Blaxploitation films were made specifically for an urban, black audience. The word itself is a portmanteau (combination) of the words "black" and "exploitation."
As a sub-genre of film Blaxploitation typically takes place in ghettos or urban settings, featuring crime plots, drug dealers or drug culture, pimps and prostitutes and hit men or gangs and gang violence. White characters are as much ethnic stereotypes as black characters, but are often the antagonists. Corrupt cops, politicians, prostitutes and gullible gangsters are common stereotypical characters. As the genre blossomed in the 1970's, it often mixed with other genres including crime dramas, action/martial arts films, westerns, and horror.
The films featured funk and soul jazz soundtracks with heavy bass, funky beats and guitars. In recent years to attract black audiences, parodies and pastiches of the blaxploitation film have resurfaced.
One might consider to what extent do films such as these perpetrate (continue) racial stereotypes? For what purpose do these films serve the black community? What does the resurgence of such a film style in our contemporary time mean? How are these images and heroes necessary and/or offensive?
Please read the following article, then take a look at some of these trailers (examples of the genre).
They Call Me Mr. Tibbs (1970)
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
Shaft (1971)
Superfly (1972)
The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972)
Blacula (1972)
Coffy (1973)
Cleopatra Jones (1973)
Foxy Brown (1974)
Willie Dynamite (1974)
Abby (1974)
Friday Foster (1975)
Boss Nigger (1975)
Coonskin (1975)
And for the fun of it, spoofs or parodies of blaxploitation:
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
Pootie Tang (2001)
Black Dynamite (2009)
Monday, May 16, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
1950's & 1960's film history
Please link to the following to complete the questions on your handout. Please read the article and answer the questions posed. This assignment is due at the end of class today.
1950's (from Monday, but the link was faulty)
1960's (from today's worksheet)
HOMEWORK: Please complete and prepare your film pitch for next class (really this time). Stuck without an idea? Try this article.
1950's (from Monday, but the link was faulty)
1960's (from today's worksheet)
HOMEWORK: Please complete and prepare your film pitch for next class (really this time). Stuck without an idea? Try this article.
Friday, May 6, 2011
For Monday, May 9
Please complete the following:
1. Turn in your homework concerning the MPAA & the American New Wave. Due Monday at end of class.
2. Link to the film site here. LINK HERE and answer the questions on the handout. Due at end of class.
3. Complete and prepare your film pitches for Wednesday. Due Wednesday.
4. If you finish early, please watch the films for Ed Wood, William Castle, and so on below (see posts below). Take notes about the film clips you are seeing.
HOMEWORK: Complete your film pitch.
1. Turn in your homework concerning the MPAA & the American New Wave. Due Monday at end of class.
2. Link to the film site here. LINK HERE and answer the questions on the handout. Due at end of class.
3. Complete and prepare your film pitches for Wednesday. Due Wednesday.
4. If you finish early, please watch the films for Ed Wood, William Castle, and so on below (see posts below). Take notes about the film clips you are seeing.
HOMEWORK: Complete your film pitch.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
William Castle
The Wonderful World of William Castle
Competing with a growing television audience, filmmakers in the 1950's had to entice viewers into seeing their films. The worse the film, the greater the need for effective trailers. Of the best promoters of his directing and producing work, William Castle shines over all others. See why below!
William Schloss was born in New York City. Schloss means "castle" in German, and William Castle probably chose to translate his surname into English to avoid the discrimination often encountered by Jewish entertainers of his time. He spent most of his teenage years working on Broadway in a number of jobs. He left for Hollywood at the age of 23, going on to direct his first film when he was 29. He also worked an as assistant to Orson Welles, doing much of the location work for Welles' noir film, The Lady from Shanghai.
Castle was famous for directing low budget B-films with many overly promoted gimmicks. Five of these were scripted by adventure novelist Robb White.
After a long career, William Castle died of a heart attack in Los Angeles in 1977.
His films include:
Macabre (1958): A certificate for a $1,000 life insurance policy from Lloyd's of London was given to each customer in case he/she should die of fright during the film. Showings also had fake nurses stationed in the lobbies and hearses parked outside the theater.
Utube clip: Macabre:
House on Haunted Hill (1959): Filmed in "Emergo". An inflatable glow in the dark skeleton attached to a wire floated over the audience during the final moments of some showings of the film to parallel the action on the screen when a skeleton arose from a vat of acid and pursued the villainous wife of Vincent Price. The gimmick did not always instill fright; sometimes the skeleton became a target for some audience members who hurled candy boxes, soda cups or any other objects at hand at the skeleton.
The Tingler (1959): Filmed in "Percepto". Some seats in theatres showing the Tingler were equipped with larger versions of the hand-held joy buzzers attached to the underside of the seats. When the Tingler in the film attacked the audience the buzzers were activated as a voice encouraged the real audience to "Scream - scream for your lives."
