Feminism and "Thelma and Louise"
The film Thelma and Louise provides a very clear feminist critique of society and women's place in it. The ways in which the two women are oppressed by men throughout the film, and the ways in which they fight back, both speak to a feminist critique of American culture. One of the most patriarchal forces in our society is the law and in the film, all of the police officers are male-- most importantly the head investigators. Looking at the scene where Thelma and Louise are pulled over by the cop (not taking into consideration the weirdly sort of racist and stereotypical depiction of a Rastifarian biker), we can see one of the ways in which Thelma and Louise fight against a patriarchal force. The cop himself walks up to the car, exuding a certain "manliness" in his demeanor and way of speech. When he asks Louise to come back to his car, Thelma sneaks up on the two and holds the cop at gunpoint until he gets into his own trunk. They trap him inside one of his sources of power, his car, and leave him. They even take his "gun" from him (castration anxiety.....?)
My definition of feminism is a discourse in which striving towards equal opportunities, rights, etc. for all sexes is the end goal. This end goal is achieved through a critique of the ways in which a traditionally patriarchal society has systematically oppressed non-male sexes throughout history. Thelma and Louise attempts at this throughout its storyline. The scene described above is one of many that locate a source of power men have in society, and uses women to take that power away.