Sisterhood's Often Carry Similarities
“How are sisterhood and loyalty established?”
In comparing the two films it’s obvious that both sisterhood and loyalty are one of the central themes in each movie, however the time in which these themes are most central in the film is slightly different.
In “Set It Off” it is made extremely clear in the beginning of the film that these women are bonded by sisterhood. It is something that has been developing for years through what the four women have shared in their lives thus far. They have grown together in the hood; looking out for one another as they journey through the thickest of it. There are multiple layers at which the viewer can determine how connected the women are; the first and most fundamental layer being that they are of the same race and economic status. Because of these similarities with their backgrounds and the ways they grew up, viewers find even more similarities in their lifestyles, humors, and thoughts about the world. In “Set It Off” the viewer witnesses these sisters risk their lives for each other when they wind up in the worst sort of trouble. It is through the common history of these females that this nature of a shared sisterhood is established.
It can also be said in “Thelma and Louise” that a sisterhood is established between the two main characters. However, this time the viewer would’ve noticed that the two females came from different places: emotional places and even experiential places. In noticing that, the viewer is immediately set up for a slightly different type of sisterhood than that of the women in “Set It Off.” This sort of sisterhood is the kind where two opposite types of people either share a common experience or go through a crisis together and in turn develop the bond of a sisterhood. Amidst all the turmoil (the violence, fleeing and robbery) that began with Louise saving her friend Thelma from the rapist, the women run together and sacrifice nothing to those who want to attain them. The fact that neither of them would sacrifice each other for any sort of gain proves that there exists a sisterhood-esque bond—thick as any—between these two females.
“How are endings similar or different?”
Because of these dense bonds that have been formed between the female in both “Set It Off” and “Thelma and Louise”, these two films are definitely set up with similarities. The first and most significant element that causes these films to go in similar directions is the sisterhoods that are formed between the main characters. The viewer has the chance to witness both the build and the rise of these friendships and in turn watches them unravel at the peak of each film. The point and which these sisterhoods ‘unravel’ is when the viewer gets a true insight at the power and meaning behind these bonds that the women have formed.