Set If Off
Quote: "You can take a Negro out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the Negro."
Author: Kimberly Springer
Waiting to Set it Off page 182
I do not agree with this quote because it is very steriotypical and very derogatory. Basically it says that that African Americans can't change their life style even if they change the sitution they live in; or they can't change their behavior and attitude even if they change their setting. In the movie Set it Off, we see African American women strugling to take charge of their lives and change it. I don't necessarly agree with the method they used, but we see that they still take steps toward change (even if it is robbing a bank). We also see the character Kieth who is African American and has a very stable life financially and emotionally. He graduated from Harverad, lives in a lavish house, and has a stable job as the head of a bank. He is the image of a successful male, by both white and black standards. He introduces Stony to his life style, who starts to think about her own life and how to improve it. We see that when she asks her friend Cleo where she sees herself in five years; just like Keith asked her (Stony). We also see how she can fit in and adapt when Keith takes her to the ball in a beautiful black dress and introduces her to his coeworkers and friends. She does not act "ghetto" but acts like a lady. Of course we can tell she is nervous because of the change, but at the same time she is willing to embrace it. After that night she keeps the dress she wore to the ball with her, and takes it out to look at it in various scenes; allowing us to see that this is the life she seeks. In the movie we hear Stony say that all she wants is enough money to get out of there and live a comfortable life. We see that she is not greedy because she was satisfied with the money from the first bank robery and did not want to rob another bank; she saw the money from the bank robery as a start not a way to get rich. We see her change into an ambious person and stray away from the "ghetto" steriotype throughout the movie. She even goes as far as to slap Cleo when she puts a gun to her head threatening her to rob another bank with them. So we see that even before she leaves the "ghetto," she starts to shed the "ghetto" image and attitude.