Blaxploitation

Blaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation film were made that targeted the urban black audience; the word itself is a portmanteau of the words “black” and “exploitation.” Blaxploitation films starred primarily black actors, and were the first to feature soundtrack of funk and soul music. ''Variety'' magazine credited Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song with the invention of the blaxploitation genre, although others argue that because the film was conceived and produced independently and directed by a black filmmaker, and did not exploit most of the common themes in the blaxploitation genre, it was not in fact a blaxploitation film. The Hollywood-financed film Shaft is closer to being blaxploitation, and thus, is more likely to have begun the genre. When set in the North or West Coast of the U.S., Blaxploitation films tend to take place in the ghetto, dealing with pimp, drug dealer, and hit men. The genre makes frequent...