Devin Guinnip March 20, 2014First Draft: Research PaperIn the film Thelma and Louise, the scene where Thelma is almost raped is important because it reveals the mentality of society at that time. The scene leading up to Thelma's near-rape is as important as the near-rape. Thelma and Louise stop at a bar on their way to the mountains for their girlfriend's weekend. At the bar a local man named Harlan hits on the two women, particularly Thelma, and Louise just seems annoyed with him. He offers the women a round of drinks and when Thelma gets drunk she begins flirting and dancing closely with Harlan. After a while Thelma starts to feel sick and hot, so Harlan takes her out to the parking lot to get some fresh air. While in the parking lot Harlan forces himself on Thelma but she rejects him and slaps him in the face. Harlan retaliates and hits her in the back and then tears 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,” which causes Louise to ask him to repeat himself. He then says, "I said suck my dick," 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 views of many people in the 90s and 80s on rape, which women were guilty of. After the two women flee the crime scene, they discuss why they can't go to the police:THELMA. Shouldn't we go to the police? I mean, I think we should tell the police.LOUISE. (snapping) Tell him what!? What, Thelma? What do you think we should tell him? THELMA. I do not know. Let's just say... middle of the paper... known false assumptions about rape, but this idea has persisted because it's 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 allegedly known for making false rape allegations and were; therefore, seen as “promiscuous” and “incoherent” (Flowe et al. 172). This dissuaded women from reporting their rape; furthermore, another deterrent was the process they had to undergo. The women had to publicly repeat intimate details of their story and sexual history to multiple people, undergo interrogations, and be poked and prodded by doctors looking for evidence to support their claims. The system was not geared towards victims, but to protect perpetrators from false accusations. As a result of the women's movement