Line #37 Main/Blaxploitation


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5	[[caption-width-right:350:Can you dig it?]]
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9
10	-> ''"He's black. He's brutal. He's Boss."''
11	-->-- '''Trailer''', ''Film/BossNigger''
12
13	The term ''Blaxploitation'' refers to a film genre, quite popular in TheSeventies and early [[TheEighties '80s]], in which the hero or heroes are black, and they have to fight some sort of battle, engage some enemy or otherwise solve some problem in ways involving violence, intimidation, or extreme action skills. It was [[https://harvardmagazine.com/2003/01/the-blaxploitation-era coined]] by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) when it was criticizing the genre for what it considered to be a negative image for African-Americans.
14
15	The pivotal point of this genre is that the main character's most significant attribute is the color of his (or [[SassyBlackWoman her]]) skin, as well as [[ValuesDissonance stereotypical attributes associated with it at the time]], such as [[ScaryBlackMan intimidating appearance]], being "naturally predisposed" towards independence, [[CowboyCop lack of respect for authority]], [[PoliteVillainsRudeHeroes utter disregard of manners and formalism]], [[AngryBlackManStereotype preference for violent solutions over diplomacy]] and [[SoulBrotha unquestionable badassery]].
16
17	Typically the main character is a good guy such as the title character in ''Film/{{Shaft}}'', but in some cases, he or she is an AntiHero, such as Priest, the drug dealer in ''Film/{{SuperFly}}'' who wants to do one more deal and retire.
18
19	[[AC:Some of the tropes exposed include:]]
20	* Endless supply of easily disposable {{Mooks}} who try to stop the character's plans.
21	* Said mooks are usually star pupils of the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy.
22	* Conversely, the main character usually has ImprobableAimingSkills.
23	* The main character often has martial arts training, though he fights in [[CombatPragmatist no-nonsense fashion]] as opposed to the period's [[FunnyBruceLeeNoises traditional way.]] If he does not have, GoodOldFisticuffs do the job.
24	* The character being the Bad Cop in a GoodCopBadCop pair, where he either has to work around the incompetent cops, or bribe/intimidate corrupt ones.
25	* Using the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique on captured {{Mooks}} to extract information from the perp "By any means necessary" (a Malcolm X quote).
26	* Often has some sort of TimeBomb he has to find or fix before it blows up.
27	* May or may not have themes of TheManIsKeepingUsDown.
28	* [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Groovy soundtrack.]]
29	* Characters speaking in constant JiveTurkey and/or [[SirSwearsALot swearing.]]
30	* TheMafia as antagonists.
31	* If not TheMafia or The Man, then the antagonists will usually be some other group / organization of bigoted white guys.
32	* [[{{Fanservice}} Sex and nudity,]] often lots of it. It can include [[BlackIsBiggerInBed racial references]].
33	* [[SuperTitle64Advance Will usually have "Black" in the title.]]
34	* Occasional NWordPrivileges whether from the characters or from the film itself.
35	* One big name White actor to lend "legitimacy" to the film, usually playing the BigBad.
36
37	The TropeMaker[=/=]UrExample of this genre is either ''Film/SweetSweetbacksBaadasssssSong'' (1971) or ''Film/TheBlackKlansman'' (1966). Note that unless indicated, if a movie is mentioned below, it's referring to the original 1970s/1980s version, and not to any subsequent remake under the same name. The Blaxploitation genre fell out of favor roughly around 1976, mainly due to the aforementioned concerns from African American [[ValuesDissonance civil rights groups]].
38
39	See also BlaxploitationParody. HoodFilm is a similar genre that emerged in the late 1980s as a more socially conscious reaction to the previous genre.
40
41	----
42	!!Examples
43
44	[[foldercontrol]]
45	[[index]]
46
47	[[folder:Film]]
48	* ''[[Film/AbarBlackSuperman Abar: Black Superman]]'': African-American scientist Dr. Kennneth Kincade moves his family into an affluent white neighborhood, only to be greeted with threats and vandalism by their new neighbors. Enter John Abar (Tobar Mayo), leader of the militant Black Front for Unity. Abar becomes the Kincades' bodyguard, allowing Dr. Kincade to resume his work on a serum that can make an ordinary man invincible.
49	* ''[[Film/AcrossOneHundredAndTenthStreet Across 110th Street]]'': A no-nonsense black NYPD cop and his older white partner investigate a deadly botched bank robbery and find themselves caught in the middle of a war between the black Harlem mob and TheMafia. Famous for its extensive location shooting in Harlem during the height of the BigRottenApple era and Bobby Womack's theme song.
50	* ''Film/BlackBeltJones'': A more contemporaneous Blaxploitation/martial arts hybrid, starring Jim Kelly from ''Enter the Dragon'' fighting against a crew of Mafiosi who killed the owner of a karate school.
