Car Wash As A Blaxploitation Film

One of the most influential and popular sub-genres of the 1970’s was Blaxploitation. This sub-genre of film spanned across many different genres. Blaxploitation films dominated such genres as action with films such as Shaft (1971) and Foxy Brown (1974). Blaxploitation thrilled audiences with horror films such as Blacula (1972) and Blackenstein (1973). The genre made audiences laugh hysterically with such films as Uptown Saturday Night (1974) and Dolemite (1975). Since Blaxploitation spans across many genres what can be or cannot be considered Blaxploitation? The films Black Caesar (1973) and Car Wash (1976) are two prime examples of what is and is not Blaxploitation.
To define Blaxploitation is quite difficult. It is mostly difficult because

it spans across so many genres. Through the class slides Blaxploitation can be described as “Films of the 1970s which included topics and themes thought to be of interest to African American audiences of the era that spoke to racial and class disparities, urban visual realism, housing and economic inequality, racial pride and unity, and a desire for black heroic figures” (Dr. Shabazz, 2018, Slide 4). This definition for the most part covers Blaxploitation but it does leave out an important piece of the genre. It leaves out the exploitation part of the definition. A film is not truly Blaxploitation unless it includes either exploitative scenes of sexual intercourse, nudity, graphic violence, drug use or profanity. So basically, to be a true Blaxploitation film, the picture cannot receive anything less than a R rating. The exploitation factor will be a very important and deciding factor in the comparison between the films Black Caesar (1973) and Car Wash (1976).
The films Black Caesar (1973) and Car Wash (1976) can both be loosely described as Blaxploitation films, even though each film has greatly different tones, genres and performances. The first film to discuss is Black Caesar (1973). Black Caesar (1973) is a drama film that is a loose remake of the film Little Caesar (1931). The soundtrack is performed by James Brown. Black Caesar (1973) stars actor and athlete Fred Williamson as “Tommy Gibbs”. The reading, Black Directors in Hollywood explains Williamson as bringing, “a large, indestructible ego and entrepreneurship” (Donalson, 54) to the genre. This is definitely seen though his character, which he portrays as a man with aspirations to become the biggest crime boss in the city with no one who can stop him. The plot of the film revolves around Williamson’s character who as a teenager gets his leg broken by a racist cop and grows up with a limp. He then grows up and forms a gang that rivals the mafia within New York City. He then befriends the leaders of the mob and betrays them to become the head gang of New York City. After he orders a hit on the mafia’s head leaders who were stationed in California, “Gibbs” then starts to get paranoid. “Gibbs”’s wife then leaves him, due to his abusive ways, and cheats on him with his best friend. From there his gang starts to topple and his best men are each killed. An attempt on his life is made but he escapes. He then finds who is responsible and kills him and then beats to death the crooked and racist cop that crippled him as a teenager. The film ends with “Gibbs” who was wounded from a gunshot running back to the rundown projects where he used to live and dies. (IMDB.com) This film is an example of a true Blaxploitation film.
Black Caesar (1973) is an example of a true Blaxploitation film because it satisfies all of the requirements of the genre. It satisfies the first requirement which is being made in the 1970’s. The film has a predominantly African American cast. It contains topics that would be interesting to an African American audience such as inner-city racism and how the titular African American main character rises out of it. The film is set in an urban area, this case being in Harlem, a borough of New York City which has always been predominantly African American. There is also an African American anti-heroic figure which is portrayed through Williamson’s crime boss character. The second important aspect of this film that makes it Blaxploitation is the exploitive scenes in it. There are multiple scenes of nudity and sex between Williamson’s character and the love interest of the film. There is also profanity all throughout the dialogue between characters. The film also depicts acts of violence. Such as portrayed in two scenes where “Gibbs”’s men shoot down the opposition with machine guns and the film shows blood everywhere within the scene. This greatly differs from the comparison film of Car Wash (1976).
Car Wash (1976) is a comedy film directed by Michael Shultz. The soundtrack is performed by the group Rose Royce. The cast has a wide variety of actors where there is no specific main character. These actors include the likes of Ivan Dixon, Franklyn Ajaye, Bill Duke, and guest stars comedians Richard Pryor and George Carlin. The plot of the film revolves around the car wash where the cast of characters work. The setting of a car wash is used as a representation subtle race discrimination in the 1970’s as explained in the reading by Thomas Borstelmann, “It is perhaps worth reiterating once again that prejudice and discrimination did not disappear in the 1970’s” (Borstelmann, 87). This prejudice and discrimination spoken about in the reading is portrayed in the film through subtleties such as only the African American workers having to work outside while the white boss and white workers have indoor jobs. The film gives each character an equal amount of screen time which is the reason why there is no specific main character. The three characters that the film mostly focuses on are “T.C.” as portrayed by Franklyn Ajaye, “Lonnie” as portrayed by Ivan Dixon and “Abdullah” as portrayed by Bill Duke. The director of the film uses these characters to show that not all African Americans are the same stereotypes seen in early cinema. This is explained in the reading Black Camera within the quote, “…movement beyond the critique of racist stereotypes and that ‘Black people’ take control of the production and the interpretation of the black experience” (Lierow,11). The film mostly switched between each of their individual story lines. “T.C.”’s story line involves his quest to go on a date with a woman he likes that works at the diner across from the car wash. He plans to do this by winning tickets to a concert which is being given away by a local radio station. “Lonnie”’s story line is that he is on parole and is trying to get his life together so he can be there for his two young children. “Lonnie” is also the mediator between the boss and the rest of the workers. “Abdullah”’s story is that he recently turned to Islam and is a part of a Black revolutionary group and he is always at odds with everyone he works. The views that “Abdullah” holds are the same of the article on Black Panthers read for class. For example “Abdullah” goes on a rant after being fired and expresses his feelings on working for a white man who he feels is exploiting him, just as the article reads, “the black community as a colony exploited by white businessmen” (Collisson, 1). At the end of the film “Abdullah” tries to rob the car wash. “Lonnie” is there and talks “Abdullah” out of robbing the car wash and the movie ends with them hugging and “Lonnie” comforting “Abdullah” who breaks down and cries. (IMDB.com). This film, even though it fits many aspects of a Blaxploitation movie, technically is not one.
The aspects that Car Wash (1976) fits for being a Blaxploitation movie involve its target audience, the cast’s racial makeup, the prominent soundtrack and the themes relevant to the African American community.

