Blacksploitation

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Blacksploitation BLACKSPLOITATION Paige Tittman THTR 3611 Drama of Diversity Blacksploitation Before 1970, black citizens were only seen as things like train porters, waitresses and shoe- shine boys. This stereotype started changing with the release of blacksploitation films. Blacksploitation also known as blaxploitation is a genre of movies that began appearing in the United States in the 1970s. The genre is an ethnic subgenre of exploitation films. The flicks were originally created exclusively for an urban black audience. However, the audience quickly began appealing to a much larger audience of different races and ethnicities. Blacksploitation The term blacksploitation, black and exploitation combined, was coined by the head of the Los Angeles National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Junius Griffin in the early 1970s. Junius was also an ex-film publicist. Among many other reasons this genre was ground breaking due to the facts that it regularly included soundtracks of funk and soul music and that the movies had predominantly black casts. Most blacksploitation films got bad reviews from critics. However, they were typically commercially successful. Characteristics and Qualities Blacksploitation films that were set in the Northeast or West coast generally took place in poor neighborhoods. Ethnic slurs aimed against whites like the terms honky, cracker and womb as well as offensive white characters were common elements of blacksploitation flicks. Many white characters had to play the roles of corrupt cops, drug dealers, gangsters and pimps. If the pictures were set in the South or the Wild West slavery and miscegenation were common elements. While blacksploitation is a subgenre of exploitation films there were also many subgenres of blacksploitation itself including action/ martial arts, comedies, coming-of-age/courtroom dramas, crime, horror, musicals, nostalgia and westerns. The soundtracks to these films featured funk and soul jazz tunes. The blacksploitation soundtracks were complex and they were unique from funk songs that were heard on the radio during the 1970s. As blacksploitation grew in popularity other genres of film began to feature black characters who played stereotypical blacksploitation roles. Many blacksploitation movies provided mainstream Hollywood producers a cinematic way to show plantation slavery including all of the brutal racial controversies and inconsistencies about things like sex and rebellion. Controversy In the United States the way that blacksploitation explored and shaped race relations became controversial. Some people thought that the films were a token of black empowerment but other thought that they perpetuated common stereotypes that whites had about black people. Groups like the NAACP joined together to form the Coalition Against Blaxploitation. Due to the influence they had the demise of the genre came about during the late 1970s. American Cinema American cinema has been immensely influenced by blacksploitation films. Quentin Tarantino is a perfect example of someone who has referenced blacksploitation in his own movies. There is a long list of movies that span across decades that feature pop culture hints to the blacksploitation genre including Austin Powers in Goldmember, Death Proof, Inglorious Basterds, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Superbad and Undercover Brother. These are only a few movies that touch on ideas about blacksploitation there are many more as well as a number of TV shows and parodies. Hip-hop culture and Blacksploitation Not only has blacksploitation affected cinema but it has also made an impact on contemporary hip-hop culture. Hip hop artists including 50 cent, Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, Slick Rick, Snoop Dogg, Too Short and many artists from YMCMB took on the pimp persona that was predominant in many blacksploitation films. Many hip-hop artists have shown this persona through their lyrics and their lifestyles. They embrace scantily-clad women, bling, luxury cars or “pimpmobiles” and money. Conclusion The combination of angst caused by civil rights movements, the hippie culture of the 1960s, war fear during the 1970s, the undeniable popularity of bright colors and the excessive drug use of this time period created a genre of film that is truly unique and can never be recreated. Trouble Man (1972) “This is T, Chalky is dead. Now I’m coming to get you’re honky ass.” Starring Robert Hooks, Trouble Man is about a malicious private detective named Mr. T. The film takes place in South Central LA. Mr. T had adversaries in the police as well as the mob due to his arrogance so he must take justice into his own hands. The film mixes all of the elements that were known to make a typical blacksploitation film. Racist white criminals avenged by a rebellious black character. The film is famous for its soundtrack by Marvin Gaye. