There are extremely few films that explore not only female friendships but also delve into the interpersonal connection of women, seeking to escape the restrictions of gender, class, time, and place. In turn, Scott’s road movie reveals the female nature from the inside. Thelma, married at 18 and tolerating her tyrannical husband, is not as downtrodden and tame as many would like to see. Thelma does not agree to condone, so she packs her things, throws suitcases into her friend’s car, leaves a note for her husband, and goes off with Louise for the whole weekend. If Thelma is an amateur adventurer, then Louise is a serious rebel. Her boyfriend Jimmy has no power over her, but rather she dictates the rules to him, although she is forced to endure his constant adventures while she works as a waitress. Louise does not hesitate to shoot the man who tried to rape her girlfriend.
Seeing the world through the eyes of liberated women driving merrily into the unknown was an innovation that boldly granted a woman the right to be human. Cooper notes that this is a movie about women who defy eternity and openly neglect social conditions. It has a philosophical background in the immortality of the soul and the lofty value of freedom, which despises even death. The film’s finale proves that suicide is preferable to prison, just as lethal injection is better than life imprisonment.
It is a pity that they do not make strong films about women’s struggles in Hollywood anymore; that is why it remains to revise Thelma and Louise from year to year. The current films about women ending with a wedding, and receiving a ring from a man are equated to the moment of personal transformation and self-identification of a woman who is looking for only worldly peace in life. These stereotypical films are forgotten and will never become a symbol of the female spirit, which Thelma and Louise became precisely because it reflects the true woman’s need for freedom.
Smith, in her speech, focuses on gender inequality in cinema. As confirmation, the speaker presents depressing statistics. First, according to Smith, less than a third of all speaking characters are women (2:39). The most unexpected thing is that the situation has not changed for 70 years. As my example, I can cite the world-famous film The Lord of the Rings, where all ten central roles are male. Thus, the woman is still noticeably absent from the screen.
Second, Smith asserts that in addition to gender inequality, Hollywood films are characterized by racial and ethnic discrimination. It is noteworthy that it is possible to expect changes in this direction. In 2020, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the introduction of special rules that should eliminate inequalities within the organization itself and the film industry. Rottenberg affirms that starting in 2024, films that qualify for the Best Film award must meet at least two of the four criteria. Among them is the presence of actors from an ethnic or racial minority, 30% of the composition of a woman, representatives of the LGBTQ+ community, a racial or ethnic minority, and people with disabilities. Moreover, there must be the same diversity in the production and marketing teams that work on the film, and the film must represent one of the listed minorities. Nevertheless, women remain in the minority since the requirement is 30%, but women are about half of society.
Third, Smith notes that only 4.1% of directors are women (6:00). Moreover, only three of the 886 directors are African American or black, and only one woman is Asian (Smith 6:13). At the same time, there is a pattern between the gender of the director and the peculiarity of the roles in this movie. Thus, the more women participate in creating a movie, the more women appear on the screen, and vice versa. This fact is one of the reasons for the disappointing statistics on the number of women in cinema and the peculiarity of their representation. Therefore, given the disheartening statistics and trends that have taken place in recent years, Hollywood cinema is not a very good place for women.
Chelsey, thanks for your opinion. Indeed, in addition to the motif of freedom and independence, Thelma and Louise unfold with a feminist approach, making women as strong as men. The film’s female perspectives undermine and appropriate the dominant male gaze typical of mainstream Hollywood cinema, using mockery as a narrative device to illustrate the sexism inherent in the male gaze. Three narrative devices are explicated that structure the mockery in the film: stereotypes about depraved and testosterone-obsessed men; portray men as a spectacle for female attention; and the celebration of women’s friendships. The result of the tongue-in-cheek techniques is a strong female gaze that resists and defies patriarchy and opens the film’s text to a feminist reading. As for the TED talk by Stacy Smith, indeed, the situation regarding the role of women in the film industry is disastrous. Thus, nowadays, most films are shot by men and many films still represent the male gaze.