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Theme Of Feminism In Thelma And Louise

1000 Words4 Pages

Ridley Scott’s ‘female buddy movie’ Thelma and Louise centres around issues of male dominance and the freedom of release from society. Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are women suppressed by the men in their lives. They take a vacation to escape for a few days and after an attempted rape and murder they end up fugitives on the run for their lives. This unintended event ends up being for them the best adventure of their lives, as they are able to divest from the rules of society and become the independent women they are. By subverting the traditional role of gender in the genre, the film shows how feminism impacted the film industry by challenging Hollywood and the gendered myths and social patriarchy, providing women with a voice, and changing how spectators view how women are looked at through women’s eyes and their experiences.
Thelma starts the movie as a naïve and submissive housewife who absolutely cannot stand up to her husband, Daryl (Christopher McDonald), while Louise is portrayed as an independent and headstrong woman. The Silver Bullet Bar is where Harlan is introduced and this is where Thelma’s transformation initially begins as she orders a drink which shocks even Louis. This is perhaps the first revelation of her true demeanor that had been repressed in years of an unhappy marriage that is now, finally, beginning to flourish. Thelma is also shown smoking for the first time in this scene compared to the previous scene where she childishly held

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