Even Freedom Runs Out of Fuel: An Analysis of Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise
The 1990s are said to have been the beginning of the third wave of feminism in the United States. This movement focused on abolishing gender role expectations and stereotypes to further the second wave’s efforts in establishing a solid platform for women in society. However, the fruit of this labour was delayed and supressed in the southern states which have more conservative beliefs and are less open-minded to women gaining power and freedom. Likewise, the 1991 movie Thelma and Louise, that takes place in Arkansas, clearly presents the struggles women must face if they are to act like men, to be free. Therefore, director Ridley Scott laments the injustice that deprives women of freedom in a male dominated…show more content… The use of implicit characterization in Thelma and Louise and the depiction of the detrimental consequences of the female characters’ behaviour reinforce the director’s criticism of society’s wrongful suppression of women’s freedom. First of all, Scott establishes Thelma’s character and her arc throughout the movie. Thelma is first portrayed as an obedient housewife, barefoot in the kitchen symbolizing that she is going nowhere because she does not have anywhere important to be. The visual of this stereotype conveys that Thelma is submissive not only to her husband but also to the male dominated society she lives in through having her be unemployed and thus tied down to a man for financial reasons. Another example of this confinement is when she must ask for her husband’s permission to go away for the weekend, thus proving that she is on a tight leash and not free to do as she pleases. Although all of these elements encourage women acting passively in a male dominated society, Thelma’s character drastically changes as epitomized