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=_K5IEqmrUio&feature=player_embedded The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972) “Somebody war the west. Nigger Charley ain’t running no more.” Possibly one of the more mutinous films of the genre. The Legend of Nigger Charley is the story of three blacks who have escaped slavery in the West. Charley is one of the token empowering black characters. He is openly opposed to slavery and he gets retribution on racist white characters. His character represents the defiant struggle of living in a world dominated by racist whites that all black men know of. He proudly calls himself a nigger despite the fact that most of the time nigger was used by whites as an insult against blacks. This film was one of the highest grossing pictures in 1972 and was followed by two sequels, The Soul of Nigger Charley and Boss Nigger. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=yy0DqQ4NqTA&feature=player_embedded Boss Nigger (1975) “He’s Black. He’s Brutal. He’s Boss.” Written, produced and starred ex-American Football player Fred Williamson. The sequel to The Legend of Nigger Charley, Boss Nigger was a very popular blacksploitation western. This film is about two black bounty hunters who pursue an infamous fugitive though a white town in the Wild West. The town has no sheriff of its own so Boss Nigger assumes the position. The two bounty hunters shake down racist locals and chase women all while waiting to catch the main fugitive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i- Fig_LoBy4&feature=player_embedded Coonskin (1975) “Natural black Jesus is the reverend’s cousin, too. He gives people the strength to kill whites.” A cartoon about an African American rabbit, fox, and bear that climb their way to the top of the organized crime ranks in Harlem. They come across shady law enforcement, con artists and the mafia. The film received mixed reviews and wasn’t as commercially successful as most other blacksploitation films. However, it is a remembered film of the genre because it is one of the only animated blacksploitation pictures. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=LdfcKBuKjY0&feature=player_emb edded Blacula (1972) “He’s Dracula’s soul brother! Deadlier even than he.” This film is possibly the most bizarre horror pictures ever. Blacula was the inspiration for other blacksploitation horror films like Blackenstein and Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde. However, no other blacksploitation film was at popular as Blacula. The film is about an African prince who while visiting Transylvania gets turned into a vampire by Dracula. He is sent back to America in a coffin where he then takes off on a blood- sucking rampage. Blacula won the first Saturn Award for Best Horror Movie. A sequel was released in 1973 called Scream Blacula Scream! http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=26jvG4THLIE&feature=player_embedded Blackenstein (1973) “To Stop This Mutha, Takes One Bad Brutha.” With the main concept based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Blackenstein attempted to cash in on the blacksploitation horror film success. It is about a black Vietnam veteran who after DNA surgery he turns into a monster similar to Frankenstein. He then goes on a killing rampage. It didn’t reach quite the success it had hoped for in comparison to other blacksploitation horror films. If being known as the worst and least scary horror film of all time is what they had hoped for then it was successful. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=iREWNIHoUKA&feature=player_embedde d Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976) “A monster he cannot control, has taken over his very soul!” Starred ex-American Football player Bernie Casey. Similar to Blackenstein Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde is loosely based off of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The film is about the lift of a scientist who accidentally produces a serum that turns him into a prostitute killing albino vampire. When taken the serum turns his skin from black in color to white. The director Henry Crane has cited that the film was made to faintly confront the negative effects of drug addiction. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=a6lztwNQLDY&feature=player_embedd ed Cleopatra Jones (1973) “You better put that down before I make you eat it!” Starred Tamara Dobson. Cleopatra Jones is a fast-paced action film. This marks the beginning of the new black female roles in trendy action films. Cleopatra Jones replaces the long-established white male action hero with a authoritative and confident black heroine. The film was very successful and well liked by critics. It was followed by a sequel, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975). However, this sequel didn’t quite live up to the reputation of the first Cleopatra Jones. Foxy Brown (1974) is a similar blacksploitation film that was very popular. The character of Foxy Cleopatra from the Austin Powers sequel is based off of both Cleopatra Jones and Foxy Brown. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6OyH0RZMdBM&feature=player_embedded Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), and Friday Foster (1975) All starring Pam Grier who was a blacksploitation icon.
