The film Thelma and Louise tells the viewer the story of two friends who decide to go on a fun weekend. However, they are drawn into a criminal situation when one of the girls kills the man who molested Thelma. After that, the women must hide from the police throughout the film, but at the end, seeing that they are being overtaken, they decide to throw themselves off a cliff. The purpose of the work is to come up with an alternative ending in which the male gaze would be challenged.
Throughout the movie, one can notice the rise of various issues related to feminism, gender equality, and justice. For example, Thelma’s husband is a supporter of the fact that a woman’s place is in the kitchen and shows oppression. That is, the woman becomes a victim of masculinity and oppression in the family, which causes her desire to go to unwind. However, in a bar, Thelma almost becomes the object of sexual violence, which formulates the manifestation of unjustified power towards a woman. It was this episode that became a key one when Louise had to kill the offender, and now they had to hide.
In addition, the fellow traveller whom they meet on the road and with whom Thelma had a sexual relationship deceives the girls and takes the money. Thus, one might notice how, throughout the film, the girls have to fight against the injustices on the part of men. Moreover, one of such manifestations causes Thelma and Louise to flee. However, in the end, the girls do not become free, and they have to commit suicide. That is, to some extent, justice never came for them since the murder was due to self-defence, and the rest of the crimes became a manifestation of deceit and inequality.
Thus, the scene where the girls tell the policeman the whole truth could be an alternative ending. Given all the circumstances, the police decided to let the girls go since the murder was done in self-defence. Moreover, such a decision would be made by a male police officer, which is important since a male gaze would be challenged. It would be the climax of equality and fair treatment when freedom comes after a long escape. Moreover, it would be a manifestation of justice in the aspect of gender equality since the weapons were used by girls as compensation for force.
Besides, Thelma would find a good husband since the real one showed injustice and did not allow the girl anything. Thelma’sThelma’s new husband would show equality and respect and treat the woman fairly. This would formulate the end of all manifestations of injustice towards girls both in a certain scene and in life in general. Thus, the male gaze would be challenged, which is the purpose of this ending.
To conclude, it is worth noting that I was motivated precisely by such an ending since it is a manifestation of justice. Throughout the film, one may notice that the offenders used either force or woman’s gullibility as a way to get their purposes. Sometimes, it manifests itself even without any action but in shouting out obscenities, as was the case with the trucker. However, in the case of such an ending, the girls would become witnesses of the manifestation of truth from the man, namely if the policeman would let the girls go.