"He's a bad mutha..." "Shut yo mouth!" "But I'm talkin' bout Shaft!"

Who is the man that would risk his neck
For his brother man?
Shaft, can you dig it?

They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother
Shut your mouth
But I'm talkin' 'bout Shaft
Then we can dig it...♫

Growing up my father always made Shaft jokes so this was nothing new to me. My family grew me up watching movies like Foxy Brown and Original Gangstas (covering my eyes at the fresh parts of course) but it was still something that brought us closer together. Despite me know what these movies are I never heard the term "Blaxploitation" before taking this class. Blaxploitation (or "blacksploitation") is a film genre that emerged in the United States circa 1971 when many exploitation films were made specifically (and perhaps exclusively) for an audience of urban black people; the word itself is a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation," and was coined in the early 1970s by Los Angeles NAACP head (and ex-film publicist) Junius Griffin. Blaxploitation films were the first to feature soundtracks of funk and soul music. These films starred primarily black actors." - Wikipedia

A review by Damian Cannon describes Shaft as "A rhythmically exciting Harlem detective story, Shaft pulsates with street-level vernacular and a deep sense of conviction. John Shaft (Richard Roundtree), a black private-eye with run-down corner office, lives up to his reputation as a tough operator. Garnering respect from both cops and hoods, Shaft stands bestride the black-white divide with ease" and I agree. Shaft is one no-nonsense man!

What I noticed was that racial themse are challenged a lot. Shaft is black while the bad guys are mostly white. These movies were made in a time where racism was still around and the roles were actually reversed (or so they seemed). The hose inthe rescuing scene was significant because that was what the policemen used to spray the black men with who would just be chillin" on the corner. They didn't really have to be doing anything wrong but once they congregated that created a problem for some reason.

The camera also did some great effects in this movie during the fight scenes. For example, in the first fight scene in Shaft's office, I felt like I was in the fight too the way the camera spiraled as the guy hit the floor. The fast cut also gave you a feeling as if you were right there cause it was also taken from their point of views. The movie started off with an establishing shot of the city and there was montage editing showing him investigating the kidnapping. Over the shoulder shots when he was talking to Bumpy, and many point of view shots.

The music was also bad ass! It just made you feel like he was the boss and honestly I was dancing to the song. I love that kind of music. The way he walks like he owns the street also makes it more clear the kind of person he is. Cool, calm, and collected...but only when not messed with! If I were cast as Shaft I would probably dance my way into the scene with that music, but he just walks and minds his own business doing his own thing.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind after this movie that Shaft is one bad mutha...yeah, I know. Shut my mouth! But you get the point! I can't wait to watch the latest Shaft because I've never seen it. And everybody knows Samuel L. Jacksonn would be the perfect modern day Shaft! So we'll see! :-)