Reason and Accountability, or Thelma and Louise's Lack Thereof

It must be hard being a woman. Especially when every single man you encounter is the worst of the bunch like those met by Ms. Thelma and Ms. Louise, and the only reasonable man they get to deal with is the Sheriff, the one who is trying to have them arrested, from crimes ranging to justifiable homicide to pure robbery.

Things aren't really good at either's home. Thelma is married to Shooter McGavin, and he treats her like shit, while Louise is married to Michael Madsen, who means well, but his mind must be focused on an upcoming bank robbery with Harvey Kietel, Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs, so he doesn't exactly treat Susan Sarandon that well either. Apparently, these two are such lousy significant others, that it's okay for the gals to steal Shooter McGavin's car, and leave the nest without telling the men where they're going to be, which is fine, but that kind of puts the ladies in a tight spot if they need help for any reason, and when you get drunk and start dirty dancing with the likes of Harlan the County Rapist, you tend to take matters in your own hands.

After the car stealing, the first major lack of reason and accountability on the ladies part is dealing with this awful Harlan issue. I don't want to get into the whole certain things you don't do with drunken men at a bar, or short skirts, or no means yes or any of those "things" either men or women use when discussing this issue, so I'll go directly to the aftermath. If a man has forced himself on you, and you have broken free, shooting him is probably not the smartest thing to do. I'm sure the woman is quite an emotional wreck, but this is the type of thing we have authorities for. Sure, maybe Harlan is a good ol' boy and is in with the sheriff's department, but vigilantism is just going to lead to more crime, it always does.

Even a greater lack of reason and accountability is what happens after the crime, and that's that Thelma immediately gets close with another complete stranger. I'd imagine after one was involved in a terrible sexual assualt, she'd be a little scarred and perhaps even scared of men. Some may even say, "Well, this is just a movie, and this scene is just trying to entertain you as a viewer," but Amy Winehouse says nooo nooo nooo. This scene doesn't strike me as out of the ordinary at all. Thelma's husband treats her poorly, so in her diluted head, this is her weekend to do anything she wants without any accountability whatsoever.

Enter Brad Pitt. It's a little know fact, but Brad Pitt has appeared in two episodes of Growing Pains which means, he AND Leonardo DiCaprio both got their careers started on the Super Fun Time Kirk Cameron Jesus Hour (well, half hour). Unfortunately, there's not an episode where the two appear together, take Mike Seaver and his perm mullet out back, and show him what it's like. Finding those two actors in the same episode would be like finding a rookie Honus Wagner card where he's giving someone the finger.

Anyways, suffice to say, picking up a stranger at a gas station, especially when you have several thousand dollars in cash on you, is a bad idea. Louise knows this, but Thelma is obviously emotionally retarded. Thelma is not a good example if you were ever having a debate on sexism. It'd be nice to say, oh, she's just a fictional character, but she's not. Thelma is out there, ruining the treatment of women everywhere.

My last example of lack of reason and accountability comes from Louise. Even though she's the smarter one, she still has the same problem sometimes. The two are on the run, in the state of Oklahoma, they need to get to Mexico, but Louise refuses to drive through Texas. Look, no one wants to drive through Texas. I myself was once part of a journey from Tampa, FL to Tempe, AZ and I didn't go through Texas, but this situation is different. Time is of the essence. The way this whole scenario plays out, is that they end up blowing up some guy's truck because he made funny faces at them. C'mon ladies.

The point of this whole movie is that every now and then women are going to go on their unaccountable "I hate men" bender. If science has proven anything, it's that this bender can not be stopped and it's really just best to stay out of their way. Apparently, women would rather die in exciting fashion, than try to explain themselves for acting unreasonably. The only defense you have as a man against it is that if you really like your woman, treat her well and give her space, that's really all you can do to avoid her one day deciding to drive off of a cliff with her friend in a blaze of glory.