The End
The final shot of this iconic film is of Thelma and Louise driving off the edge of the Grand Canyon. The image stops before they plummet to their deaths to reveal that they are women who have chosen their own paths rather than be taken to prison. They do this even to the death.
Armed Robbery
J.D. performs for Thelma how he robs banks. He puts on his cowboy hat, and uses a hairdryer as his gun while he gives his "bank robber speech" to her. He tells her that robbing banks doesn't have to be a "totally unpleasant experience." The imagery shows us that Thelma is having a pleasant experience with J.D. during his lead-up to robbing her blind, and thus she's enjoyed exactly what J.D. was telling her all about.
Tanker
We watch as Thelma and Louise get the crude truck driver to pull over for what he thinks is sex with them. We watch as he parks his phallic truck and soon learns that they aren't there to have sex with him. And when he doesn't apologize they blow up his tanker. The imagery represents a clear statement that men cannot put their penis' wherever they want without consequences.
Harlan's Rape
We watch as Harlan plays out his version of fun as he slaps, restrains, and begins to rape Thelma. The imagery is brutal and violent, but Scott does not cut away from the reality of the horror of such an act perpetrated against a woman. That is the point: men like Harlan make it out to be fun, when in reality it is a nightmare.