Recommended publications
  • See It Big! Action Features More Than 30 Action Movie Favorites on the Big
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ‘SEE IT BIG! ACTION’ FEATURES MORE THAN 30 ACTION MOVIE FAVORITES ON THE BIG SCREEN April 19–July 7, 2019 Astoria, New York, April 16, 2019—Museum of the Moving Image presents See It Big! Action, a major screening series featuring more than 30 action films, from April 19 through July 7, 2019. Programmed by Curator of Film Eric Hynes and Reverse Shot editors Jeff Reichert and Michael Koresky, the series opens with cinematic swashbucklers and continues with movies from around the world featuring white- knuckle chase sequences and thrilling stuntwork. It highlights work from some of the form's greatest practitioners, including John Woo, Michael Mann, Steven Spielberg, Akira Kurosawa, Kathryn Bigelow, Jackie Chan, and much more. As the curators note, “In a sense, all movies are ’action’ movies; cinema is movement and light, after all. Since nearly the very beginning, spectacle and stunt work have been essential parts of the form. There is nothing quite like watching physical feats, pulse-pounding drama, and epic confrontations on a large screen alongside other astonished moviegoers. See It Big! Action offers up some of our favorites of the genre.” In all, 32 films will be shown, many of them in 35mm prints. Among the highlights are two classic Technicolor swashbucklers, Michael Curtiz’s The Adventures of Robin Hood and Jacques Tourneur’s Anne of the Indies (April 20); Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (April 21); back-to-back screenings of Mad Max: Fury Road and Aliens on Mother’s Day (May 12); all six Mission: Impossible films
    [Show full text]
  • Elmore Leonard, 1925-2013
    ELMORE LEONARD, 1925-2013 Elmore Leonard was born October 11, 1925 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Due to his father’s position working for General Motors, Leonard’s family moved numerous times during his childhood, before finally settling in Detroit, MI in 1934. Leonard went on to graduate high school in Detroit in 1943, and joined the Navy, serving in the legendary Seabees military construction unit in the Pacific theater of operations before returning home in 1946. Leonard then attended the University of Detroit, majoring in English and Philosophy. Plans to assist his father in running an auto dealership fell through on his father’s early death, and after graduating, Leonard took a job writing for an ad agency. He married (for the first of three times) in 1949. While working his day job in the advertising world, Leonard wrote constantly, submitting mainly western stories to the pulp and/or mens’ magazines, where he was establishing himself with a strong reputation. His stories also occasionally caught the eye of the entertainment industry and were often optioned for films or television adaptation. In 1961, Leonard attempted to concentrate on writing full-time, with only occasional free- lance ad work. With the western market drying up, Leonard broke into the mainstream suspense field with his first non-western novel, The Big Bounce in 1969. From that point on, his publishing success continued to increase – with both critical and fan response to his works helping his novels to appear on bestseller lists. His 1983 novel La Brava won the Edgar Award for best mystery novel of the year.
    [Show full text]
  • Extreme Art Film: Text, Paratext and DVD Culture Simon Hobbs
    Extreme Art Film: Text, Paratext and DVD Culture Simon Hobbs The thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Portsmouth. September 2014 Declaration Whilst registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for any other research award. The results and conclusions embodied in this thesis are the work of the named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic award. Word count: 85,810 Abstract Extreme art cinema, has, in recent film scholarship, become an important area of study. Many of the existing practices are motivated by a Franco-centric lens, which ultimately defines transgressive art cinema as a new phenomenon. The thesis argues that a study of extreme art cinema needs to consider filmic production both within and beyond France. It also argues that it requires an historical analysis, and I contest the notion that extreme art cinema is a recent mode of Film production. The study considers extreme art cinema as inhabiting a space between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art forms, noting the slippage between the two often polarised industries. The study has a focus on the paratext, with an analysis of DVD extras including ‘making ofs’ and documentary featurettes, interviews with directors, and cover sleeves. This will be used to examine audience engagement with the artefacts, and the films’ position within the film market. Through a detailed assessment of the visual symbols used throughout the films’ narrative images, the thesis observes the manner in which they engage with the taste structures and pictorial templates of art and exploitation cinema.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyrighted Material
