Strictly a Laughing Matter?: The Significance of the Blaxploitation Movement and Black Dynamite as Parody

From 1970 to 1975, black exploitation, or blaxploitation, films dominated the box office. Particularly, films such as Cotton Comes to Harlem (dir. Ossie Davis, 1970) Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (dir. Melvin Van Peebles, 1971), Shaft (dir. Gordon Parks, 1971), Super Fly (dir. Gordon Parks, 1972), Coffy (dir. Jack Hill, 1973), and Cleopatra Jones (dir. Jack Starrett, 1973), among others cut against Hollywood's stereotypical portrayals of blacks by depicting African American performers in a diverse range of characterizations. The new assertive, proud, unapologetically black heroes/heroines featured in the films resonated with African American moviegoers, and the studios that released the films made tremendous profits. As with traditional Hollywood genres, the blaxploitation movement soon lost momentum at the box office as movie patrons, and subsequently Hollywood studios, eventually moved on, producing blockbuster films primarily starring white actors that appealed to black and white audiences alike. As a result of that shift, blaxploitation was cast into obscurity with most prominent recollections of the period centering on superficial conventions such as 1970s-style clothing, the funky soundtracks, and a segment of the movies' shoddy production values. In recent years scholars have begun examining the blaxploitation movement, demonstrating its contributions to the African American cinematic experience, and motion picture history, more broadly. This article expands that scholarship, explaining the significance of blaxploitation before delving into a case study of the parodic film Black Dynamite (dir. Scott Sanders, 2009) to consider the role that such films play in forging a reductive legacy of the movement.