Set It Off vs. Thelma and Louise
How are freedom and the road confounded in each film?
The road is freedom and freedom is the road in each of these films. In Thelma and Louise, Thelma and Louise's freedom is only found on the road. If they stop for too long, they will no longer be free, but if they continue to move, they are more likely to remain free. In the movie, Set it Off, the women are free even though they are not on the road but at the end of the movie, the only way for them to be free is to set off on the road and lose their former identities. In both of the films the women choose to die for their freedom. If they were faced with the option to be free with the end result being death or being caught and incarcerated with the ability to survive, all of the women, except for Stoney, chose freedom and death. Stoney ended up being the exception to the rule. She saw the road as her only source of freedom but ended up surviving without being caught. Freedom and the road go hand in hand and it would seem impossible to have one without the other.
How are the endings similar and different?
The endings are similar in that there is the option of death or incarceration, and all of the ladies choose to die for their freedom, except for Stoney. She was lucky enough to choose freedom and survive on the road, where all of the other ladies died for their freedom. The end of Thelma and Louise is different from Set It Off in that the women stand and die together in Thelma and Louise whereas in Set It Off they choose to part and die alone. Set It Off was much more violent in the end compared to Thelma and Louise. The endings are similar in that the white cop in each movie has an attachment to the women and genuinely cares about their well being and is extremely dissappointed in their choices and deaths.