    9781405170550_6_ind.qxd 16/10/2008 17:02 Page 432 INDEX 4 Little Girls (1997) 93 action-adventure movie 147, 149, 254, 339, 348, 352, 392–3, 396–7, 8 Mile (2002) 396–7 259, 276, 287–8, 298–9, 410 402–3 20th Century-Fox 21, 30, 34, 40–2, 73, actualities 106, 364, 410 Against All Odds (1984) 289 149, 184, 204–5, 281, 335 ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Agar, John 268 25th Hour, The (2002) 98 Power) 337, 410 Aghdashloo, Shohreh 75 27 Dresses (2008) 353 ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Ahn, Philip 130 28 Days (2000) 293 398–9, 410 AIDS 99, 329, 334, 336–40 48 Hours (1982) 91 Adachi, Jeff 139 AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power see 100-to-1 Shot, The (1906) 174 Adams, Evan 118–19 ACT-UP 300 (2007) 74, 298, 300 ADC (American-Arab Anti- AIM (American Indian Movement) 111, Discrimination Committee) 73–4, 116–17, 410 Abbott and Costello 268 410 Air Force (1943) 268 ABC 340 Addams Family, The (1991) 156 Akins, Zoe 388–9 Abie’s Irish Rose (stage) 57 Addams Family Values (1993) 156 Aladdin (1992) 73–4, 246 Abilities United Productions 384 Adiarte, Patrick 72 Alba, Jessica 76, 155, 159 ability 359–84, 410 adult Western 111, 410 Albert, Eddie 72 ableism 361, 381, 410 Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, The (TV) Albert, Edward 375 Abominable Dr Phibes, The (1971) 284 Alexie, Sherman 117–18 365 Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Algie, the Miner (1912) 312 Abraham, F. Murray 75, 76 COPYRIGHTEDDesert, The (1994) 348 MATERIALAli (2001) 96 Academy Awards (Oscars) 29, 58, 63, Adventures of Sebastian Cole, The (1998) Alice (1990) 130 67, 72, 75, 83, 92, 93,
    [Show full text]
  • Stirling Silliphant Papers, Ca
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf2f59n87r No online items Finding Aid for the Stirling Silliphant Papers, ca. 1950-ca. 1985 PASC.0134 Finding aid prepared by Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by D.MacGill UCLA Library Special Collections Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library Box 951575 Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575 (310) 825-4988 [email protected] Online finding aid last updated 14 August 2017 Finding Aid for the Stirling PASC.0134 1 Silliphant Papers, ca. 1950-ca. 1985 PASC.0134 Title: Stirling Silliphant papers Identifier/Call Number: PASC.0134 Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections Language of Material: English Physical Description: 27.0 linear feet65 boxes. Date (inclusive): ca. 1950-ca. 1985 Language of Materials: Materials are in English. Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Restrictions on Access COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Restrictions on Use and Reproduction Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Stirling Silliphant Papers (Collection Number PASC 134).
    [Show full text]
  • Why Call Them "Cult Movies"? American Independent Filmmaking and the Counterculture in the 1960S Mark Shiel, University of Leicester, UK
    Why Call them "Cult Movies"? American Independent Filmmaking and the Counterculture in the 1960s Mark Shiel, University of Leicester, UK Preface In response to the recent increased prominence of studies of "cult movies" in academic circles, this essay aims to question the critical usefulness of that term, indeed the very notion of "cult" as a way of talking about cultural practice in general. My intention is to inject a note of caution into that current discourse in Film Studies which valorizes and celebrates "cult movies" in particular, and "cult" in general, by arguing that "cult" is a negative symptom of, rather than a positive response to, the social, cultural, and cinematic conditions in which we live today. The essay consists of two parts: firstly, a general critique of recent "cult movies" criticism; and, secondly, a specific critique of the term "cult movies" as it is sometimes applied to 1960s American independent biker movies -- particularly films by Roger Corman such as The Wild Angels (1966) and The Trip (1967), by Richard Rush such as Hell's Angels on Wheels (1967), The Savage Seven, and Psych-Out (both 1968), and, most famously, Easy Rider (1969) directed by Dennis Hopper. Of course, no-one would want to suggest that it is not acceptable to be a "fan" of movies which have attracted the label "cult". But this essay begins from a position which assumes that the business of Film Studies should be to view films of all types as profoundly and positively "political", in the sense in which Fredric Jameson uses that adjective in his argument that all culture and every cultural object is most fruitfully and meaningfully understood as an articulation of the "political unconscious" of the social and historical context in which it originates, an understanding achieved through "the unmasking of cultural artifacts as socially symbolic acts" (Jameson, 1989: 20).