The target audience of the film just like the film discussed prior, is for an African American audience. This is shown through its casting. The film casts a predominantly African American cast, with successful actors such as Richard Pryor, Ivan Dixon, Franklyn Ajaye, and Bill Duke, all of whom would be instantly recognizable to an African American audience of the time. These actors would have been one of the main attractions as to why African Americans would want to view this film in theaters. The other main attraction was the soundtrack performed by the group Rose Royce. Even though the soundtrack for the film was their first album, it was good enough to draw the attention of the African American community making the single “Car Wash” number one on the 1977 hot 100 charts and number one on the R&B charts. (Billboard.com). The film also targets themes that would be prevalent to the African American community, such as “Abdullah”’s militant views or being able to relate to any of the characters aspirations such as being a singer, like “Floyd” and “Lloyd” or a superhero type figure like “T.C.”. Even though these elements that the film possess are all a part of the criteria for a Blaxploitation film, it is missing the exploitive part of the genre. There are no exploitative scenes of sexual intercourse, nudity, or graphic violence within the film. There is some use of profanity used by characters briefly and a scene where two characters are smoking marijuana but nothing that would warrant the film a rating above PG-13 if released today. This is what sets apart a film like Car Wash (1976) from a film such as Black Caesar (1973), the exploitation factor of

Blaxploitation.
All in all, the films Black Caesar (1973) and Car Wash (1976) are two prime examples of what is and is not Blaxploitation. Both Black Caesar (1973) and Car Wash (1976) showed elements of a Blaxploitation film such as targeting an African American audience, possessing themes relevant to African Americans and having a prominent soundtrack. Despite their similarities in those categories, Black Caesar (1973) was the true Blaxploitation film for using exploitative scenes of sexual intercourse, nudity, graphic violence, drug use and profanity, while Car Wash (1976) lacked this; making the former a true Blaxploitation film while the latter a film with Blaxploitation elements.