Thelma And Louise And The Journey Of Self Discovery
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The film, Thelma and Louise, centers on the friendship of two women and their adventures to truly realize who they are as women. Thelma and Louises road trip is a metaphor for the journey that their lives take through this film. The metaphor constantly seen throughout this film is empowerment, only gained through aggression. Most of this film is about the multitude forms that sexual violence can take. But, the further that Thelma and Louise travel on their trip, the more we can see them overcome these problems, from the violence done to Thelma, who married her boyfriend at the young age of 18, or even the past buried rape of Louise in Texas. This film is about the long-term effects that violence can take and the way that it can overtake somebody’s life.
As this film begins, Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are preparing to leave on a weekend long trip. But they don’t realize that this trip will lead them onto a journey of self-discovery. They plan on just having a vacation together and getting away from their normal lives. Thelma wants to get away from her controlling husband Daryl (Christopher McDonald), and Louise is looking for some space from her boyfriend, Jimmy (Michael Madsen).
At the beginning of this film, Thelma is shown to completely depend on her husband and we can see that she really doesn’t have a mind of her own. She feels she is not as superior as her husband and she allows him to treat her awful because of how vulnerable she is. We can see that Thelma lets other people control almost all aspects of her life. On the other hand, Louise has most of the control in her relationship and she has a self-assured type of persona.
When they stop to take a break from driving and go to a roadhouse to have a few drinks and get food, Harlan, a male customer, attempts to rape Thelma. This ends with Louise shooting and killing him. It is at this point of the film that we can see that Thelma is quite vulnerable. We can see that she is even more vulnerable when she allows a hitchhiker to steal Louise’s life savings that was wired to both of the women. While all of this happens, the search for these two women by the police becomes more intense.
Thelma then robs a convenient store to get money for both of them to continue on their spree. It is at this point of the film that we can see that Thelma begins to make her own decisions in her life. Throughout the film, Thelma has matured from a passive and confident housewife to a confident and fearless woman. As Thelma and Louise travel further away from their old lives, they begin to lead new lives. As they drive farther on their journey, Thelma and Louise start to understand themselves, and realize that their trip is the key to having freedom and beginning new lives as different women.