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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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