Communication Between Men and Women in "Thelma and Louise"

Communication Between Men and Women in "Thelma and Louise"

Works Cited

In communication between men and women, the two genders always

communicate differently. Traditionally men communicate facts directly and are

less likely to discuss details that have little to do with the conversation.

Women traditionally are more careful about what they say and seek to build

relationships by the way they communicate. These two forms of communication,

direct (traditional male) and indirect (traditional female), are consistent

throughout most cultures. There are cases where the men communicate indirectly

and the women directly but not where both the genders communicate in the same

way. (Lakoff 627) If the two genders do communicate in the same way, there is

bound to be serious conflict that usually involves violence.

The movie Thelma and Louise tells the story of two women who have run

away from their traditional roles as women. They have been put under too much

pressure from society and especially men. Both Thelma and Louise feel a need to

change their position in society and they do it by changing the way they

communicate. This change in communication between men and women causes the

women to take on a stronger and more direct language which also included robbery

and murder. They change from the traditional female forms of communication to a

more masculine form of communication. Once they change, the men who they come

into contact with change the way they communicate as well, or they face serious

consequences. This demonstrates the fact that men and women are bound to

communicate differently. In the movie, Thelma and Louise react violently to men

who communicate directly to them after they have changed their form of

communication. These violent reactions are a result of the men breaking the

cultural ideal that men and women are bound to communicate differently. At the

beginning of the movie Thelma and Louise, Thelma and Louise were women who lived

lives of typical American women and communicated like one would expect a woman

communicate. They were concerned mainly about their relationships with men and

tried not to make them mad. However, they needed a break from their lives and

the two women decided to take a quick vacation. Their lives change when Thelma

is raped by a man she meets at a bar. When Louise shoots and kills the...

... middle of paper ...

...lear

understanding they have about each other when they separate. He even asks

Louise to marry him while he is giving her the money. Jimmy shows a great need

for intimacy with his proposal and also he shows his feelings for Louise. This

proposal is the ultimate expression of connection with Louise and shows his

emotional tie he has to her. He is very open and shows his emotions in his body

language, which are also characteristics of traditional feminine communication

(Lakoff 627).

The contrast that exists in communication between men and women is shown

clearly in Thelma and Louise. The movie shows what happens when the two genders

communicate similarly and differently. When they communicate differently their

is a good understanding of each other and a greater sense of connection between

the two people communicating; which was shown well by the FBI agent Hal and

Louise's boyfriend Jimmy. When a man and a woman communicated in the same way,

there was conflict between the two. This was illustrated well by the truck

driver and the rapist Harlen and the conflicts they had with Thelma and Louise;

proving the point that men and women must communicate differently.