Image: Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Thelma and Louise’s 25th Anniversary with the Off Screen Film Course

The Off Screen Film Course is a 7-week course offered by the Warwick Arts Centre. I had the chance to attend the first session of the November/December Course. This is one of those hidden surprises offered at Warwick that not many people know about. Who doesn’t enjoy a good discussion about the last film they saw? Even more, if you have the chance to do this with a connoisseur who can add an expert view and give some context to the film.

This course is open to everyone, from casual spectators who just want to learn more about cinema, to passionate film buffs.

For a very affordable price, the course consists of five sessions followed by a screening of the film discussed. Each session consists of an informal colloquium about last week’s film and a more conducted talk about the film of the week. This course is open to everyone, from casual spectators who just want to learn more about cinema, to passionate film buffs.

THELMA & LOUISE

Image: Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Sadly, I was the only student attending – but I believe there is an added value in having non-students taking the course. People from other generations give a completely new perspective to the film which enriches the discussion. Furthermore, the small number of people attending the session had the benefit of making it much easier to participate and created a very friendly atmosphere. However, it is sad that students are not aware of this interesting event. Hopefully this series of articles about the film course will encourage more students to participate.

If there’s one thing that’s made this film a film worth discussing, it’s the feminist lesson it taught Hollywood.

The film of this week was Thelma and Louise. The 1991 road movie has been remastered for its 25th anniversary, and Warwick Arts Centre is one of the few places where we will be able to enjoy the famous Hollywood film on the big screen. Winner of Best Original Screenplay and nominated for five other Oscar categories, including Best Director (Ridley Scott) and Best Actress (for both Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon), this film could be considered Ridley Scott’s first hit.

If there’s one thing that’s made this film a film worth discussing, it’s the feminist lesson it taught Hollywood. The two lead protagonists are women, something very rare in Hollywood at that time. Before Thelma and Louise, women in American films were commonly downgraded to secondary roles and were usually objectified. The leading role had to be played by a man and this is especially true for road movies. In this specific genre, we accompany the main character in a trip of self-discovery which would be metaphorically represented by the actual road trip. The classic American road movie would usually be the story of a man in search for answers, a search for a fresh start, a search for freedom. All of that is in this film, but this time, women take the lead.

Image: Metro Goldwyn Mayer

It is interesting to notice the change the film makes from a realistic story to something far less credible, especially towards the end. It can be justified by saying that the whole film is just a parody of Hollywood persecution films of the time, and this is the impression one can take from the end. The protagonists make a very abrupt transformation towards the end that, in my opinion, is not credible. At the beginning we are presented two good friends going on a vacation, but towards the end we will see them breaking the law indiscriminately. All the misogyny they deal with does not seem to be enough reason to transform them into confident criminals. I think there are some clichés that the film avoids, but during the last half an hour it becomes a conventional, commercial film. The big example being the famous police persecution in the film’s climax which, even parodied in an episode of The Simpsons, is something we’ve seen too many times before in countless persecution films.

Unfortunately, I feel this film would not have had the impact if the leading roles were males. It broke a stereotype that had to be broken, but you should not expect any other surprise from Thelma and Louise.

 

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