blaxploitation! black angel
The 1970s in The USA. The Afro-American population is mighty pissed off with always having to play Uncle Tom roles in films. They decide to defend themselves and strike back by painting the white cow black. That�s how the most sexist, arrogant, shameless bastard genre based on a marginalized race of people came into being. We were given two-bit black punks, whore-masters, junkies, dodgy corrupt private dicks, voluptuous armed women and downright fucked up white thrash. Blaxploitation took another angle on the seventh art and based it on the black man. It wasn�t just plain old political reclamation either. The Blaxploitation genre was all about entertainment, too. Films by blacks for blacks. It�s really easy to recognise a Blaxploitation flick: afro hairstyles, platform boots, long leather jackets, pimps dressed in bison fur, gold and hats with feathers in them and fancy, flash automobiles. You will see all of this in every Blaxploitation movie as well as in a few other sub-genres. The comic-like Blackula or Blackenstein are two examples of these sub-genres.
If any of you have seen the decaffeinated, aseptic remake of Shaft (John Singleton, 2000), you probably won�t remember a thing about it. This remake has nothing of the power and vigour evident in the original. Tarantino also tipped his hat at the genre in his film "Jackie Brown" (1997) which starred the undisputable goddess of Blaxploitation, Pam Grier.
�Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?� asked Isaac Hayes, and the chorus of black girls answer in unison �Shaft!� to the rhythms of soul, funk and disco. The people responsible for this kind of music are none other than the likes of Marvyn Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Solomon Burke or the previously mentioned Isaac Hayes. This kind of music is still hugely popular and can be found in all the best music shops. Can ya dig it?
All of this Blaxploitation has got me wondering there for a moment: what type of cinema would we see here other than �European cinema�, if all those Afro-European immigrants living in shitty conditions today ever got round to making films?
If any of you have seen the decaffeinated, aseptic remake of Shaft (John Singleton, 2000), you probably won�t remember a thing about it. This remake has nothing of the power and vigour evident in the original. Tarantino also tipped his hat at the genre in his film "Jackie Brown" (1997) which starred the undisputable goddess of Blaxploitation, Pam Grier.
�Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?� asked Isaac Hayes, and the chorus of black girls answer in unison �Shaft!� to the rhythms of soul, funk and disco. The people responsible for this kind of music are none other than the likes of Marvyn Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Solomon Burke or the previously mentioned Isaac Hayes. This kind of music is still hugely popular and can be found in all the best music shops. Can ya dig it?
All of this Blaxploitation has got me wondering there for a moment: what type of cinema would we see here other than �European cinema�, if all those Afro-European immigrants living in shitty conditions today ever got round to making films?
