From Getaway to Great Beyond
(标题是 GPT 起的,感觉不太行)
Hundreds of movies and shows referenced Thelma & Louise. In Léon: The Professional, Mathilda argued with Leon about working together, citing “Thelma and Louise didn't work alone”. Claire in Modern Family confessed that she was a woman “who has never seen Thelma & Louise”. These references convinced me that Thelma & Louise was a must-watch. I first started it one weekend 4 years ago but dropped it after the first 30 minutes. Last weekend, I realized once again that my movie collection was more than I could possibly finish in a decade. I picked it up.
I enjoyed the movie from start to finish. It’s hard to believe anyone wouldn’t; after all, it’s about freedom. What starts as a weekend getaway morphs into a tale of revenge, adventure, and liberation.They become killers, robbers, and a mixture of cowgirls and bounty hunters. Louise breaks up with her boyfriend because she has to; Thelma breaks up with the role of housewife because she never enjoyed it. Their escape from patriarchal norms leads to such a swift yet seamless transformation that it scarcely feels like 'development'. As they venture into the iconic landscape of the American West, a realm traditionally associated with male explorers, cowboys, and open-road adventurers, they effortlessly reclaim these traditionally masculine spaces and narratives for themselves. They rob a store, lock a police officer in the trunk, and even blow up a truck as the driver wouldn’t apologize for his harassment. They didn’t become cowgirls. They find cowgirls in themselves.
By the way, I don’t like the famous quote “My husband wasn't sweet to me, look how I turned out” at all. “Being sweet” really is just another sneaky way of lassoing cowgirls back into being girls. Ultimately, I believe while our social roles might provide power and identity, it’s our inner selves that truly steer us toward freedom. Let’s face it, some souls are just much more interesting than the others. Darryl is merely a football fan in front of a TV when he stopped being a regional manager; Thelma turns out to be Bonnie Parker when she stopped being a housewife. From this angle, Thelma & Louise isn’t just a feminist manifesto or a tale of empowerment; it’s a deeper exploration of free will. They fail as two rebels against patriarchy, but triumph as two courageous souls.
In the Modern Family episode, Claire and Phil end up watching the movie together. As two young adults who settled down earlier than expected, Thelma & Louise is one of the thousand movies they missed out on. That night, as they confront the stagnation of their midlife, they realize “the next chapter” might not unfold as soon as they hoped. Still, a sitcom would never end in frustration and uneventfulness. They set up a projector in a soccer court, crawl in a blanket, and watch Thelma’s Ford Thunderbird soaring over the Grand Canyon. This legendary ending is so perfect that it defies any tragic interpretation. “Let’s keep going” is a one-for-all solution for the trapped, the restless, and those yearning for change. So I guess nothing really ends here; there’s always a “great beyond”.
Sidenotes
There is actually a deleted part of the ending where the car went off the cliff and started to head down. Mimi Polk Gitlin (producer): “People were very uncomfortable with the ending. It was interesting because the slightest change, just freeze-framing it on its way up and never showing it go down, made a huge difference.”
This is one of the most interesting scenes where J.D. and Thelma were having some fun before sex. J.D. taught her his robbing routine (which proved to be exceptionally effective), while Thelma realized that she’s going to “finally get laid properly”. But honestly the main character in the scene is Brad Pitt’s chest and biceps. Even a heterosexual male like me would not take my eyes off them. A symbolized male character became the focus of sexual gaze, and a price tag ($6700) was put on masculinity. Stephen Tobolowskey (Max): “We had no idea Brad was going to become such an enormous star after that, but boy, he deserve it, didn’t he? He was hot.” Jason Beghe (the state trooper): “He was so gorgeous! It was confusing. I think all male actors start doing sit-ups after that movie because he set this level of perfection.”
Callie Khouri (writer): “The reaction by some men was so completely over the top, and by some women as well. There certainly were women who thought it was the end of western civilization, that it was basically a training film for gun use among women, which it certainly wasn't. ” Mimi Polk Gitlin (producer): “This movie is not telling people to go out and do that. It's symbolic of finding your freedom, exploring your friendship, and camaraderie. ”