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?