Analysis of Blaxploitation Films
Analysis of Blaxploitation FilmsIn today�s culturally diverse, politically correct society, it is
hard to believe that at one time racism was not only accepted as the
norm, but enjoyed for its entertainment value. Individuals of African
descent in North America today take the large, diverse pool of
opportunities offered by the film industry for granted. Much like
Canadian theatre however, there was a time when a black man in any
role, be it servant or slave, was virtually unheard of. It took the
blaxpliotation films of the early nineteen seventies to change the
stereotypical depiction of Black people in American Cinema, as it took
The Farm Story, performed by a small troop of Canadian actors, to
create a Canadian theatre industry. To be more specific, it took the
release of Melvin Van Peebles, Sweet Sweetback�s Baadasssss Song, in
1971, to change the tradition view of Black people in American film.
�Porter�s tom was the first in a long line of socially acceptable
Good Negro characters. Always as toms are chased, harassed, hounded,
flogged, enslaved, and insulted, they keep the faith, n�er turn
against their massas, and remain hearty, submissive, stoic, generous,
selfless, and oh-so-very kind.�(Bogle,4)
The early silent period of cinema introduced five basic
archetypes for Black characters: the Tom, the Coon, the Tragic
Mulatto, the Mammy, and finally, the Brutal Black Buck. America�s
first Black character found manifestation as the aforementioned Uncle
Tom in Edwin S. Porter�s, Uncle Tom�s Cabin, which was released in
1903. �The paradox was that in actuality Tom wasn�t Black at all.
Instead he was portrayed by a nameless, slightly overweight actor made
up in blackface.�(Boggle, 4) This was a common practice developed by
the theater, and carried over, as were many of the acting techniques,
to silent film. Tom�s presence, and the appearance of the four negro
archetypes which were to follow, served the same purpose: �to
entertain by stressing negro inferiority.�(Boggle, 4)
Although having no positive effect on the status of Black people
in America socially, the tom character opened the door for Black
actors in cinema. Sam Lucas became the first black man to be cast in
a leading role as a tom, and in 1927, Universal Pictures signed James
B. Lowe, a handsome black actor, for the lead role in the Universal
Pictures production of Uncle Tom�s Cabin. Lowe was chosen to play the
part because film director Harry Pollard, a former blackface actor,
believed he �fit in with the realistic demands of the times�(Bogle, 6)
Tom was to be followed by the coon, although he remained the
cinematic negro character favorite. Where tom was an endearing
character, the coon provided audiences an object of amusement. Two
variants of the coon soon emerged:...
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