Set it Off: A Road Movie?
How is the outlaw status justified?
In both Thelma & Louise and Set it Off, the outlaw status is justified by oppression. Each movie presents a set of women who have very few options left because of their places in society. Thelma and Louise have been beaten down by men and have lost their freedom. In Set it Off, the women are trapped because of their race and incomes. With no other options left, this somewhat justifies their crimes. The viewer sympathises with them, and understands that they have been forced into this outlaw status by society.
Why is Set it Off a road movie?
I don't agree that this should be considered a road movie. Would a movie about a man plotting a murder, but never actually committing it, be seen as a murder mystery? No, because with no murder taking place, there can be no mystery. Similarly, the desire to take to the road in Set it Off is not enough to make it a road movie. A road film implies travel and mobility. This movie which is lacking these things cannot be placed in the Road film genre. If anything, it is an anti-road film. It is a look at what happens when the road is not present. But just as a comedy should not be considered as a drama, this anti-road movie should not be considered a road movie.