“Set It Off” deals with systemic inequality and how that impacts personal choice. The film shows how structural obstacles, personal struggles, and environmental pressures all combine to influence criminal behavior. Viewed through the perspective of strain theory, the women’s behavior is a reaction to pressure from society and goals that are impossible to achieve. Social learning and social control theories also illustrate how the interactions and weakened bonds drive their choices. The Los Angeles setting in the film is underscored by poverty, systemic racism, and limited opportunities to create a world of problems faced by the marginalized. The film also points to systemic failures contributing to crime, using Stony’s grief, Frankie’s disillusionment, Cleo’s defiance, and T.T.’s desperation. By incorporating criminological theories, the film identifies that equitable opportunity and effective support systems help deal with the very root cause of criminal behavior. The film identifies individual actions within the context of broader social and environmental causality.

Works Cited

DVD Presentation – Set-It-Off

Bufford, Takashi (Writer)

1996

Gray, F. Gary (Director)

1996

Overall, this course has given me a new perspective on crime and its underlying causes. I’m thankful to the excellent, Professor Sumter at Old Dominion University, for teaching me the social structure and process theories, which have helped me better understand why people make certain decisions. These insights will be valuable as I move forward in my cybersecurity career, especially in addressing cybercrime with a more informed approach.