51	* ''Film/BlackCaesar'': Tommy Gibbs, a shoeshine kid in Harlem, becomes a mob runner. On one of his jobs he's beaten severely by a corrupt, racist cop and his leg is shattered, leaving him mildly crippled. Gibbs is then [[MiscarriageOfJustice sent to jail for assaulting a police officer]]. After leaving prison, he assassinates a Mafia target and leverages that favor into a deal allowing him to control a section of Harlem. They managed to get none other than Music/JamesBrown himself to do the soundtrack!
52	* ''Film/TheBlackCobra'': A black CowboyCop protects a young photographer from a gang of AxCrazy bikers she witnessed and photographed killing somebody.
53	* ''Film/BlackDynamite'': A 2009 AffectionateParody of the genre.
54	[[/index]]
55	* ''Film/TheBlackGestapo'': Black 'protection' squad is set up to help citizens of Watts against the Mafia. Proudly taglined 'The New Master Race!'
56	* ''Film/TheBlackGodfather'': A black gangster starts a MobWar to keep heroin out of his community.
57	* ''Film/BlackGunn'': A nightclub owner is drawn into a conflict between the Mafia and a militant Black Power organization of which his brother is a member.
58	* ''Film/TheBlackKlansman'': When a black girl is killed by the KKK, her father, a light-skinned black man, returns to his hometown to infiltrate the local chapter of the KKK and bring it down from within.
59	[[index]]
60	* ''Film/BlackRage'': An albino black man (played by a white guy) escapes slavery with his dark-skinned brother, with [[Series/TheAddamsFamily Lurch]] chasing after them.
61	* ''Film/BlackSamson'': A not-so-{{Angry Black Man\|Stereotype}} who runs a local club has to deal with multiple attempts by a white mobster to muscle in on his territory -- and soil it with drugs.
62	* ''Film/TheBlackSix'': An African-American biker gang avenges the racist murder of their leader's brother.
63	[[/index]]
64	* ''Film/{{Blackenstein}}'' -- see ''Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}}''.
65	[[index]]
66	* ''Film/{{Blacula}}'': An 18th-century African prince gets turned by a racist {{Dracula}} and [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned]] until the modern day. Spawned a sequel and many [[FollowTheLeader imitators]], including ''Film/{{Blackenstein}}'', ''[[Film/DrJekyllAndMrBlack Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Black]]'', ''Film/SugarHill1974'' and ''Film/PossessMySoul''. Interestingly, the original film had little of the Blaxploitation tropes, save the name.
67	* ''Film/BossNigger'': A violent western starring Fred Williamson and an incredibly catchy theme song. He made two others, but this takes the cake.
68	-->'''{{Creator/Seanbaby}}:''' If Fred Williamson made ''Film/JohnCarter'', it would have been called ''Spaceman Brown: Chocolate Motherfucker'', and it would have turned a $250 million profit."
69	* ''Film/BrotherhoodOfDeath'': Three black Vietnam veterans go to ear with TheKlan.
70	* ''Film/TheCandyTangerineMan'': A pimp has to deal with TheMafia trying to force its way into his business.
71	* ''Film/CarWash'': A day in the life of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits working at a Los Angeles car wash - most of whom are black.
72	* ''Film/CleopatraJones'': A black, female DEA agent fights drug dealers.
73	* ''Film/{{Coffy}}'': A nurse (Creator/PamGrier) goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the drug dealers responsible for her sister's addiction. Notable for featuring both a [[ActionGirl female protagonist]] and an [[DrugsAreBad anti-drug message]], both of which were unfashionable at the time.
74	* ''Film/DiscoGodfather'': The unholy alliance of two hallmarks of the 70's; [[/index]]Blaxploitation and {{Disco}}. Rudy Ray Moore stars as a retired cop who runs a disco nightclub. He starts fighting against the local drug trade after his nephew gets "whacked out" on PCP and nearly dies inside of his club. Notable only for being the first film Creator/KeithDavid ever played in ([[OldShame which he probably regrets]]); he appears uncredited as a patron of the club.
75	[[index]]
76	* ''Film/{{Dolemite}}'': A spoof of the genre about a pimp and his karate hookers.
77	* ''Film/EastMeetsWatts'': Combines this genre with a MartialArtsMovie.
78	* ''Film/EbonyIvoryAndJade'': Kidnapped athletes go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against their captors.
79	* ''Film/FoxyBrown'': A black woman (played by Creator/PamGrier) seeks revenge for her boyfriend who was shot down by The Man. SpiritualSuccessor to, and originally intended as a sequel to, ''Film/{{Coffy}}''.
