Thelma and Louise, happy 20th
8 March 2011
Now that it’s 20 years old, we can see that Thelma and Louise (1991) was greater than the sum of its parts. No matter what kind of criticim it received on initial release, it has since attained a canonic position in film — it implies something more radical about women than it ever says explicitly — something more unsettling about female friendship and love, about men’s treatment of women, and about what women can do for recourse.
Melissa Silverstein asks today, “Why didn’t we build on Thelma and Louise? It feels like we have spent the 20 years since losing power for women onscreen.” One begins to suspect that keeping a blog on the topic isn’t much help. And yet this is the eve of my one-year anniversary as Feminéma, so it’s incumbent on me to say, dudes, watch out.
A note: I saw this film 20 years ago while on a road trip through western Massachusetts with my college friend Nan. I don’t know about you, Nan, but don’t we need a reunion trip/repeat viewing?
