So after years of African-Americans fighting for dignity, equal rights, a chance at prosperity, participation in America’s institutions; after paying with blood, sweat and tears, sometimes at the price of life; Hollywood’s response? To promote the idea that the most “authentic” goal of African-Americans was to become the baddest street hustler or the foxiest sugar babe in the ghetto. King and Malcolm X must have spun in their graves. Was it really what audiences– maybe white audiences– wanted to see? Or did someone have a vested interest in pushing this narrative?
The wikipedia article on Blaxploitation has this to say:
The success of movies like Shaft made Hollywood execs think so.
First off, the original Blaxploitation films were independent, low-budget grindhouse movies, so you can’t really blame “Hollywood” for anything other than jumping on a trend.
And while it’s hard to parse out after 60 years, the films had a common thread: a powerful, charismatic Black lead (either male or female) battles The Man (either a corrupt white businessman/political figure or a Black outlaw like a drug dealer who threatens a community).
As for how it got started, here’s an article that credits Melvin Van Peebles, whose critical success cracked open the door for more films with Black themes and targeted to African-American audiences.
and the movies also gave exposure to more musicians like Issac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield et al
As did “Superfly,” a huge hit starring Ron O’Neal as a suave drug dealer. Many African-American parents were outraged by it, claiming it glamourized the drug trade to younger kids who sneaked in to see it.
I always thought those films were a natural extension of the Black Power Movement.
My high school had a African-American Studies Group that met regularly and was assisted by a school advisor. A few students wore dashiki garments.
Naturally the change in self identity and culture was reflected in a new genre of movies featuring powerful black characters.
I vaguely remember a few tv shows that tried to reflect the emerging black pride movement. But IIRC they were watered down and barely noticeable.
Anyone remember Linc Hayes from the Mob Squad? That was an early attempt at portraying a strong, self-assured black character. Similiar to Sidney Poitier in The Heat of the Night.
My favorite films in that genre featured Pam Grier. “Coffy” (1973), “Foxy Brown” (1974), and “Sheba, Baby” (1975). I need to watch them again and see how well they’ve aged.
Hollywood didn’t spearhead the Blaxploitation genre it was started by Black artists producing movies for Black audiences. Melvin Van Peebles was able to enlist financial assistance from folks like Bill Cosby to get Sweet Sweetback’s Badassss Song released in 1971. It was only after Hollywood saw there was a market for these movies that they jumped in. And it wasn’t all bad. Shaft was a pretty good movie. I’ve also got a soft spot in my heart for Blackbelt Jones.
And they were probably right. Look where we are now.
I ran a shipboard CCTV station for a crew with a majority African American enlisted contingent in the 80’s. Rudy Ray Moore’s Dolemite was by far the favorite, followed by the Shaka Zulu miniseries.
IMO the glorification of the Pimp/Hustler archetype in some Blaxploitation movies is no different that that of mafia figures in innumerable Mob movies. And the star of a Blaxploitation film was as likely to be a Private Eye, undercover cop, or government agent as a Pimp or Gangster.
The black exploitation genre did eventually evolve into more conventional portrayals of black families.
Good Times, Sanford and Son, What’s Happening and The Jeffersons are the most easily remembered shows in the 1970’s.
Roots miniseries drew large audiences.
There even more tv shows in the 80’s and 90’s.
Here’s another factor in the rise (and fall) of Blaxploitation:
In the days before suburban multiplex theaters, all the important movies played at the downtown theaters. As suburban dwellers stopped going downtown for shopping, dining and entertainment as much as they had in the past, the first-run movies began moving out to the new suburban theaters. This left the downtown houses with everything the suburban theaters didn’t want: Blaxploitation tailored to an urban audience, grindhouse horror pictures, and more often, X-rated porn.
But it was only short-term gain. Most of those theaters were rundown, shabby and on their last legs anyway. And when they eventually closed, movies tailored for the urban audience went away.