13 Ghosts (1960): Filmed in "Illusion-O". A hand held ghost viewer/remover with strips of red and blue cellophane was given out to use during certain segments of the film. By looking through either the red or blue cellophane the audience was able to either see or remove the ghosts if they were too frightening. 13 Ghosts.
Homicidal (1961): This film contained a "Fright break" with a 45 second timer overlaid over the film's climax as the heroine approached a house harboring a sadistic killer. A voiceover advised the audience of the time remaining in which they could leave the theatre and receive a full refund if they were too frightened to see the remainder of the film. About 1% demanded refunds, but were subjected to demasculation and called "cowards". Homicidal clip.
Mr. Sardonicus (1961): The audiences were allowed to vote in a "punishment poll" during the climax of the film - Castle appears on screen to explain to the audience their options. Each member of the audience was given a card with a glow in the dark thumb they could hold either up or down to decide if Mr. Sardonicus would be cured or die during the end of the film. Supposedly, no audience ever offered mercy so the alternate ending was never screened.
Zotz! (1962): Each patron was given a "Magic" (gold colored plastic) coin which looked nice, but did absolutely nothing.
Strait-Jacket (1964): Castle had cardboard axes made and handed out to patrons. This film, by the way, starred Oscar winner (not for this film) Joan Crawford - Mommy Dearest herself.
I Saw What You Did (1965): Seat belts were installed to keep patrons from being jolted from their chairs in fright.
Other film trailers from William Castle:
The Old Dark House (designed by Charles Addams: the illustrator/writer who created "The Addams Family")
The Night Walker
Let's Kill Uncle
Thirteen Frightened Girls
William Castle acted as producer to Roman Polanski's direction of:
Rosemary's Baby
The film remains one of the most artistic Castle productions ever made. Clip here.
Competing with a growing television audience, filmmakers in the 1950's had to entice viewers into seeing their films. The worse the film, the greater the need for effective trailers. Of the best promoters of his directing and producing work, William Castle shines over all others. See why below!
William Schloss was born in New York City. Schloss means "castle" in German, and William Castle probably chose to translate his surname into English to avoid the discrimination often encountered by Jewish entertainers of his time. He spent most of his teenage years working on Broadway in a number of jobs. He left for Hollywood at the age of 23, going on to direct his first film when he was 29. He also worked an as assistant to Orson Welles, doing much of the location work for Welles' noir film, The Lady from Shanghai.
Castle was famous for directing low budget B-films with many overly promoted gimmicks. Five of these were scripted by adventure novelist Robb White.
After a long career, William Castle died of a heart attack in Los Angeles in 1977.
His films include:
Macabre (1958): A certificate for a $1,000 life insurance policy from Lloyd's of London was given to each customer in case he/she should die of fright during the film. Showings also had fake nurses stationed in the lobbies and hearses parked outside the theater.
Utube clip: Macabre:
House on Haunted Hill (1959): Filmed in "Emergo". An inflatable glow in the dark skeleton attached to a wire floated over the audience during the final moments of some showings of the film to parallel the action on the screen when a skeleton arose from a vat of acid and pursued the villainous wife of Vincent Price. The gimmick did not always instill fright; sometimes the skeleton became a target for some audience members who hurled candy boxes, soda cups or any other objects at hand at the skeleton.
The Tingler (1959): Filmed in "Percepto". Some seats in theatres showing the Tingler were equipped with larger versions of the hand-held joy buzzers attached to the underside of the seats. When the Tingler in the film attacked the audience the buzzers were activated as a voice encouraged the real audience to "Scream - scream for your lives."
13 Ghosts (1960): Filmed in "Illusion-O". A hand held ghost viewer/remover with strips of red and blue cellophane was given out to use during certain segments of the film. By looking through either the red or blue cellophane the audience was able to either see or remove the ghosts if they were too frightening. 13 Ghosts.
Homicidal (1961): This film contained a "Fright break" with a 45 second timer overlaid over the film's climax as the heroine approached a house harboring a sadistic killer. A voiceover advised the audience of the time remaining in which they could leave the theatre and receive a full refund if they were too frightened to see the remainder of the film. About 1% demanded refunds, but were subjected to demasculation and called "cowards". Homicidal clip.
Mr. Sardonicus (1961): The audiences were allowed to vote in a "punishment poll" during the climax of the film - Castle appears on screen to explain to the audience their options. Each member of the audience was given a card with a glow in the dark thumb they could hold either up or down to decide if Mr. Sardonicus would be cured or die during the end of the film. Supposedly, no audience ever offered mercy so the alternate ending was never screened.
Zotz! (1962): Each patron was given a "Magic" (gold colored plastic) coin which looked nice, but did absolutely nothing.
Strait-Jacket (1964): Castle had cardboard axes made and handed out to patrons. This film, by the way, starred Oscar winner (not for this film) Joan Crawford - Mommy Dearest herself.
