70s9. blaxploitation's context and reception
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US Cinema of the 1970s:Blaxploitation’s Context &
Reception
Prof. Julia LeydaApril 7, 2023
quiz
What is Sweetback doing during most of the movie? Describe his most common activities. Why does he do these things all through the movie?
blaxploitationcycle of cheaply made, black-cast action
movies set in the ghetto, released between 1969-74
exploitation movies: sensational, often trashy B-movies aimed at a
particular audience, designed to earn moneyoften extremely violent or sexual includes blaxploitation, sexploitation, splatter
filmsblack + action + exploitation = blaxploitation
blaxploitation formulastarted with Sweetback and Shafttough black man fights against the corrupt,
racist white system and wins in the endaction movie: fight scenes and chase
scenes, showing the superiority of the hero against cruel, stupid white villains
emphasis on fashion, music, “cool” hero(ine)
Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Asssss
Song (1971)not much story, but lots of music, action, sex,
and fighting and chase scenes (too much?)rated X “by an all-white jury”portrays “real” black ghetto life and people (?)macho black man gets angry, beats up cops,
and wins in the end, no more non-violencemade by auteur Melvin Van Peebles: writer,
director, producer, composer, editor, starscared white people
contexts of blaxploitation1. growing political and social consciousness
among black Americans2. outspoken criticism of Hollywood’s images
of black people3. economic crisis in Hollywood
1. political and social consciousness1960s white flight and urban life: crime,
drugs, police brutality, poverty, (also countercultures and liberation movements)
assassinations: John F. Kennedy in 1963, Malcolm X in 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy in 1968
riots: Watts and 298 cities from 1967-68Black Power movement and Black Panther
Party iconography—anger
black power rhetoric
(male) black power rhetoric and sex
Sweetback framed by chainlink fence
split screen ELS
frame with text
2. criticism of black images in moviesimpatience with “ebony saint” Sidney
Poitier’s gentle, integrationist imagesome improvement in the macho athlete
characters of the 60s: tough, strong, but controlled by whites
but still, movies didn’t show black themes, issues, or communities—only isolated individuals surrounded by whites
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)
urban landscape: freeways
urban landscape: oil well
“real” black: direct camera address
“real” black: direct camera address
“real” black: children
iconography: afro, direct address
iconography: burning cop car
noir lighting: policeman
text warning to the Man
3. economic crisis in Hollywooddriven only by short-term profit,
conservative industry won’t change unless forced to
blacks were 10-15% of US population, but 30% of moviegoers in top theaters (first-run, city)
Hollywood saw easy money in the formula of Sweetback, an independent movie with a $500,000 budget that grossed $10,000,000
“rated X by an all-white jury”
blaxploitation auteur
noir city: superimposed images
noir city: strip clubs, porn
color effects: oil well
silhouette superimposition
iconography: low-angle shaky camera
superimpositions
criticism of blaxploitationreplaced old stereotypes with new ones?objectified and undeveloped female charactersromanticizes poverty and the ghettohero is ahistorical, individualist acting in panic
or desperation—no sense of community or politics
similar to other gritty urban dramas with white heroes (French Connection, Dirty Harry)
“F***ing will not set you free.” –Lerone Bennett’s 1971 Ebony magazine essay
Coffy (1973) with Pam Grier
positive outcomes of blaxploitationportrayed the “realities” of life in the ghettoprovoked active debate of black
representation and involvement in Hollywood
gave black audiences black heroes (and heroines) in mostly black contexts
inspired later generations of black auteurs: Spike Lee, Mario Van Peebles, John Singleton (and Quentin Tarantino)
discussion questionsWhat was your reaction to Sweetback at first?
What do you think of it after learning more about blaxploitation? Why?
In what ways did images of blacks in blaxploitation movies improve on the old stereotypes? In what ways did they create new stereotypes?
How do you think these movies look to today’s audiences?
How does Sweetback compare to previous movies we’ve seen: Chinatown, Taxi Driver, Cabaret, others?