in the film. %e sure to include &arryl and the truc! driver.
c. The Truc Driver+ ",# The trucer-s overt sexism ".# 'n their /rd encounter with the
trucer! they try to
teach him a lesson! but he does not understand their point0men rely on power not
communication. The scene is also shot to show Thelma and Louise-s point of view. The
truc serves as a phallic symbol and represents the trucer-s masculinity! which the
women tae away. This scene is )uxtaposed to the blac bier blowing smoe in the air
holes of the trun of the police car0actions of another minority support women-s
actions.
c. (arlan+ (is pic1up lines to Thelma in the &ilver 2ullet club are so )uvenile and
sexist034ow what are a couple of 5ewpie dolls lie you doing in a place lie this67 and
3't-s hard not to notice two such pretty ladies as yourself70that (arlan is depicted as
comical. And when Louise and the night club waitress roll their eyes and exchange a
3nowing7 loo in response to (arlan-s crude flirting! spectators are encouraged to share
that nowledge8 women especially can participate vicariously in the mocery of (arlan.
9rom the first words he utters! (arlan is presented to viewers as chauvinistic!
unsympathetic! and simultaneously laughable and dangerous character! a depiction that
again challenges the male ga%e that has dominated mainstream (ollywood films.
:xaggeration of the men-s chauvinist attitudes
a. Darryl+ ",# 'n the opening scene in which Thelma is woring up the courage to as
Darryl for permission to tae the weeend trip with Louise! she stalls first by asing if
he-d lie 3anything special7 for dinner. While Darryl continues to primp his
overmoussed hair! he chastises Thelma as if she were a child+ 3' don-t give shit what we
have for dinner. ' may not even be home for dinner. ;ou now how 9ridays are.7 When
Thelma responds039unny how so many people want to buy carpet on a 9riday night70
spectators now that Thelma is passively mocing her philandering husband for
assuming she-s na<ve enough to believe his story about woring late. This scene
encourages spectators to share Thelma-s ga%e and participate in her mocery ! maing it
easy to laugh when Darryl slips and falls while getting into his bright red =orvette
convertible "a macho symbol in itself.# ".# Thelma-s initial telephone conversation with
him.
b. Law :nforcement+ &tate Trooper! Max "the 92' officer#
Harlan
*arryl
)*
Hal
Truc$ *river
State Trooper
In fact, if you chec$ the credits in the movie plus what was compiled by I&*b you will
note that the cast of the movie is comprised of four actresses 9including Susan and
1eena: and about ?@ actors. And considering how many problems they face, it is obvious
that men are the ones causing havoc to them.
Aote that the investigator, the truc$ driver, and state trooper could have been played by
actresses 9although against the obvious stereotype since they are men professions:. But
this would have been a wrong choice. They are all men because, indeed, Thelma B
ouise is about the conflict between the man world and these two women.
Clus, all these men are stereotypical characters that women may face at some point or
another. *arryl is the pathetic, overprotective, egocentric husband that only cares about
his happiness completely disregarding Thelma's wishes.
Harlan is the abusive suitor that crosses the line and attempts rape. Dnfortunately, many
women have been victims of this horrendous crime. ouise, as the proverbial heroine,
steps in right in time to give what all rapists deserve ! a bullet in the stomach.
)*, who becomes Thelma's last hope for a decent relationship in the movie, comes in as
the opposite hybrid of Harlan and *arryl. His young, good6loo$ing, polite, courteous,
respectful, However, her e8pectations are shattered when )* steals the gals.
'. #ow do the police profile Thelma and Louise? Would their approach have been
different if they were chasing Theo and Louie?
&o what of the men6 Are they all bastards6 Well for a while they*re so awful that Louise*s
guy! >immy! who can*t commit and only realises how much he wants Louise when he
finds out she*s going away! actually loos pretty good. (e helps them out after all! he
flies out to see her because he nows it may be his only chance! but there is one man in
the film who does actually genuinely care about them.
$nfortunately for Thelma and Louise! they never actually meet him. (e is the police
officer trying to trac them down. 2ut! interestingly he shows quite feminine
characteristics. (e is understanding! caring! compassionate but he lacs the assertiveness
to be heard. (e tirelessly tries to get these girls to stop before they get into more trouble!
he loos at Thelma*s husband and sees him for what he is! he understands the shooting of
the rapist for what it was. And! although Louise nearly lets herself be lead towards him
when he brings up her own experience of rape! the girls never quite believe him for what
he is.
And his fellow police officers! ultimately! do not listen to him when the girls* lives are in
the balance. This man could have been their saviour! but by this point they have
embraced the masculine. They tae a bold and rash decision! and with a motherly hand
hold! they create one of the most iconic moments of modern cinema.
Man is not the downfall of woman. Woman )ust leans towards the man that can lead her
there.
(. #ow do you interpret the final scene?
The ending! however! again reinforces stereotypes. :ven the film 2utch =assidy and the
&undance 5id! where the two male protaganists were also *outlaws* and die at the end! the
male characters choose to fight whereas Thelma and Louise choose to commit suicide.
?art of this may have been (ollywood*s squeamishness at showing two leading ladies
getting shot by an army of male policemen! but the alternative is equally discouraging.
The men have already won so why fight bac. ' can understand that perhaps the two
women felt! in a weird way! that death was the only way to preserve their freedom but it
also sends a message to women that if you get in a situation lie these women did or you
challenge the system you might as well ill yourself and not try to fight bac! all of which
seems to reinforce Wood*s claim that the media does not let an aggressive woman be a
*good* woman "./@#! i.e.! they must pay in some way for their aggressiveness. Aegardless
of the reasoning for the end! the film is still ultimately a negative message about how
women are still seen by men in our society and the limits of womens* power within that
society.
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