Shaft (1971)
Shaft is a film about a gumshoe (played by Richard Roundtree) and his action packed, sex ridend film. Isaac Hayes ( who is a well known musician, and known for his voicing of the character Chef in Comedy Central’s South Park) did the soundtrack which won him an oscar. The film is seen as one of the biggest examples of blaxploitation film in the late 60’s through the early 80’s. These films portrayed African Americans in lead roles as either anti-heros or heroes. Shaft is a pure embodiment of an anti-hero who wants to help people, but he finds himself being sheisty and cutting corners to achieve his goal. Throughout the film we see him throwing people out of windows, and threatening multiple people (good or bad), bribing, killing, and lots and lots of sex.
Shaft was a key sex symbol of the 70’s. He showed audiences that African American men were strong and sexy, not evil rapists that prayed on white women. The movie was a milestone for Black culture and film making alongside Marvin Van Peebles Sweet Back’s Badaaaaaaaaass Song. These films boosted African American culture and showed that African American men can play strong lead action roles just as well as white actors could. Shaft was more than just a sex symbol, he was a symbol of empowerment for African Americans all across America.