set it off vs. thelma and louise
This movie broke my heart. I guess i like cheesy happy endings, but there was so much pain and death, it was hard for me to watch. Although Thelma and Louise was criticized for being too violent and barbaric, Set it Off is much worse in that sense. I can't help but think that perhaps there wasn't as much uproar around this movie because of the race it employed. Is this type of violence more expected of African American women from the project? They certainly weren't your typical domestic housewife. I found it much more upsetting to watch than Thelma and Louise. On to comparisons...
The landscapes were directly contrasted from the dry, open nature of the Southwest to closed, urban encasement of Los Angeles. Unlike in Thelma and Louise, the film didn't open with any domestic, typical gender role scenes, such as Thelma in the kitchen with Darryl or Louise at the diner. While Thelma and Louise felt more mentally trapped, the landscape in Set it Off physically and emotionally traps the women. They never even make it to the road. Again we see race play a role; they appear trapped by their own skin color. There is a direct juxtaposition of landscape in the ending scenes of both films. Both include chasing helicopters and streams of cop cars, but the freedom of the road in Thelma and Louise is contrasted with towering skyscrapers, other traffic, and tunnels that trap the outlaws in Set it Off.
Sisterhood and Loyalty i felt were more similar than different in these two films. Each woman demonstrated that they would do anything for a friend, including risking their own lives. Most dramatic to me in Set it Off were the end scenes, beginning with the bank and ending with the brutal deaths of Cleo and Frankie. Cleo tells Frankie and Stoney to get out of the car and run while they're trapped in the tunnel. In essence she is sacrificing herself for them. Another scene of loyalty includes when Stoney agrees to rob the final bank. She puts her friends before her chance at freedom from the projects and a man who truly cares about her. She too is making the ultimate sacrifice.