The History of Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation films came on the heels of the Black Power movement of the 1960s. Produced from about 1970 to 1975, these films focused on black men and women as anti-heroes waging battles against the corrupt white establishment. The movies were counterintuitive of the mainstream white-produced movies featuring clean-cut black heroes by empowering a drug dealer or pimp to protect ghetto blacks from the brutality of "the man."
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Early Influences
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African Americans have long been stereotyped by the cinema. D.W. Griffith's 1915 film "Birth of a Nation" depicted amoral black carpetbaggers. "Race" movies produced from about 1920 to 1950 featured all-black casts, often in stories penned by white writers, extolling the virtues of middle-class living and assimilation into society. Black film artists of the 1970s recognized the subjugation of blacks in these films and sought to turn the genre on its head.
Black Power
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The nonviolent 1960s civil rights movement appealed to the vast majority of blacks. But large swaths of African American inner-city communities also identified with the fiery rhetoric of Malcolm X and the Black Panthers. Black separatists were not necessarily a negative influence. The Black Panthers sought armed confrontation if necessary but also opened community kitchens in the ghetto. This outlaw yet benevolent image appealed to young black filmmakers.
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The Result
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Melvin Van Peebles' 1971 movie "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" is most credited for kickstarting the blaxploitation genre. The black protagonist was raised by prostitutes, wrongly charged of a crime, and saves a Black Panther from being brutalized by white lawmen by savagely assaulting them. Ethnic slurs, sex, cartoonish violence, and an anti-white tone set the stage for future blaxploitation films.
Followers
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A host of imitators followed. Most notable was the 1971 Gordon Parks-directed "Shaft" starring Richard Roundtree as the black version of Dirty Harry and James Bond waging his own brand of vigilante justice. In "Hit Man," Bernie Casey rampages through the Los Angeles pornography industry to avenge the exploitation and death of his niece.
Soundtrack
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The appeal of the genre also lies in the extensive use of funk and soul music. What 1960s rock music was to the counterculture film "Easy Rider," funk and soul were to blaxploitation. Directors laid complete soundtracks from opening credits to the last frame from music by Herbie Hancock, Issac Hayes, and Quincy Jones.
Support and Outrage
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Mainstream black actors, such as Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby, who benefited from white-produced nonthreatening fare like "Lilies of the Field" and "I Spy," recognized the need for blaxploitation as a necessary empowerment tool, but the NAACP and other civil rights groups complained it furthered black stereotypes and harmed the cause of equal rights.
Post-Blaxploitation Influences
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The genre established a path for other black filmmakers. Perhaps the most thoughtful, if not controversial, result is actor/director Ivan Dixon's 1973 film "The Spook Who Sat by the Door" in which a black nationalist infiltrates the CIA and uses what he learns to ignite a guerrilla war. Less controversial but no less important are John Singleton's 1991 "Boyz n the Hood," most of Spike Lee's films, and white filmmaker Quentin Tarantino's homage to blaxploitation actress Pam Grier in the 1997 film "Jackie Brown."
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Resources
- Photo Credit Cinemation Industries, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Bros.
