Devin Guinnip March 20, 2014First draft: research paperIn the film Thelma and Louise, the scene in which Thelma is almost raped is important because it reveals the state of mind of society at that time. The scene leading up to Thelma's near-rape is just as important as the near-rape. Thelma and Louise stop at a bar on their way to the mountains for a girls' weekend. At the bar, a local man named Harlan hits the two women, especially Thelma, and Louise just seems annoyed with him. He treats the women to a round of drinks, and as Thelma becomes drunk, she begins to flirt and dance closely with Harlan. After a while, Thelma begins to feel sick and hot, so Harlan takes her to the parking lot to get some fresh air. While in the parking lot, Harlan forces himself on Thelma but she refuses and slaps him across the face. Harlan fights back and hits her in the back, then rips off her pants and attempts to rape her until Louise comes out. Harlan lets Thelma go after Louise points a gun at him, but he says, “Bitch. I should have gone ahead and fucked her,” leading Louise to ask him to repeat himself. He then says, "I said suck my cock" and Louise pulls the trigger and shoots him dead. This scene serves as motivation for future events in the rest of the film. The dialogue after the attempted rape between Thelma and Louise shows the view of many people in the 1990s and 1980s on rape, of which women were responsible. After the two women flee the scene of the crime, they discuss why they cannot go to the police: THELMA. Shouldn't we go to the cops? I mean, I think we should tell the police.LOUISE. (snapping) Tell them what!? What, Thelma? What do you think we should tell them?THELMA. I don't know. We just said ...... middle of paper ...... known false assumptions about rape but this idea has persisted because it is easier to blame the victim. This can also be seen in another statement made in the article: "the legal system has historically treated rape allegations with skepticism" (Flowe et al. 160). The women were supposed to be known for making false accusations of rape and were; therefore, considered “promiscuous” and “incoherent” (Flowe et al. 172). This deterred women from reporting rape; Another deterrent was also the process they had to go through. The women had to publicly repeat intimate details of their history and sexual history to multiple people, endure questioning, and be poked and prodded by doctors looking for evidence to support their claims. The system was not intended for victims, but to protect perpetrators of false accusations. Following the women's movement