Expectations come from what we are taught to believe, and whether that expectation are met or not is the result of actual experience. Gender and sexual expectations have been given general stereotypes in which case contemporary women have been viewed as soft, sympathetic, submissive and are to be kept under control. In the film, Thelma and Louise, filmmaker Ridley Scott portrays these general, female stereotypes to be far from the truth and visually shows us that women can break these expectations under enormous pressure, reshaping their own identities. .
First, Scott shows how resistance to danger can help break an expectation. In the face of danger, it is said that a person's true colors come about. In this case, stereotypes do not apply, and in extreme cases of pressure he or she tends to bend or break completely. It is at this moment, the resistance to danger, that expectations are forgotten and the actions shown by anyone is a direct reflection on themselves. In other words when put in a dangerous situation the last thing on someone's mind is do what people expect, and just do what is appropriate for them. In a scene of the movie the main characters, Thelma and Louise, go to a bar. Wanting to have some fun, they start off with some drinks, and Thelma decides to dance with a guy she had just met. After a few rounds of drinks and dances Thelma gets nauseated and is taken outside by the man she just met. Once out into the parking lot, the man forcefully takes advantage of the situation and decides to sexually assault Thelma. Louise stops the violence, holding a handgun pointed directly at the man's chest. Through vulgar language, the man provokes Louise, thus shooting him killing him instantly. By killing a man Louise broke the expectations of women being soft and submissive to a man by committing a felony. This act sparks both Thelma's and Louise's journey on the way to forming their own identity.
