The Girls Pack for Their Trip
The main purpose of this scene is to create by the director a feeling among the audience about the upcoming journey for the girls, which symbolizes for them the beginning of their freedom. This can also be seen in the fact that Ridley Scott seeks to draw the attention of viewers to minor details that allow viewers to assess the importance of the trip for the main characters. In this case, a fairly fast pace is built, which is set by the music and rapidly changing shots of how Thelma and Louise are preparing for their journey.
This scene initially demonstrates a rapidly changing type of editing frames. This is also connected with the way girls choose their clothes when preparing for a trip. Special attention is paid to Thelma, who sorts out and puts a lot of things in her suitcase, which can symbolize her inner desire to leave home for a long time. Then there are quite long shots of the girls’ conversations, where the director, with the help of costumes and remote shooting, seeks to demonstrate the degree of freedom that the girls managed to gain.
In my opinion, the director pays special attention to Thelma, for whom this journey can be the beginning of a new life. This is manifested in the fact that she takes a lot of things with her, puts on loose clothes, and fools around with a cigarette, which she clearly could not afford to do before (Veronique Laurent, 2019, 04:12). About Louise, the viewer understands that for her it is an important decision to distance herself from her boyfriend, who does not pay enough attention to her (Veronique Laurent, 2019, 00:47). This is demonstrated at the moment where he turns the photo over and ends the call without listening to the end.
The director uses these aspects as they allow him to set a certain pace of the narrative and reveal the motive and essence of the decision to go on a trip for girls. Therefore, editing and costume work together, creating a sense of lightness and carelessness that Thelma and Louise feel at the moment. Through costumes and lengthy dialogue scenes, the viewer understands that for girls, this moment becomes a feeling of gaining freedom and realizing their true intentions.
The director seeks to get an understanding from the audience of why the girls need this trip. Ridley Scott uses micropauses, drawing the attention of viewers to some details that seek to indicate the importance of the decision made. One of them is the already mentioned scene with a photo of Luiza’s boyfriend. Another important point is that Thelma decides to take a revolver with her, which in the future will become a symbol of girls gaining freedom from oppressive muscularity (Veronique Laurent, 2019, 01:00). It should be noted that these aspects are used in this scene quite successfully, since the costumes and the editing type create the necessary communication between the viewer and the director. Through them, the audience can pay attention to how the main characters change, which indicates the importance of the journey in gaining freedom from toxic relationships.
My response regarding these aspects is quite positive and understanding, as they allowed me, as a viewer, to realize the degree of changes in life for the main characters. In addition, they allow us to understand the broader problems of society associated with the fact that harsh and rude treatment of women makes them abandon their own goals and dreams. The director, through this scene, wants the audience to understand the importance of making such decisions in life, which bring very important changes. In my opinion, through this scene, Ridley Scott seeks to emphasize his own attitude to this life problem. Thus, this scene allowed me to understand that human nature always strives to gain the necessary degree of freedom, despite the difficulties that may arise in the future.
The Girls Blow Up Earl’s Truck
The main purpose of this scene is that the director seeks to denote the courage and freedom that the girls managed to acquire during their trip and escape. This episode in the film becomes a kind of the culminating point of the formation of the main characters. They are no longer afraid to fight back against men, in this case, a trucker, who serves as a symbol of exaggerated masculinity and rudeness.
In this scene, special attention is paid to two aspects: dialogue and symbolism. The first of them is reflected in what girls talk about with a man. He demonstrates his rudeness by hinting at sex to Thelma and Louise (anneloesx, 2009, 00:12). However, the special importance can be traced to what the girls say to the trucker. They seek to appeal to his conscience and understand how Ed would behave if someone addressed his mother or daughter in this way (anneloesx, 2009, 01:56). Then, they blow up the truck, which may be a phallic symbol denoting excessive masculinity.
The director wants the viewer to realize the importance of becoming the main characters and gaining self-confidence. In this case, they were able to fight back against a man who is depicted as a fairly typical rude and disrespectful person. Thus, the girls are already beginning to realize that they have no way back, as they have made a number of mistakes. However, Thelma and Louise have acquired important character traits that allow them to defend their own views and fight back against those who could push them around earlier.
The dialogue in this scene is used by the director to address the audience directly. Ridley Scott directs attention to the fact that it is necessary to change the attitude towards women, which manifests itself in inappropriate hints about sex and insults. Symbolism and motif, in this case, act as the basis for girls to overcome their own fears and doubts. They started a struggle with a trucker, who acts as a collective image of all the most muscular. Consequently, these aspects work well enough together, as they allow the viewer to plunge into the world of overcoming their own fears of girls and gaining their true independence.
In my opinion, the director wants the audience to respond to these aspects with a consciousness of what muscularity and excessive rudeness mean to society. Ridley Scott uses dialogue to show that some expressions and attitudes may be perceived differently relative to who they are addressed to. Therefore, the director’s task is to prove through symbols and motifs that this is fundamentally wrong, and it is necessary to show mutual respect. These aspects have been used quite successfully, as they help the viewer to realize some problems and rethink them.
My response to these aspects is quite similar to the author’s idea, as they allow us to realize the many existing contradictions in the structure of society. Consequently, this scene serves as the main one through which there is an understanding and realization that the girls managed to change the circumstances that prevented them from gaining freedom. The director wants us to understand that this wider issue is only part of the big contradictions existing in society. Thus, Ridley Scott demonstrates his own stance on this problem, as the blown-up truck symbolizes the end of the dominance of muscularity.
References
anneloesx. (2009). Thelma and Louise trucker scene[Video]. YouTube.
Veronique Laurent. (2019). Road trip – “Thelma & Louise” – Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis [Video]. YouTube.