Shaft was so cool that he had his own theme song. Shaft walked across the street whenever he wanted to. Shaft was a complicated man. But not all
Blaxploitation heros were
Private Dicks. They could be a
Pimp, a
Power-Hungry Criminal, a
Coke Dealer, or a
Male Prostitute. One was a
Former Green Beret, one was a
Bounty Hunter, and one was a
Prize Fighter. Some were
Foxy Ladies, such as
Vigilante Nurses,
US Special Agents, or
Escaped Convicts. They might even be a
Karate Master or a
Vampire.
The stars of the Blaxploitation era, among them
Richard Rountree,
Fred Williamson,
Pam Grier,
Jim Kelly,
William Marshall,
Tamara Dobson,
Rudy Ray Moore,
Jim Brown, and
Ron O'Neal, were some of the first legitimate black film stars. They came after the first major black film actor,
Sidney Poitier, and before later stars like
Richard Pryor and
Eddie Murphy. When the era ended in the mid 1970s, so did most of their careers. Although many stayed in show business as actors, none found many significant starring roles in later films.
One of the most distinctive characteristics of the genre is the music. Other than
Isaac Haye's theme to Shaft,
Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack is probably the most famous. Other major artists such as
James Brown and
Marvin Gaye wrote soundtracks too. In fact, nearly
every Blaxploitation film had a
decent soundtrack.
The
Blaxploitation genre itself lasted only a few years. Since then, there have been many parodies, in the form of
brutal satire,
nostalgic throwbacks,
modern genre spoofs, or
random pop-culture references.
Quentin Taratino is probably the most vocal advocate of Blaxsploitation films, going as far as to cast Pam Grier as the lead in
Jackie Brown.
John Singleton also directed a
"remake" of Shaft starring
Samuel L. Jackson, but his version managed to
drain all of the charm and groove out of the original. Although some recognize the
political statements that the films made, and the
subtle impact that they made to today's culture, as a whole the Blaxploitation films
continue to get no respect.
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posted by cog_nate at 6:27 PM on May 24, 2008 [1 favorite]