Thelma & Louise (1990): Western Myth with gender change

Seminar paper from the year 1995 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1, University of Tubingen (Department of American Studies, Faculty of English Philology), course: Hauptseminar 'American West ', language: English, abstract: University of Tübingen, Department for American Studies, HS: The American West Western Myth with gender change: Thelma & Louise (1990) von: Sebastian Hoos Abstract The scientific community widely agrees that no region on earth shaped as many contemporary myths as the American West. The number of definitions of what is meant by 'the West' is close to the number of references made to it - in numerous fields. Only by looking at individual examples of western myth at work can we find ways to appoach the myth itself and its consequences. In this paper I want to illuminate the intellectual and cultural web that is worked into and created around the Hollywood-made motion picture 'Thelma & Louise'. Following a rather broad attempt I want to give a comprehensive overview over all the printed reactions and reviews of this piece of discourse beginning with a few 'traditional Westerns' and a piece of generic criticism by a young female American film critic. Following that, the story of the movie will be recaptured, analyzed, and thereby, finally, interpreted. This paper is a revised and extended version of an earlier one presented to Prof. Jeff Bass at Baylor University, Texas, USA. Thanks to the excellent facilities and up to date media access of Moody Memorial Library on Baylor University campus I am apt to say that all relevant publications about this movie have been elaborated in my work. New insight about the recipience and interpretation of the western myth made me rewrite this paper specifically for a course on the American West. Directory of content p. 3 Introduction p. 4 Chapter I : Recent Western Film Reviews p. 5 Chapter II : Generic Criticism p. 8 Chapter II : The Echo of 'Thelma and Louise' in Contemporary American Press and Film Literature p.13 Chapter III : The Story of 'Thelma and Louise' p.15 Chapter IV : Analysis and Interpretation p.19 Chapter V : Conclusion p.21 Index of Utilized Literature