I Saw What You Did (1965): Seat belts were installed to keep patrons from being jolted from their chairs in fright.
Other film trailers from William Castle:
The Old Dark House (designed by Charles Addams: the illustrator/writer who created "The Addams Family")
The Night Walker
Let's Kill Uncle
Thirteen Frightened Girls
William Castle acted as producer to Roman Polanski's direction of:
Rosemary's Baby
The film remains one of the most artistic Castle productions ever made. Clip here.
Ed Wood & Roger Corman: B-Movie Masters
From IMDB:
Ed Wood (Jr.) (10 October 1924 – 10 December 1978) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author, and editor, who often performed many of these functions simultaneously. In the 1950s, Wood made a run of cheap and poorly produced genre films, now humorously celebrated for their technical errors, unsophisticated special effects, large amounts of ill-fitting stock footage, idiosyncratic dialogue, eccentric casts and outlandish plot elements, although his flair for showmanship gave his projects at least a modicum of critical success.
Wood's popularity waned soon after his biggest 'name' star, Béla Lugosi, died. He was able to salvage a saleable feature from Lugosi's last moments on film, but his career declined thereafter. Toward the end of his life, Wood made pornographic movies and wrote pulp crime, horror, and sex novels. His posthumous fame began two years after his death, when he was awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time. The lack of conventional film making ability in his work has earned Wood and his films a considerable cult following.
Glen or Glenda (1953)
Jail Bait (1954)
Bride of the Monster(1955)
Plan Nine from Outer Space (1956) Written and shot in 5 days! (and it shows!)
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926), sometimes nicknamed "King of the Bs" for his output of B-movies, is a prolific American producer and director of low-budget movies, some of which have an established critical reputation: many of his films derived from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.
Corman has apprenticed many now-famous directors, stressing the importance of budgeting and resourcefulness; Corman once joked he could make a film about the fall of the Roman Empire with two extras and a sagebush.
It Conquered the World (1956)
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
The Raven(1963)
The Terror (1963)
The Masque of Red Death (1963)
Ed Wood (Jr.) (10 October 1924 – 10 December 1978) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author, and editor, who often performed many of these functions simultaneously. In the 1950s, Wood made a run of cheap and poorly produced genre films, now humorously celebrated for their technical errors, unsophisticated special effects, large amounts of ill-fitting stock footage, idiosyncratic dialogue, eccentric casts and outlandish plot elements, although his flair for showmanship gave his projects at least a modicum of critical success.
Wood's popularity waned soon after his biggest 'name' star, Béla Lugosi, died. He was able to salvage a saleable feature from Lugosi's last moments on film, but his career declined thereafter. Toward the end of his life, Wood made pornographic movies and wrote pulp crime, horror, and sex novels. His posthumous fame began two years after his death, when he was awarded a Golden Turkey Award as Worst Director of All Time. The lack of conventional film making ability in his work has earned Wood and his films a considerable cult following.
Glen or Glenda (1953)
Jail Bait (1954)
Bride of the Monster(1955)
Plan Nine from Outer Space (1956) Written and shot in 5 days! (and it shows!)
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926), sometimes nicknamed "King of the Bs" for his output of B-movies, is a prolific American producer and director of low-budget movies, some of which have an established critical reputation: many of his films derived from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.
Corman has apprenticed many now-famous directors, stressing the importance of budgeting and resourcefulness; Corman once joked he could make a film about the fall of the Roman Empire with two extras and a sagebush.
It Conquered the World (1956)
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
The Raven(1963)
The Terror (1963)
The Masque of Red Death (1963)
Film Pitch, Film Notes
Today, we will work on delivering a film pitch to the class (due during 2nd period). Please fill out your film pitch worksheet and be prepared to enter the "producer's" boardroom to defend your idea. A bit of role playing.
Also, we will continue our viewing of 1950's film clips. Please take notes regarding these.
HOMEWORK: Please read the article about the MPAA and American New Wave. Complete the handout for homework to turn in Monday, May 9.
Also, we will continue our viewing of 1950's film clips. Please take notes regarding these.
HOMEWORK: Please read the article about the MPAA and American New Wave. Complete the handout for homework to turn in Monday, May 9.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Emergence of Television, Film Pitch, Student Films
Today we will read the article: The Emergence of Television & AIP in class. As you read, please note 3 observations, 2 implications, and 1 question to discuss with the class.
After that, we will continue discussing and viewing 1950's film clips and take notes.
After that, we will begin our film pitch. See handout for more information.
HOMEWORK: Any work not completed should be completed for next class. Any film projects MUST be turned in by Thursday or you will likely fail the marking period.
After that, we will continue discussing and viewing 1950's film clips and take notes.
After that, we will begin our film pitch. See handout for more information.
HOMEWORK: Any work not completed should be completed for next class. Any film projects MUST be turned in by Thursday or you will likely fail the marking period.
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