ABSTRACT
Blaxploitation films were also exploitative in the sense that they exploited a new era of African American rebellion, social consciousness, and cultural presence. Blaxploitation filmmaking allowed for a range of more fully realized African American characters in triumphant narratives that often celebrated violent retribution against white supremacy. Some critics and film historians refer to blaxploitation as genre. Blaxploitation films contain elements common to other exploitation genres of the era, including women-in-prison films, kung-fu movies, biker films, revenge thrillers, and even late-period spaghetti westerns as in a film like Take a Hard Ride. Ed Guerrero suggests the high point of blaxploitation occurs with the production and reception of three key films: Melvin Van Peebles independent hit Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, and the Hollywood hits Shaft and Super Fly. Ed Guerrero argues that blaxploitation audiences paid Hollywood a lot of money when the industry needed it most, during the financially lean years of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
