Blaxploitation Theater

Welcome to Blaxploitation Theater. Tonight's episode: Three the Hard Way is a 1974 action film directed by Gordon Parks Jr., written by Eric Bercovici and Jerrold L. Ludwig, and starring Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, and Jim Kelly. In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, and the Black Panther Party, political and sociological circumstances that facilitated black artists reclaiming their power of the Representation of the black ethnic identity in the arts. The term blaxploitation is a portmanteau of the words Black and exploitation, coined by Junius Griffin, president of the Beverly Hills–Hollywood branch of the NAACP in 1972. In criticizing the Hollywood portrayal of the multiracial society of the US, Griffin said that the blaxploitation genre was "proliferating offenses" to and against the black community, by perpetuating racist stereotypes of inherent criminality. Initially, blaxploitation films were black cinema produced for the entertainment of Black people in the cities of the US, but the entertainment appeal of the black characters and human stories extended into the mainstream cinema of corporate Hollywood. Recognizing the profitability of the financially inexpensive blaxploitation films, the corporate movie studios then produced blaxploitation movies specifically for the cultural sensibilities of mainstream viewers. The movie-business magazine Variety reported the films Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) and Shaft as the mainstream blaxploitation films that followed the assimilation of blaxploitation into mainstream cinema, by way of the film Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970). Blaxploitation films were the first to feature soundtracks of funk and soul music.

Friday Foster is a 1975 American blaxploitation film directed by Arthur Marks and starring Pam Grier in the title role. Yaphet Kotto, Eartha Kitt, Scatman Crothers and Carl Weathers co-starred. It is an adaptation of the 1970–74 syndicated newspaper comic strip of the same name, scripted by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Jorge Longarón. This was Grier's final film with American International Pictures. The tagline on the film's poster is "Wham! Bam! Here comes Pam!" Friday Foster (Grier) is an ex-magazine model turned magazine photographer who refuses to heed her boss's admonitions against becoming involved in the stories to which she is assigned. After witnessing an assassination attempt on the nation's wealthiest African American, Blake Tarr (Thalmus Rasulala), and then seeing her best friend Cloris Boston (Miles) murdered, Friday finds herself targeted for death. She teams up with private detective Colt Hawkins (Kotto) to investigate, and soon the two are hot on the trail of a plot to eliminate the country's African-American political leadership.

In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, and the Black Panther Party, political and sociological circumstances that facilitated black artists reclaiming their power of the representation of the black ethnic identity in the arts. The term blaxploitation is a portmanteau of the words Black and exploitation, coined by Junius Griffin, president of the Beverly Hills–Hollywood branch of the NAACP in 1972. In criticizing the Hollywood portrayal of the multiracial society of the US, Griffin said that the blaxploitation genre was "proliferating offenses" to and against the black community, by perpetuating racist stereotypes of inherent criminality Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a 1971 American independent blaxploitation action thriller film written, co-produced, scored, edited, directed by, and starring Melvin Van Peebles. His son Mario Van Peebles also appears in a small role, playing the title character as a young boy. The film tells the picaresque story of a poor black man fleeing from the white police authorities. Van Peebles began to develop the film after being offered a three-picture contract for Columbia Pictures. No studio would finance the film, so Van Peebles funded it himself, shooting it independently over 19 days, performing all of his own stunts and appearing in several sex scenes, some reportedly unsimulated. He received a $50,000 loan from Bill Cosby to complete the project. The film's fast-paced montages and jump-cuts were unique features in American cinema at the time. The picture was censored in some markets, and received mixed reviews. However, it has left a lasting impression on American cinema. The musical score of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song was performed by Earth, Wind & Fire. Van Peebles did not have money for traditional advertising methods, so he released the soundtrack album prior to the film's release in order to generate publicity. Initially, the film was screened in only two theaters in the United States (in Atlanta and Detroit). It went on to gross $15.2 million at the box office. Huey P. Newton celebrated and welcomed the film's revolutionary implications, and Sweetback became required viewing for members of the Black Panther Party. According to Variety, it demonstrated to Hollywood that films which portrayed "militant" Blacks could be highly profitable, leading to the creation of the blaxploitation genre, although critic Roger Ebert did not consider this example of Van Peebles' work to be an exploitation film.

