Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Telling Culture x Loading Idea: Thelma & Louise

McDonald’s, Apple gadgets, Nike Dunk,

just to name a few,

are the familiar American products which

you would probably come across on any street worldwide.

 

This is Americanization.

But it is just not a so-recent phenomenon.

And its influence is not confined to tangible goods only.

 

Most of us grow up watching

American cartoons, movies, TV series and

recently reality shows. Therefore,

the culture of the Americans

is what we have been internalizing all this while.

 

Thelma & Louise

is a typical illustration of the American lifestyle and culture.

Thelma & Loiuse

 

Since the era of

cigarette versus the cowboy,

smoking has always been something

cool in American culture.

The movie portrays quite a few smoking scenes as well,

particularly female smokers.

 

During the opening scene,

two young ladies are puffing away

on breakfast table

and Louise casually warned them that it is bad for them.

However turning into the kitchen,

Louise herself lit a cigarette.

 

On another incident,

during the road trip, T

helma puts a cigarette in her mouth,

pretending to be smoking

and says, “Hey, I am Louise.”

This implies the linkage of smoking

to the tough and sophisticated image of women.

 

The idea of road trip is another element

which American movies are constantly introducing

to the audiences.

Pulling up at a deserted gas station,

stopping by a motel, hitching a ride,

indulging in a night club

where everyone else is a stranger,

just to name a few,

are all the familiar scenes we have seen on television.

Back here,

they do not really happen in our daily life.

the girls on road trip

 

Anyway, it does shape the uniform ideas for

non-American audiences

of how does the outskirt of the States looks like.

On the other hand,

somewhere in the middle of the trip,

Thelma mentions a Club Med holiday.

Probably that would be a better vacation idea.

meeting the young cowboy

 

The cursing and swearing

in the movie are considered quite heavy,

“evenly” spread throughout the movie.

Perhaps, thirty years ago,

the movie would have been censored

for the obscene language.

 

But having been exposed to the manner of

how people are communicating

over a longer term,

we come to accept that it is really harmless.

We start using words like

“damn”, “hell”, “f*ck”

in our daily conversation too.

This is part and parcel of Americanization too,

the language which everyone

across the globe knows,

including those who do not really speak English.

 

A significant misrepresentation

always found in American movies is

the intelligence of the police force.

It is quite ridiculous how

Thelma and Louise can get away a few rounds and

commit more crimes along the way.

 

If the tape of how Thelma robbed

was already obtained by the police,

why couldn’t the police hunt them down?

The scene of patrol cars turning turtle

after the car driven by the protagonist

suddenly switched direction is already a classic one.

 

But anyway on a serious note,

if the movie has encouraged you

to go on a crazy adventure

and commit crimes which

you can never imagine yourself doing,

I would still advise you to think twice.

when they turn criminal

 

In short,

Thelma and Louise is a typical representation of

American culture in the 90’s.

Americanization is undeniably huge.

 

However,

the issue of whether the impacts are

negative or positive,

is still very much subjected to debates.