Set It Off in post-industralised city

As noted in Keeling’s essay, Set it off stands apart from its preceding blaxploitation film in several aspect—the inclusion of hip-hop music in the traditional ghetto action film and the portrayal and potential of masculinity in female in both their work and sexuality for instance. The change in focus of class, race and gender is to a certain extent related to the change in the (lack of) living space they dominates. Keeling quotes Robbin D.G. Kelley for the term ‘ghetto-centric identity’ with specific class, race and gendered experience as ‘Nigga’, as new social reality. In particular, Keeling recognise it as ‘the post-industrial city’s ghettos’ which ‘constitutes a fundamentally different reality’ of the black working class from the urban realities that exist prior to 1970’ and in which ‘criminalization, surveillance, incarceration of black youth’ are main concerns.

LA is one of the representations of the post industrialised city in its shift of economic structure and de-industrialisation. The gigantic yet presumably empty factory serves as the backdrop of the film. Often the hollowness of the city is compared with the seeming liveliness of humanity—the party Stony held for her brother, and all the talks among the four women. Nonetheless, this might also suggest the four of them are haunted by the change in city, which is often shot in long distance. The characters in the film are never seen directly and realistically placed in the living neighbourhood. We knew from Stony’s brother that they are probably living in public housing; Stony express her amusement to Keith grandeur house when she first visit him, but other than that, none of their household interior nor neighbourhood is presented. The fact that the four of them stay most of the time in the parking lot (and in the house they are to clean) seems to suggest that the communal living space is their only place they are accepted. Though they also share public sphere--the rooftop and the lawn, as well as their cars, they don't literally own them. the city has physically marginalised them.

Set it off to address the realistic devastating aspect of the post-industrial city effectively in that it presents how the four character’s action is primary driven by the situation. The lack of options for common people (the black community in particular) is highlighted in the film. The improving economic structure brings no benefits to them, who are possibly the forgotten ones in this shift but are further oppressed by the new and rising system. The mass police force with their bureaucratic procedures (causing Frankie, who got a decent job at the beginning loose her status immediately, as suggested by her clothing and makeup) and horrific multiple killing suggest those underprivileged are doomed defenceless to claim their rightful share, even in the seemingly justice and fair and booming society. Another note of oppression is evident in the social welfare official, who unsympathetically takes her son Away from Tisean, as noted by Keeling, the three women are offered justifiable reasons to their criminality—that their existence in the post-industrialised city are not recognised.Stony lose her brother, Frankie lose her job while Tisean lose her son to the system. Cleo, the lesbian butch in the film appears to resort to her queer sexuality and her ‘duty’ to protect her femme (and friends) to justify her alliance and ultimate sacrifices. Though the system has not literally nor directly taken anything from Cleo, the film creates an impression that she is equally ill treated—for her queer identity, her masculine valour and failure to provide for her family. Their only way to defend themselves from the inequality is to modify their sexuality to engage in masculine gangster bank robbery.

The post-industrialised city fails the women (and the general black) not only economically, but also spatially and psychologically—their only escape to suppression and way to future, freedom and hope is death (or loosing almost everything). This ending is actually pretty unsettling to me, as with Cleo's and TT's death tragically painted by music, the film seems to suggest that they first have to succumb to the system, though they will be mourned and remembered.

W.H Auden’s Musee des Beaux Arts pops up in my mind the moment I see Cleo’s (as well as Stony’d brother’s) death-- how everything turns away/ Quite leisurely from the disaster. This lines ligers long in my mind.