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The Love of the Blaxploitation Genre

Blaxploitation was a culture film explosion that many would consider, “ an era of it own.” The 70s were a transition time for Americans separating the civil right to the independence of a new black era. Watching movies such as, Coffy, Black Cazer, The Mack, and Superfly as a child, enlighten me to my culture trials and tribulations coming from segregated oppression. The movies music soundtrack represented freedom and Pride in songs such as, “ I Black and Proud and The Boss” sung by James Brown in movie Black Cazer. I remember the sound was dramatic, captivating, and funky to my ears. The plot was creative in educating those who are unfamiliar with this era and combine knowledge with those who are familiar. Blaxploitation makes up one of the best genre of a movie, because of the soundtrack, plot strength, action, and influence on American cinema.

The Blaxploitation is a sub-genre of black cinema, which made a significant impact in the film industry for black actress, actors, and producers to show their true potential in cinema. Furthermore, it gave a sense of empowerment and control to black producers to create their own film movement. My first blaxploitation movie was, “Coffy” the lead actress was Pam Greir, before then I never seen a black female with a leading role on the movie screen. I remember my thoughts as if they were yesterday, an instantly once I view to television I was mesmerized by her beauty, poise and strength as she played a black female vigilante on a mission to seek revenge for her younger sister's getting hooked on drugs. While her sister is hooked on the heroin, she lives in the rehabilitation center, a product of the drug world, drug dealer, and mob bosses, which is due to a chain of violence that exists in her city. The film had a fast forwarded to the film opens with Coffy showing her vigilante demeanor by killing a drug supplier and dealer. Without getting caught she use her sexuality as a weapon to lure her targets into her web and poses as a woman willing to do anything for a drug fix.

I was excited from the beginning to the end of such a suspenseful drama with plenty of action that showed a very specific version of black power that emphasized the rhetorical posture of strong black men and women who assisted the black community through singular acts of violence or revenge. The ideology of this black era had me hook and wanting more knowledge of what actors and actress were affiliated with such a revolutionary mark in this era. Just as the movie Black Cazer this was about a black man name Tommy who grew up in Harlem as a kid, he was brutally assaulted by racist white cop McKinney. The incident led him to a life of crime. As an adult, he joins New York mafia and becomes the head of a black crime syndicate in Harlem. He wages a gang war with the mobsters of New York City and begins to establish a criminal empire, keeping a ledger book of all his dealings as leverage over his business associates, including McKinney. He meets and falls in love with a woman name Helen and marries her. He is a violent man to his wife, which makes her seek revenge. Eventually the enemies are looking for him and put a hit out on his life that leaves him shot and wounded. Next, he returns to his office to retrieve the ledger book. McKinney meets him there, and attempts to humiliate him before killing him. Tommy overpowers McKinney and beats him to death. At the end Tommy returns to the area where he grew up, but a street gang robs him and leave him for dead.

Each movie detail an soundtrack that allowed musical to be recognized as well as actors. The music was always fitting to the plot or the action in the movie that allowed you to dance in your seat. Blaxploitation is where singer as Isiac Hayes, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, and Bobby Womack to name a few career was rejuvenated in the movies. I remember hearing the song “ The Boss” by James Brown blurring in the house to only find out that not only was this a catchy song but it was linked to the movies of this era.

In conclusion, my appreciation for blaxploitation era from black actor-actress is truly express through the love I have for their struggle. The reality of blaxploitation is neither positive nor negative; it simply is what it is. And it is, first and foremost, is a genre of film that includes action, comedy, drama, romance, and documentary, which made its mark to predominantly black audience worldwide (Walker viii). Some has criticized the era by saying it displayed blacks as hookers, pimps, drug dealer and low life, but without an era of pervasive and popular awareness, let alone discussion, of a wide range of other films by and about African-Americans would has been nearly nonexistent. In the decades since the ’70s, Blaxploitation’s style of machismo evolved into an institutional obfuscation of all other black films from the era.

References

Hofbauer, Adam W. "BEYOND BLAXPOITATION: AN INTRODUCTION." 30 June 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.

Walker, David. Reflections on Blaxploitation Actors and Directors Speak. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2009. Print.

EXEMPLIFICATION ESSAY OUTLINE

Purpose: to exemplify

Audience: CTC faculty and students

Tone: enthusiastic

Organizational approach (Develop your examples sufficiently)

I. Introduction

Hook: Board Statement Narrowing to a Limited Subject

Thesis: Blaxploitation makes up one of the best genre of a movie, because of the soundtrack, plot strength, action, and influence on American cinema.

II. Reason/Point #1: Action

a. First

b. Furthermore

III. Reason/Point # 2 Soundtrack

a. Funky

b. Empowerment

IV. III. Reason/Point # 3 American cinema

a. Black Genre

b. Saves Hollywood

V. III. Reason/Point # 4 American cinema

a. Jobs for black actress and actors

b. World wide knowledge

VI. Conclusion