Erased Histories: Blaxploitation: The Ultimate Black Cinema

From Shaft to Superfly, from Coffee to Cleopatra Jones, the early 1970s mark the moment when Black Power was Box Office in Hollywood history. Bursting out of the shackles of a white Hollywood that had historically restricted African Americans to degrading and subservient roles, Blaxploitation turned the tables to enable intense images of Black empowerment to become the mainstream of 1970s American media. Starting with Black-led Independent Cinema, African American creators behind the camera who paved the way for white Hollywood to follow, Blaxploitation remains a foundational, explosive, and fascinating moment in African American cinema history. Cinema Studies Professor Cordelia Siporin will trace the history and impact of the Blaxploitation genre, how it came about, its significance, and how and why its moment ever came to an end.