80	* ''Film/GreasedLightning'' slightly different tale, starring [[/index]]Creator/RichardPryor, Creator/CleavonLittle, and Creator/PamGrier, about an African American moonshiner and early NASCAR driver.[[index]]
81	* ''Film/TheGuyFromHarlem'': In Miami, a vest-wearing detective uses the power of being from Harlem to save an African princess from assassination, then rescue the kidnapped daughter of a mobster.
82	* ''[[Film/HalfLives Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery]]'', a segment of the book/film [[/index]]''Literature/CloudAtlas,'' is modeled after this genre. A spunky soul sista reporter and rebellious employees of an energy concern team up to prevent the higher-ups from covering up information that their latest power plant project is unsafe in the name of saving a buck.
83	[[index]]
84	* ''Film/TheHarderTheyCome'' was sold as an exotic Blaxploitation film when it hit the US, but still fits a lot of the parameters of the genre, with a {{Reggae}} singer tangling with corrupt cops, music moguls and drug smugglers in UsefulNotes/{{Jamaica}}.
85	* ''Film/TheHebrewHammer'' [[AffectionateParody lovingly borrows]] many of the tropes seen in these films and throws them in a pot with literally every Jewish stereotype ever to serve up the first ever "Jewsploitation" film. In it, our titular hero, a "Certified circumcised [[DoubleEntendre dick]]," is out to stop Santa Claus's evil, antisemitic son from destroying Hanukkah. Accompanying him is his TokenBlackFriend, Muhammed Ali Paula Abdul Raheem, of the Kwanzaa Liberation Front who more or less acts as an excuse to play blaxploitation tropes comically straight.
86	* ''Film/{{Hit Man\|1972}}'': A remake of ''Film/{{Get Carter\|1971}}'' starring Creator/BernieCasey and Pam Grier.
87	* ''Film/ImGonnaGitYouSucka'': A 1988 spoof that helped revive interest in the genre.
88	* ''Film/JackieBrown'' is Creator/QuentinTarantino's homage to the genre, most notably starring Blaxploitation icon Creator/PamGrier in the lead role.
89	* ''[[Film/JDsRevenge J.D.'s Revenge]]'': An African American law student in [[/index]]UsefulNotes/NewOrleans attends a hypnotist's show and is posessed by the spirit of the titular deceased 1940s gangster J.D. Walker. He then gradually [[BecomingTheMask gains the mannerisms of the fallen one]].[[index]]
90	* ''Film/TheLastDragon'': A hybrid with MartialArtsMovie genre released after the trend for both had faded. "Bruce Leroy" Green battles Sho'nuf, Shogun of Harlem in a quest to be the greatest fighter.
91	* ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'': Even Film/JamesBond got in on the craze, thwarting heroin dealers and Voodoo priests in Harlem, [[TheBigEasy New Orleans]], and the Caribbean.
92	* ''Film/OriginalGangstas'': [[/index]]{{Retired Outlaw}}s (Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Creator/PamGrier, Creator/RichardRoundtree and [[Film/SuperFly Ron O'Neal]]!) decide to take down the violent new gang in their neighborhood.[[index]]
93	* ''Film/PootieTang'': An affectionate parody of the genre from 2001.
94	* ''Film/PossessMySoul,'' also having the alternate title ''Abby,'' but known affectionately among its fans as [[/index]][[Film/TheExorcist "The Blaxorcist."]][[index]]
95	* ''Film/{{Shaft}}'': A black private detective in New York City has to find the kidnappers of the daughter of a negro crime boss; based off the novels by Ernest Tidyman. Spawned two little-remembered sequels and a TV series shortly thereafter, a [[Film/{{Shaft 2000}} 2000 sequel]] starring Creator/SamuelLJackson as the original John Shaft's nephew, and an [[Film/Shaft2019 attempt at a reboot]] with all three generations of Shaft. One of the genre's biggest critical and commercial successes, though mostly known nowadays for its [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic theme song]].
96	* ''Film/ShebaBaby'': Creator/PamGrier plays yet another ordinary citizen going vigilante to avenge a loved one.
97	* ''Film/SouthBronxHeroes'': An ex-con helps some kids escape from their child pornographer foster father.
98	* ''Film/SpaceIsThePlace'': A 1974 movie starring [[/index]]Music/SunRa[[index]]. This film was made during the early 1970s with a majority of Afro-American actors, deals with themes of black self awareness and salvation and features a cool soundtrack.
99	* ''Film/SugarHill1974'' - After her fiance is killed by racist gangsters, Diana "Sugar" Hill enlists the help of her local [[/index]][[HollywoodVoodoo Voodoo priestess]], [[BoisterousBruiser Baron]] [[PhysicalGod Samedi]], and a gang of ZombieMooks in getting revenge.[[index]]
100	* ''Film/SuperFly'': A drug dealer wants to set up one more deal in order to retire. (Since there were several sequels, apparently his attempts at retirement were not successful.) Mostly remembered nowadays for its soundtrack, written and produced by Curtis Mayfield.
