In movies, bad girls die.

As a feminist, I am always interested in different portrayals of women in film through the years. I've seen way too many films, and you'll have to believe me on this. One thing that astounds me is the fact that even in contemporary films, bad girls get killed off. Last night I was watching The Spitfire Grill on HBO (**spoilers coming**) and thought, oh, here's a film about a girl getting a second chance. The main character went to jail for killing her abusive stepfather (thereby making her a bad girl). She comes to this small town in Maine and lifts up the spirits of the townspeople around her. Even though she's got this going for her, she ends up dead in the river. When the movie wanted me to cry (I can tell these things) I was just angry that they decided to kill her off. Which reminded me of . . .

Butterfield 8 starring Elizabeth Taylor. She plays a call-girl who falls in love with one of her customers. He's married and won't leave his wife, so she decides to give up her her profession. She reconciles with her momma, is on her way to being a "good girl" again, but in the end is killed in a car crash, attempting to escape from her jilted married lover.

In both of these films, a "bad girl" is on her way to reconciliation with society. She is working for redemption. I believe that as these characters are killed off, redemption is denied. Ultimately, they were just "bad girls".

"Thelma and Louise" differs because although the main "bad girl" characters dive to their deaths in the Grand Canyon, it is their choice to do so. If they didn't drive off the cliff, they would be captured, and ultimately killed anyway, if Arizona has a death penalty. Nevertheless, redemption was never an option. I guess one could view the killing of the rapist as a sort of redemption, but I don't think society will give them that.

I've seen more movies than I'd like where the bad guys find redemption through a good woman, a relationship with a son or daughter, etc. Why is it that Hollywood won't afford the same option to our "bad girl" characters?