Hit the road, Thelma. An analysis of the road movie with focus on gender mobility in Ridley Scott's "Thelma & Louise" (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2019 in the subject Film Science, grade: 1,0, University of Hamburg (Anglistik und Amerikanistik), language: English, abstract: This paper will highlight the struggles Thelma and Louise encounter in Ridley Scott's movie "Thelma & Louise" (1991), how they became outlaws, personal changes they make and how their journey is a metaphor for their lives. This paper aims to show and analyse the gender mobility in connection to the road narrative questioning how Thelma and Louise deconstruct contemporary gender patterns. Therefore, the paper will start with a short introduction to gender mobility as a concept, followed by a historical placement of the road narrative, from the Western movie to the tradition of the buddy narrative. It will show how the genre emerged and how its roots lie in the American past.

The road narrative has influenced American literature massively, especially in the 20th century. With automobiles available for most households, traveling by car not only became part of everyday life but gave men and women the chance to leave their lives behind and drive into the unknown. In fiction particularly, the road became a figure for adventures, discovery and freedom. Both literature and movies depicted the road theme and displayed the many different aspects of the road.

One of the most prominent and heavily discussed road movies is Ridley Scott's "Thelma & Louise" (1991). The first American road movie with females as main protagonists has sparked much controversy and was claimed both a feminist and antifeminist movie. The movie opened discussion about gender roles, patriarchy, the law, male-bashing, women bonding and even a possible lesbian subtext. The movie explores the struggles for females in a society ruled by men and gives one of the most ambivalent endings Hollywood had seen up to date.