Blaxploitation Of African Americans In Movies

In the early 1970s, African Americans in movies became popular throughout America. The exploitation of African Americans in movies became known as Blaxploitation. Blaxploitation films tried to replicate the black experience within a white cinematic structure. This movement of cinema was significant because it decreased the treatment of African Americans. Even though some of the movies reflected poorly of black culture, white people began to embrace their culture more. Most white people during the 1970s were not fond of African Americans, and introducing whites to this type of cinema entertained them and to slowly accept them. Early 1970s, was the highpoint for this type of cinema.

Important movies that came out during this time were Cotton Comes to Harlem (Ossie Davis, 1970) and Sweet Sweetback's Badaaass Song (Melvin Van Peebles, 1971). Cotton Comes to Harlem sprang the African American movie industry to a popular level, and became the inspiration for many black films yet to come. In Cotton Comes to Harlem, it shows the story of two black detectives trying to find a bale of cotton lost in Harlem. The two detectives used humor to outsmart other white characters throughout the film and. Sweet Sweetback's Badaaass Song may have not been a huge hit in theaters, but it became a huge hit with African Americans. The Black Panthers referred to it as a “revolutionary masterpiece.”() The movie presents a sly and assertive black man who ruled victorious over the white world. The character was very erotic and hostile to the point where that became a crucial influence of his character. Blaxploitation movies would often have a “groovy” feel to the film. The movie’s music and sound would contain funk, soul jazz soundtracks with bass, funky bea...

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...cial generative mechanism, most of it would be the civil rights movement that was occurring. BBetween 1910 and 1940, there was a big migration of African Americans moving to the south. This movement shaped the racial backgrounds in the southern areas. During the 1960s, African Americans all over America were being mistreated, especially in the south. From getting mugged and beaten up, to rape and murder. Blacks were having it rough in this time. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed and it outlawed discrimination based on national origin, religion, sex, race, or color. This was a huge breakthrough for African Americans, now they will be treated equally and there would be no racial segregation. Even though the Civil Rights Act had little impact for African Americans at the time, it had significant influence on future civil rights legislation in the United States.