Seeing the film, Thelma and Louise, through the lens of issues of race and gender was very empowering. Watching Thelma develop her confidence and character as the film progressed was both entertaining and empowering. It was also great to see Louise make a firm decision to stay and plan her escape.
I was somewhat happy and sad about the final scene of this movie. Thelma and Louise did not want to be caught or killed at the hands of the law. It was great to see that the ladies won, in a sense, when they jumped off the cliff at the end of the movie so they wouldn’t give in to the lawmen who cornered them. However, it was disappointing to learn that the way these characters won was by killing themselves. When carefully analyzed, the ending points to the limitations placed on heroic female characters and to the generally accepted formula of ending in cinema.
It is important for filmmakers to question the convention in filmmaking that ultimately allows the good guys to win and the bad guys to lose. This film was charged with resistance against the American legal system and a stereotypical way of thinking. I think the ending deserved an atypical treatment by filmmakers and writers in that the “bad guys” or girls in this case, should have one, and the “good guys” or cops should have lost.
When Thelma and Louise jumped off the cliff, the ultimate goal of overcoming America’s messy system fell short. It would have been great to see the women achieve their goal by cleverly getting to the border in just the right amount of time so they wouldn’t be caught by the police. A scene like this was found in the movie “Blue Streak”, in which the corrupt character played by Martin Lawrence finally wins against the law because he unexpectedly ends up right on the other side of the border where the United States law had no power to stop him. prosecute him for his alleged crimes.
Another reason the nice guys convention should have been broken is to give viewers hope that the legacy and spirit of Thelma and Louise will continue. Life after the movie for the heroic female characters is totally diminished because the characters are no longer alive. Viewers are unable to continue their disbelief suspended by the characters. Thus, viewers automatically know that there will be no continuation of the stories of these women. Using that convention in this case ultimately tells viewers that women who are backed into a corner and leading to legal trouble in America have two options: turn themselves in and be prosecuted in a biased American court system, or end their lives. lives. However, by allowing a denouement in which the good girls are against the system, this film could have sent a message to viewers that the plight of women in America is by no means limited, and that women can actually be just as powerful, if not more so, than men.