    [Show full text]
  • Co-Produced with the Black Film Institute of the University of the District of Columbia the Vision
    Co-produced with the Black Film Institute of the University of the District of Columbia the vision. the voice. From LA to London and Martinique to Mali. We bring you the world ofBlack film. Ifyou're concerned about Black images in commercial film and tele­ vision, you already know that Hollywood does not reflect the multi- cultural nature 'ofcontemporary society. You know thatwhen Blacks are not absent they are confined to predictable, one-dimensional roles. You may argue that movies and television shape our reality or that they simply reflect that reality. In any case, no one can deny the need to take a closer look atwhat is COIning out of this powerful medium. Black Film Review is the forum you've been looking for. Four times a year, we bringyou film criticiSIn froIn a Black perspective. We look behind the surface and challenge ordinary assurnptiorls about the Black image. We feature actors all.d actresses th t go agaul.st the graill., all.d we fill you Ul. Oll. the rich history ofBlacks Ul. Arnericall. filrnrnakul.g - a history thatgoes back to 19101 And, Black Film Review is the only magazine that bringsyou news, reviews and in-deptll interviews frOtn tlle tnost vibrant tnovetnent in contelllporary film. You know about Spike Lee butwIlat about EuzIlan Palcy or lsaacJulien? Souletnayne Cisse or CIl.arles Burnette? Tllrougll­ out tIle African cliaspora, Black fi1rnInakers are giving us alternatives to tlle static itnages tIlat are proeluceel in Hollywood anel giving birtll to a wIlole new cinetna...be tIlere! Interview:- ----------- --- - - - - - - 4 VDL.G NO.2 by Pat Aufderheide Malian filmmaker Cheikh Oumar Sissoko discusses his latest film, Finzan, aself­ conscious experiment in storytelling 2 2 E e Street, NW as ing on, DC 20006 MO· BETTER BLUES 2 2 466-2753 The Music 6 o by Eugene Holley, Jr.
    [Show full text]
  • SLAV-T230 Vampire F2019 Syllabus-Holdeman-Final
    The Vampire in European and American Culture Dr. Jeff Holdeman SLAV-T230 11498 (SLAV) (please call me Jeff) SLAV-T230 11893 (HHC section) GISB East 4041 Fall 2019 812-855-5891 (office) TR 4:00–5:15 pm Office hours: Classroom: GA 0009 * Tues. and Thur. 2:45–3:45 pm in GISB 4041 carries CASE A&H, GCC; GenEd A&H, WC * and by appointment (just ask!!!) * e-mail me beforehand to reserve a time * It is always best to schedule an appointment. [email protected] [my preferred method] 812-335-9868 (home) This syllabus is available in alternative formats upon request. Overview The vampire is one of the most popular and enduring images in the world, giving rise to hundreds of monster movies around the globe every year, not to mention novels, short stories, plays, TV shows, and commercial merchandise. Yet the Western vampire image that we know from the film, television, and literature of today is very different from its eastern European progenitor. Nina Auerbach has said that "every age creates the vampire that it needs." In this course we will explore the eastern European origins of the vampire, similar entities in other cultures that predate them, and how the vampire in its look, nature, vulnerabilities, and threat has changed over the centuries. This approach will provide us with the means to learn about the geography, village and urban cultures, traditional social structure, and religions of eastern Europe; the nature and manifestations of Evil and the concept of Limited Good; physical, temporal, and societal boundaries and ritual passage that accompany them; and major historical and intellectual periods (the settlement of Europe, the Age of Reason, Romanticism, Neo-classicism, the Enlightenment, the Victorian era, up to today).
    [Show full text]
  • Clinton Eschews Scandal
    NEWS SPORTS Elmore Leonard signs Spartans go Gator hunting, books in Spartan Bookstore, bag first win of the season speaks to students 5-2 against SFSU See page 4 See page 6 MIX Volume 110, No. 4 Serving San Jose State University Since 1934 January 28, 1997 Clinton eschews scandal; espouses Social Security WASHINGTON (AP) Shaken by scandal, is "cut the tax burdens on the American family." vigorously defended her husband against "right lowest unemployment and inflation in decades. He President Clinton sought to reassert his leader- In an expectant atmosphere, Clinton faced prob- wing opponents" she said were out to destroy him. urged Congress to raise the minimum wage now ship in a crucial State of the Union address ably the largest television audience of his life with Amid fresh tensions with Iraq, Clinton issued a $5.15 an hour but did not specify how much. Tuesday night, urging Congress to "save Social his speech before a joint session of Congress. Aides veiled threat of force: "You cannot defy the will of "We can afford to take one simple, sensible step to Security first" before cutting taxes or increasing said he would not address allegations that he had the world. You have used weapons of mass destruc- help mOlions of workers struggling to provide for spending. sex with a young intern, Monica Lewinsky, and tion before. We are determined to deny you the their families." With the end of big budget deficits, Clinton said urged her to lie about it. capacity to use them again." Social Security faces bankruptcy next century "every penny of any surplus" should be devoted to Democrats applauded Clinton warmly when he In a subtle reference to Clinton's personal trou- under a tidal wave of payoffs for the baby boom shoring up Social Security, which faces bankrupt- strode into the chamber.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ASMSU October 25, 2007 • Vol
