Shaft

Directed by Gordon Parks, Shaft was released by MGM in 1971. Based on a novel by white writer Ernest Tidyman, the film focuses on black private detective John Shaft (played by Richard Roundtree), who has been hired by a Harlem crime boss to rescue his kidnapped daughter from the Mafia. But Shaft's significance lays less in its plot than in its handsome, intelligent, and dynamic black hero, who captivated audiences [Page 420]and was a landmark in the history of representations of African-American masculinity in mainstream cinema.

At least since Birth of a Nation (1915), film representations of African-American men had been dominated by the dual racist stereotypes of the animalistic, sexually threatening primitive and the subservient, asexual jester. Shaft, which was released in the aftermath of 1960s civil rights activism and the rise of the Black Power movement (with its confrontational political stance and hostility to white liberalism) articulated a new African-American masculinity characterized by self-assurance and strength. The sharp-witted, tough, and stylish detective heralded the arrival of a new brand of enigmatic African-American action hero. Shaft's confident poise seemed to personify the defiant spirit of Black Power radicalism, while his black turtleneck sweaters and trademark leather trenchcoat offered a slick and glamorous image of black masculinity that was widely imitated in popular fashion. Isaac Hayes's pulsating score, a musical representation of Shaft's sexual charisma and street-smart edge, also influenced subsequent soul and hiphop artists such as Barry White and Snoop Doggy Dogg.

Shaft's box-office success prompted two sequels, Shaft's Big Score (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973), and a short-lived TV series. It also laid the way for films such as Superfly (1972), Black Belt Jones (1974), and other action movies featuring maverick black heroes. Low-budget, and often lurid in their depiction of sex and violence in a stylized ghetto setting, these films became known as blaxploitation due to their use of African-American stereotypes and brash commercial hype.

While some critics have praised Shaft for its representation of strong, self-assured African-American masculinity, others consider it to be a stock action film repackaged to appeal to black audiences, rather than a meaningful exploration of racial politics. The film's representation of Shaft's numerous sexual relationships with women has also been criticized for reproducing earlier racist stereotypes of an African-American masculinity distinguished by physical prowess and sexual potency. More widely, the blaxploitation genre that followed the release of Shaft has been attacked for sexually objectifying women, encouraging homophobia and misogyny, and reproducing racist stereotypes through the celebration of virulent masculine heterosexuality and violence.

Despite these criticisms, Shaft represented an important moment in the development of representations of black masculinity in American popular culture. At a time when many African Americans were socially and economically disenfranchised, Shaft offered an image of strength and empowerment, and many young African-American men drew inspiration from the central character's attitude and style. The film's legacy remained detectable decades later in popular fashion, music, and numerous film releases—including a new film version of Shaft in 2000.