Why 'Thelma and Louise' is and always will be my favorite movie.
Included: the BEST scene that never fails my feminist heart.
“YOU BITCH!”
“I Don’t think he’s gonna ‘pologize.”
“Nah, I don’t think so.”
As I begin my final blood cycle of 2022, laying on my couch with a hot water bottle on my belly, I am ready to let go of all the fucks I gave this year. And I’m feeling kinda spicy about it, to be honest. I’ve had quite enough thank you very much.
Of course, ‘Thelma and Louise’ comes to mind for my viewing pleasure. The perfect movie, every time. Especially today though. So, here’s a post of my favorite scenes and some commentary to go along. Enjoy <3
First, I want to say - I am not into bashing men. I worship healthy masculinity in mature men.
And while there are a few un-dispicable men in this film, Police Detective Hal is a good guy, and Louise’s guy Jimmy is pretty good, the rest are cast as archetypes of the toxic masculine that I love to critique. Oh, okay, even though Brad Pitt’s character is a little shit, he’s so cute it’s hard to hate him.
Yes, Thelma and Louise encounter all the usual suspects, from Thelma’s ass of a domineering husband, to the rapist they shoot at the bar. There’s also the trucker who is lewd and rude and refuses to apologize, and the police officer in the desert with the power trip. It’s a pretty accurate snapshot of the state of the masculine in the late 80’s pop-culture, no?
After they do the rapist, Thelma and Louise deal with these greasy men in increasingly creative and empowering ways as the movie progresses, like in the scene above, where they BLOW UP A FUEL TRUCK and steal the trucker’s hat! Go ahead, it’s less than a minute… watch it again, ya pyro ;)
Look, I’m not condoning violence, but I have to say, there are 100:1 movies with rape scenes where the men get away with it. I fucking celebrated the first time I watched the scene when that guy got it, because I had never seen one end in anything but bad news for the woman.
This movie made a very powerful statement in 1991. There was a lot of backlash for Susan Sarandon at the premiere from, you guessed it, white heterosexual male critics. But the women LOVED it. I loved it. It inspired an entire generation of us. It inspired us to stand up and speak about the way we have been trespassed, empowered us to have each other’s backs around abuse, and to talk about it.
"The reaction from women was so strong and nothing I'd ever seen before. It made me realize how few opportunities we have for women to come out [of] a movie feeling empowered by the female character." - Gena Davis
How many of you were secretly dazzled by Thelma’s convenience store robbery? I mean admit it, it was pretty sexy. Could you relate to that ‘fuck it’ moment after Brad Pitt stole their money, where she really came into her power? The fact that she did so by armed robbery is symbolic to me - don’t worry, I’m not going to go criminal in 2023. The evolution of her character was stunning.
I love the scene, while driving through the desert, where Thelma speaks about being awake, really AWAKE for the first time in her life. I know that feeling. I’ve felt it. I know that feeling because I have the privilege of seeing women wake up from the patriarchal spell pretty often with my work. Each time I chose to honor my body while I bleed, I honor this waking up.
That said, it’s time for bed. If you haven’t watched Thelma and Louise in a while and need a movie with all the feels, it’s streaming on Amazon. Enjoy, and let me know in the comments, what were your favorite scenes?