Blaxploitation Theater Pam Grier is Foxy Brown (1974) Blaxploitation refers to a genre of films, primarily produced in the early 1970s, that featured black actors in leading roles and were aimed at black urban audiences. The films often featured crime, sex, drugs, and racial tensions, and were typically made independently with low budgets. The term is a portmanteau of "black" and "exploitation". Blaxploitation films were initially aimed at black audiences, though they later gained broader appeal. They encompassed various genres, including action, horror, comedy, and musical. The films were often produced with limited financial resources. Stereotypes: While offering a new perspective on Black representation in film, they also sometimes relied on stereotypes related to crime, violence, and drug use. Foxy Brown is a 1974 American blaxploitation action film written and directed by Jack Hill. It stars Pam Grier as the title character who takes on a gang of drug dealers who killed her boyfriend. The film was released by American International Pictures as a double feature with Truck Turner. The film uses Afrocentric references in clothing and hair. Grier starred in six blaxploitation films for American International Pictures.

Welcome back to Blaxploitation Theater...PAM GRIER, the first female action hero...She is the GODMOTHER of them all. Coffy is a 1973 American blaxploitation action film written and directed by Jack Hill. The story is about a black female vigilante played by Pam Grier who seeks violent revenge against a heroin dealer responsible for her sister's addiction. Produced and distributed by American International Pictures (AIP), Coffy was the third Jack Hill film to star Grier, after The Big Doll House and The Big Bird Cage. Grier would go on to boost her career as the leading "femme fatale" of blaxploitation for the rest of the 1970s. According to writer/director Hill, the project began when American International Pictures (AIP)'s head of production Larry Gordon lost the rights to the film Cleopatra Jones after making a handshake deal with the producers. Gordon subsequently approached Hill to quickly make a movie about an African-American woman's revenge and beat Cleopatra Jones to market. Hill wanted to work with Pam Grier, whom he had worked with on The Big Doll House (1971). The film ended up earning more money than Cleopatra Jones and established Grier as an icon of the genre. Coffy is notable in its depiction of a strong black female lead, something rare in the genre at the time, and also in its then-unfashionable anti-drug message.

Trick Baby is a 1972 Blaxploitation film directed by Larry Yust and starring Kiel Martin and Mel Stewart. This crime-drama is based and named after a novel by Iceberg Slim written in 1967. The film was produced by Marshal Backlar and James Levitt. The film first premiered at the DeMille Theater, Seventh Avenue and 47th Street theatre, Juliet 2 Theater, and Third Avenue and 83 Street theatre in New York. This film is distributed by Universal Studios. Trick Baby is adapted from a book by Iceberg Slim. Slim, born Robert Lee Maupin, was a pimp in his early life before becoming a popular author for African American audiences. His novels reflect his personal experiences and provides an insider look into the world of black pimps. Trick Baby, his second novel published by Holloway House in 1967, was not a direct look into the life of pimps but was still heavily influenced by pimping (remember a trick baby is the product of pimping). Slim became one of the best-selling authors of his time selling over six million books. This is the first one of Slim's novels to be turned into a film. The script was adapted from the book by A. Neuberg, T. Raewyn, and Larry Yust. The film was also directed by Yust. The movie was produced with a $600,000 budget and was produced independently. Universal Pictures bought the film for 1,000,000 dollars and the movie grossed $11,000,000 at the US box office. The cast was not well known before the movie's release. Two Philadelphia con men try to evade gangsters they have conned and cops who are trying to put them in jail. Director: Larry Yust Writers: Robert Beck, A. Neuberg, T. Raewyn Stars: Kiel Martin, Mel Stewart, Dallas Edward Hayes