101	* ''[[Film/SweetSweetbacksBaadasssssSong Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song]]'': A bordello's show-stud is framed for murder by crooked cops, flees and takes the opportunity to pay back the Man for multiple injustices. Not quite an exploitation film, but it's often considered the UrExample, so it's certainly relevant to the discussion.
102	* ''Film/TheyClonedTyrone'': A GenreBusting mashup with science fiction and conspiracy thrillers - a drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute uncover a bizarre conspiracy when the drug dealer seemingly comes back from the dead.
103	* ''Film/TheThingWithTwoHeads'': A racist doctor's (Creator/RayMilland) head gets transplanted onto the body of a black death row inmate (Rosey Greer). ChainedHeat hijinks ensue.
104	* ''[[Film/ThreeTheHardWay Three the Hard Way]]'': Three men (black, of course) have to stop a white supremacist who has developed a chemical which, when added to the water supply, kills only negroes. Note that he's going to hit three heavily black cities (Los Angeles, Detroit and Washington, D.C.) so each of the heroes must take on an entire army of mooks single handed.
105	* ''Film/TNTJackson'': Former [[/index]]''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' Playmate Jeannie Bell stars as [[IKnowKarate a karate expert]] tracking down her brother's murderer in Hong Kong. Similar to ''Film/BlackBeltJones'', except with [[FullFrontalAssault Bell losing her clothes before each fight scene.]][[index]]
106	* ''Film/TroubleMan'': Detective[=/=]pool shark[=/=]problem solver Mr. T ([[Creator/MrT not him]]) gets drawn into a war between rival L.A. ghetto crime kingpins and has to fight to [[ClearMyName clear his name]] after he gets framed for murder. Soundtrack by Music/MarvinGaye, with the title song becoming a big hit.
107	* ''Film/TruckTurner'': Music/IsaacHayes soundtracks and stars in this movie, where he plays a bounty hunter who kills a notorious fugitive pimp and subsequently gets a bounty put on ''his'' head by the Los Angeles pimp community. Co-stars Nichelle [[/index]][[IAmNotSpock "Uhura"]] Nichols as an [[PlayingAgainstType extremely bad-tempered and foul-mouthed madam]] who acts as the BigBad of the picture.[[index]]
108	* ''Film/UndercoverBrother'' is basically an ''Film/AustinPowers''-esque parody of the genre, with the main character being a 70's blaxsploitation protagonist [[DiscoStu in modern times]] trying to stop The Man from mind controlling black America with a chain of fried chicken restaurants.
109	* ''Film/VampireInBrooklyn'': Basically ''Film/{{Blacula}}'' in mid-90s New York. Stars Creator/EddieMurphy and was advertised as a comedy, but the movie [[NeverTrustATrailer switches]] to a straight horror film about halfway through.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder: Non-Film Examples]]
113	* ''ComicBook/LukeCage'' was created in response to the growing popularity of the genre, but he isn't always a straight example. He definitely can be, though, especially when writers want to focus on his anti-authoritarian streak or his focus on the problems of black neighborhoods.
114	* ''VideoGame/MafiaIII'' is out and proud about trying to replicate the feel of old Blaxploitation flicks. Against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, you play a black Vietnam veteran out to avenge the death of his family at the Mob's hands (and the Mob's subsequent saturation of his home neighborhood with heroin). On the way, you get to take down TheKlan, evil hillbillies, and many an AngryWhiteMan. The "Faster, Baby!" DLC is even more so, with an AfroAsskicker helping you take down a corrupt racist sheriff.
115	[[/index]]
116	* The album ''Mack Avenue Skullgame'' by funk rock band Big Chief is presented as though it's the soundtrack to a nonexistent blaxploitation movie of the same name: Since blaxploitation movies often have a CultSoundtrack, sometimes to the point of eclipsing the film, they just skipped making the movie altogether. The music is mostly instrumental, but one can piece together a basic plot through song titles like "Cop Kisser (Mack Fucks up the Scene at the Freezer)", and through the few tracks that do have lyrics (which include "themes" for antihero Mack, his love interest Sonica, and antagonist Doc).
117	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' spoofed this with "Next, on Exploitation Theatre... ''{{Film/Blacula}}'', followed by ''[[Film/Frankenstein1931 Blackenstein]]'', and ''[[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame The Blunchblack of Blotre Blame]]''!" - "Ooh, funky!"
118	[[/folder]]
119

Context Main / Blaxploitation