Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras A History of Blaxploitation Cinema

Descriere

<b>The definitive account of Blaxploitation cinema--the freewheeling, often shameless, and wildly influential genre--from a distinctive voice in film history and criticism</b> In 1971, two films grabbed the movie business, shook it up, and launched a genre that would help define the decade. Melvin Van Peebles's <i>Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song</i>, an independently produced film about a male sex worker who beats up cops and gets away, and Gordon Parks's <i>Shaft</i>, a studio-financed film with a killer soundtrack, were huge hits, making millions of dollars. <i>Sweetback </i>upended cultural expectations by having its Black rebel win in the end, and <i>Shaft</i> saved MGM from bankruptcy. Not for the last time did Hollywood discover that Black people went to movies too. The Blaxploitation era was born. Written by film critic Odie Henderson, <i>Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras</i> is a spirited history of a genre and the movies that he grew up watching, which he loves without irony (but with plenty of self-awareness and humor). Blaxploitation was a major trend, but it was never simple. The films mixed self-empowerment with exploitation, base stereotypes with essential representation that spoke to the lives and fantasies of Black viewers. The time is right for a reappraisal, understanding these films in the context of the time, and exploring their lasting influence.