It’s Blaxploitation Thursday on I Heart Chaos [I Heart Movies]

It’s Thursday, motherfucker and it’s time for a little cinematic education.  In the 70s, there was a strong underground movement in film that saw dozens and dozens of movies made by the African American community that showed the strength and courage of the Black community by creating strong Black superheroes that often turned the tables on White men and his world.

While the term “blaxploitation” was coined, the fact is that the exploitation wasn’t all negative, but used by the filmmakers to bring Black characters from behind the piano and to the top of the marquee and in the process changed cinema forever with some of the most incredible characters ever sen on the big screen.  These were movies made by the Black community, for the Black community and about the Black community.  The exploitation came on many blaxploitation film makers playing off of and using stereotypes and fears that many Whites already had to their advantage.  While it could have been easy to make feel-good movies about well-meaning and hard-working moms and dads, stuff that the likes of Denzel Washington would have felt comfortable in, characters like Dolemite, the pimp with a strong hand and an all-girl kung fu army emerged.  Instead of a woman who works in an office, there was Foxy Brown– the tough-as-nails fighter with a “black belt in bar stools”.

Even if you’ve never seen Dolemite or Foxy Brown, if you’ve seen any movie by Quentin Tarantino, you’ve seen blaxploitation.  Tarantino is a walking library of blaxploitation rhythm, attitude and savvy.  Every single one of his films is a patchwork of music, dialogue and characters straight out of 70s blaxploitation.

So without further ado, here are some video samples from some of the greats of the blaxploitation era.  Thanks to Delsyd for the idea and for finding all the videos.

First off… Isaac Hayes, singing his song from Shaft, the baddest motherfucker that everyone has heard of.

This dude ain’t just fly… he’s Superfly. And he’s got a plan to stick it to the man.

It’s who? Dolemite, motherfucker! You know, I really love Superfly, but I can’t also help but love Dolemite equally. They’re both pimps, but they’re also opposites. While Superfly was smooth, sexy and could kick your ass with a sophisticated flying kick, Dolemite was plump, unwieldy, unlikely and while he could lay down a clever rhyme at the drop of a hat, never really came off as all that bright– but that didn’t stop him from kicking your ass and running the block his way.

And then there’s Boss Nigger. Much of blaxploitation was about turning the tables on the White man, but none was so up front about this as Boss Nigger. It’s a western, where a Black sheriff and his team of Black deputies treat Whites as second-class citizens and throw them in jail for using the word nigger. And like most blaxploitation films, it’s got one hell of a soundtrack.

Oh and then there’s the horror blaxploitation subgenre.  First we have Blacula, “Dracula’s soul brother” and then Sugar Hill, a great voodoo zombie flick.

And finally… we have a couple of wrap-ups to encompass several more classics like Foxy Brown, Black Belt Jones, The Mack and more.