Outrunning Phallocentricism
The term "feminism" has many different meanings to many different people. To me, feminism is basically pride in being female, and working to make femaleness equal to masculinity in a phallocentric world. Generally, I see feminism as a way in which to break stereotypes of what it is to be a woman, balancing each woman's individuality with a sense of solidarity. The film, "Thelma and Louise" is a successful feminist critique in that it presents individual women on the road together, trying to break free of an oppressive male society. One scene in which this is extremely clear is when the two women are pulled over on the road by a police officer. He represents the masculine world that they can't seem to outrun as he pauses their journey. When he asks Louise to get into his squad car with him, Thelma comes over and points a gun at his head. This is a perfect example of the solidarity of women in a man's world that my definition of feminism supplies. When her friend is sucked into their masculine society through the act of being told to sit in his car, Thelma takes action to rescue her friend. The individuality of both women is also portrayed here in how both respecitvely handle the situation. Thelma is headstrong and in control of the situation. She is calm, collected, and doing what she needs to do to keep going. Louise, on the other hand, is more confused about what is happening. She takes her cues from Thelma and let's her do the talking until she gets into the swing of things. Through this act, the two women show power in the female body, and prove themselves to be, at the very least, equal in this masculinly dominated society. As they leave the police officer locked in their trunk, they leave behind a distinct sense of female power and pride, which embodies my personal definition of "feminism" and therefore makes this film a compelling feminist critique.