The Transformation of Women's roles in families from 19th Century to Now

Characters

Louise Sawyer--Susan Sarandon

Thelma Dickinson--Geena Davis

Michael Madsen--Jimmy

Christopher McDonald--Darryl

Harvey Keitel--Hal Slocumb

Reference: http://www.hyjoo.com/sujet-42964.html

Thelma and Louise are best friends living in a small town in Arkansas. Both seem to be living somewhat depressing working class lives. Thelma is an unloved housewife of a sexist and obnoxious husband, while Louise is a struggling waitress whose boyfriend seems unready to finally commit to a long-term relationship with her.

One day, in order to get away from their unhappy lives, they decide to leave town for a weekend vacation together. While on the road, they stop in another small town in order to get some drinks at a local bar. Unfortunately, Thelma decides to dance with a man who later tries to rape her. Ultimately, Louise ends up shooting this man. The two women suddenly find themselves in a lot of trouble, which make them unable to enjoy the 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 escape from the police, who may be looking 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 of them realize that they can never go back to the lives they had before.

Reference: http://www.eslnotes.com/movies/pdf/thelma-and-louise.pdf

This is a film about what it can mean to be a woman in the United States, and in particular, a working class woman with few options in life. It is also about women who suddenly realize 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.

At the beginning of the movie, when the two heroines appear on the stage, almost most of the scenes try to portray the social status of women at that time—Louise is a single woman who works as a waitress in a small restaurant, while Thelma is an ordinary housewife who got married at an early age. All the scenes follow the stereotype of the society: an obedient housewife, a chauvinistic husband, the husband supports the economy of the family, etc. Moreover, these scenes seem to be the “normal and right behavior” of women in daily life.

Actually, this movie focuses on the resistance of women toward men and the potential of women instead of the status of women in the family. However, we can discuss the women’s status in family in 20 century through the life of Thelma and the relationship between Thelma and her husband.

If either of the characters is a true feminist, it is Louise. Despite the fact that she arguably does require her boyfriend’s help, in order to wire her life savings to her, this money with which she plans to start her new life is her own, and she rejects his offer to renew their relationship, despite the fact that she still cares for him. As Schulman describes her, Louise is “authentic. She does what she wants. Louise smokes. She knows what good sex is. She is able to talk to her boyfriend as an intelligent equal,” and most importantly, is the one of them whose action was truly a direct response of outrage against male supremacy: the murder of Harlan. Thelma, on the other hand, is somewhat of a ditz, who had played the submissive wife to her domineering husband for years, who flirts with two shady men at different points in the narrative, who bears little to no emotional scarring after the near rape, and who leaves the envelope of Louise’s money alone in the hotel room with a man who had earlier admitted to being a convicted thief. Whereas Louise is consistently portrayed as a smart, strong female character fully capable of taking care of herself, Thelma relies on Louise for direction for most of the film, and when she does finally take control of the situation herself, such as in the store robbery, makes matters worse for both of them.

Reference:

http://www.eslnotes.com/movies/pdf/thelma-and-louise.pdf

http://www.robwillreview.com/?p=36