Thelma and louise gay
Thelma is wearing a floral number that swishes around her legs as she flits around her home doing her housewifely duties. Sign in now. By the end of the film, the two have taken out a man who represents the legitimately evil, more vile side of the patriarchy, expressed their deepest carnal desires with the gorgeous specimen that is a young Brad Pitt eager to prove his acting chops, antagonized and robbed countless people, and evaded capture even as the police cars swarm.
As is the case in any buddy adventure movieaudiences are treated to these characters growing closer, their bond strengthening. Instead, Thelma and Louise falls into the genre of New Queer Cinema (NQC) which grew in popularity throughout the s.
While it's not explicitly capital-G Gay, it's certainly blurring the lines of their relationship at the very least and introducing a romantic element that they've been unknowingly nurturing throughout their journey. While their appearances get less and less flawless throughout, they get more and more beautiful, glowing from within as they swap convention for comfort, in arguably the queerest fashion they could: denim on co-opted T-shirts on bandanas on cowboy hats.
At the end of their long journey, the two have traded in their traditional dress for denim jeans and jackets, T-shirts stolen from victims of their various shenanigans some with, admittedly, wildly unfortunate decalsand dirt streaked across their previously clean faces and through their previously perfectly coiffed hair.
Spoiler alert: at the end of the film, the two grasp hands, share an unscripted kiss on the lips, and drive straight into the Grand Canyon to escape the law on their tail. They come a long way from the beginning of the movie, with Louise making disparaging remarks about Thelma's partners, and Thelma excitedly pursuing any men who aren't her husband and give her the time of day.
The queerness seeps in at every turn, from defying their predefined gender roles to exploring their sexuality in more ways than one. From their rapidly shifting clothing styles to taking the ultimate leap together, here’s why Thelma and Louise is a queer allegory.
Gender Bender Over Thelma : Jimmy leaves, devastated
Brad Pitt. By the end, the pair has realized that they've been able to get through all the chaos that life his thrown at them and, admittedly, that they've partially brought upon themselves because they've been doing it together. Susan Sarandon.
They're both in unfulfilling relationships with men who are mediocre at best, complete garbage at worst. It's clear from the first conversation that Thelma and Louise are the best of friends with a deep, abiding connection. Related: Underrated Western Movies of the '90s, Ranked.
Dancing, sex, robbery, blowing up big rig trucks with misogynistic drivers. Thelma and Louise decide to go on a girls' trip under the guise of simply getting away for a while, but it's clear to audiences that Louise is trying to get her friend away from her misogynistic, demanding husband Darryl Christopher McDonald in his breakout roleand trying to avoid her own mysterious obligations at the same time.
The theme of escape in the film itself is representative of Thelma and Louise’s queer exploration. Queer audiences are more than familiar with reading between the lines to find hidden or, in some cases, not-so-hidden signals in pop culture.
Do you consider Thelma : When Thelma and Louise drive into the sky above the Grand Canyon, the outline of their hands clasped in solidarity and the shape of their majestic vehicle suspended in air become distinctly queer forms, iconic figures for feminist and queer freedom from a heterosexist society
Despite MGM Studios’ involvement in making Thelma and Louise a mainstream film, Thelma and Louise fails to fit into traditionally mainstream roles. Thelma and Louise do not appear to enjoy their heterosexual relationships and are actually much happier when it is the two of them paired together.
Geena Davis.