    THE ASMSU October 25, 2007 • Vol. 102, Issue 10 BLACK BOX THE ELLEN 5 MUSIC VENUE? MSU COUNSELING NEW TO MSU v1u mav •• ellglllle fer a cllnlcal researeh studV sp1ns1red 11v • •h1rm1ceut1cal cem11anv. HEY YOU! Qualified participants must: Have a 6 month history of pusistent asthma YEAH YOU ... • Be 12 years or older. • Use ~ inhaled steroid medication at least -' weeks More than ants love prior to first visit. a discarded popsicle • Be a non-smoker at least twelve months prior to first visit. on a sidewalk, the ASMSU Exponent Qualified participants will receive: LOVES feedback! Investigational inhaler with study medication or placebo (an inactive substance) Study related medical exams and lab tests Please send your • Compensation for their participation rants, raves, To foul out ifyou 11uzy qualifY, please call and heartfelt expressions of your 406-585-2444 undying love to ALAN A WANDERER M.D. letters@exponent. ALLERGY &ASTHMA CONSULTANTS OF MONTANA. PLLC montana.edu 2015 Charlotte Street, Suite 1 • Bozeman, l\IT 59718 $ $ masthead THIS ISSUE BROUGHT TO YOU BY: $ ...!l_ $~UDENT ADVOCATES ·rFOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION FINANCIAL TIP OF THE WEEK MANAGEMENT EDITORIAL . ONLINE SHOPPING ADVISOR NEWS EDITOR Bill Wilke Lacey Gray Shop Wisely Know Your Big.ht:s s Comp.m· Pncn 011/mc .ind Loe.ii EDITOR-IN-CHIEF STATIC EDITOR $ Amanda Larrinaga $ R cad rhc Fmc Re.id rb,• Produa Dc.,cnpnon C1rdul/1· Scott Obemesser Pnnr $ C71eck !Jcltl'cn· lJ.uc.> • $ MANAGING EDITOR DISTRACTIONS EDITOR $ RtTICW JU Protecr } our Pn1 •l<T Kelsey Dzintars Emma Lynn rI '.i1T:J11r1e> ercr l:-m.:u! personal or financial mformation $ PL1ei' Order.• on .J 5ixurc Sc·l1"cr.
    [Show full text]
  • Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5pg3z8fg Author Chien, Irene Y. Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames by Irene Yi-Jiun Chien A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Media and the Designated Emphasis in New Media in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Linda Williams, Chair Professor Kristen Whissel Professor Greg Niemeyer Professor Abigail De Kosnik Spring 2015 Abstract Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames by Irene Yi-Jiun Chien Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Media Designated Emphasis in New Media University of California, Berkeley Professor Linda Williams, Chair Programmed Moves examines the intertwined history and transnational circulation of two major videogame genres, martial arts fighting games and rhythm dancing games. Fighting and dancing games both emerge from Asia, and they both foreground the body. They strip down bodily movement into elemental actions like stepping, kicking, leaping, and tapping, and make these the form and content of the game. I argue that fighting and dancing games point to a key dynamic in videogame play: the programming of the body into the algorithmic logic of the game, a logic that increasingly organizes the informatic structure of everyday work and leisure in a globally interconnected information economy.
    [Show full text]
  • Spectacle, Masculinity, and Music in Blaxploitation Cinema
    Spectacle, Masculinity, and Music in Blaxploitation Cinema Author Howell, Amanda Published 2005 Journal Title Screening the Past Copyright Statement © The Author(s) 2005. The attached file is posted here with permission of the copyright owner for your personal use only. No further distribution permitted. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/4130 Link to published version http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/ Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au Spectacle, masculinity, and music in blaxploitation cinema Spectacle, masculinity, and music in blaxploitation cinema Amanda Howell "Blaxploitation" was a brief cycle of action films made specifically for black audiences in both the mainstream and independent sectors of the U.S. film industry during the early 1970s. Offering overblown fantasies of black power and heroism filmed on the sites of race rebellions of the late 1960s, blaxploitation films were objects of fierce debate among social leaders and commentators for the image of blackness they projected, in both its aesthetic character and its social and political utility. After some time spent as the "bad object" of African-American cinema history,[1] critical and theoretical interest in blaxploitation resurfaced in the 1990s, in part due to the way that its images-- and sounds--recirculated in contemporary film and music cultures. Since the early 1990s, a new generation of African-American filmmakers has focused
    [Show full text]