"Set It Off" vs "Thelma and Louise"
How are sisterhood and loyalty established?
Both of these films have a strong sense of sisterhood. In "Set It Off", we heard multiple times that the girls grew up together, or that they had been friends since grade school. They tease each other, but the viewer can tell that its lovingly, because they also stand up for each other. Also, the women all live together in the project, which is almost a family in itself. Both of the films show the friends working together, which can create a great bond. The people who you work are usually the people you spend the most time with, and therefore, the closet relationships are made. In "Thelma and Louise", the friendship is a little different by the fact that it seems they met each other at work instead of growing up with each other. We can see though, that this does not make their bond any weaker. That fact is proven to the viewer at the end of the movie when they commit suicide together. In "Set it Off", the women are connected by the fact that they have no one else and no where else to go, while in "Thelma and Louise", they are connected by the men in their lives who do not love them.
How is the outlaw status justified?
In "Set it Off", the women become outlaws because they see no other chance to get away from their lives, and start new ones. In "Thelma and Louise", the women become outlaws because Louise was protecting her friend. They then get themselves in further trouble because they need money, and because they are trying to escape. While watching the films, I noticed that I related to "Thelma and Lousie" more than I did "Set it Off". After thinking about why this might happen, I realized that it's because of the ideas constantly put into our heads by the media. We are always taught that men should not hurt women, and if they do, the woman has the right to protect herself. I felt like that was exactly what the women in "Thelma and Louise" were doing; protecting themselves from all the men who were trying to hurt them. The media also tells us that people need to be hard workers, and to be patient until their "big break" comes. This might be why I didn't immediatley relate to the women in "Set it Off". Instead of working their way up the social ladder, like society tells us too, the women found an easy way out and took that instead. After thinking about it, I realized that I'm not sure what I would have in their situation, and could easily see myself making the same decision they did. Then why did I react negatively at first glance? After watching this movie I do believe that the road has a race, and it clear to me that it is white.