A now overlooked part of the 70s is the explosion of African-American talent in cinema. A new documentary has been released, covering this now-forgotten era. I bring this up, because today's narrative would have it that we have made strides but back then was nothing but a cesspool of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. I want to point out that  although we have made strides, their was an enormous atmosphere of openness as well during that era. An atmosphere that seems to have faded, and one that I miss. As this New York Times review points out:

Cinema, in fact, has never come close to reaching the widespread brilliance, the unruly and eclectic daring, of the decade that the film examines.

‘Is That Black Enough for You?!?’ Review: A Miracle Decade
This documentary from Elvis Mitchell looks back at a golden age of daring Black cinema
By Brandon Yu
Nov. 10, 2022

www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/movies/is-that-black-enough-for-you-review.html

There are moments in the early stretches of Elvis Mitchell’s documentary “Is That Black Enough For You?!?,” a film about a golden but overlooked age of bracing Black cinema, that land as, of all things, paradoxically banal. In these snippets, Mitchell, the director and a former New York Times film critic who narrates the documentary, along with talking heads including stars like Laurence Fishburne and Zendaya, expounds on the basic importance of representation, of seeing one’s lived realities on the big screen. Does a film need to trot out the virtues of on-screen diversity and the negative effect of racist tropes that so many have constantly parroted in recent years?

In one sense, yes, one must in a film about Black artistry. Yet the trite nature of these brief moments exposes something far worse than the fact that not nearly enough progress has been made in movies over the decades. Cinema, in fact, has never come close to reaching the widespread brilliance, the unruly and eclectic daring, of the decade that the film examines.

Mitchell’s movie, an occasionally static work if also an unequivocally important and gloriously comprehensive one, tracks the years from 1968 through 1978, in which “a procession of assured Black talent” filled the screen. Clearly a personal project for Mitchell, “Is That Black Enough For You?!?” finds both its greatest achievement and its largest narrative obstacle in its scope. For most of the film, Mitchell goes one-by-one through the noteworthy films from this decade, highlighting their significance with bite-size essayistic dispatches before moving quickly to the next.

In the film’s breadth, this rich era indeed feels like a miracle. And from a film archivist’s standpoint, the work serves as a remarkable corrective on cinematic memory, paying tribute to the dazzlingly inventive and influential works of artists like Melvin Van Peebles or Max Julien, and the tapped and untapped potential of stars like Pam Grier and Cleavon Little (the appearances of elder legends like Harry Belafonte and Billy Dee Williams as talking heads are still forcefully awe-inspiring).

But there’s a sense that the documentary is both too long and too short: Mitchell’s commentary about each subsequent film gestures toward yet another microcosm of tension and rebellion in cinema and America. But soon enough we’re off to the next entry; Mitchell’s focus, a lovingly adamant one, is to give every one of these films their due, for better or worse. There’s enough history and audacious genius for an entire series to showcase, but instead the stand-alone film operates as a compendium in which Mitchell’s ideas can occasionally feel truncated.

The movie, for instance, could have done more to interrogate the uneasy dynamic undergirding Blaxploitation film, a source of rigorous Black creativity that also made money mostly for white shot-callers. Mitchell also rushes through the downswing of the era (he too neatly points at the poor box office for the musical “The Wiz” as the definitive blow), spending little time on the animating question of why such an electrifying and successful period died. Better, Mitchell seems to say, to bask in the radiance of these works and the fact that they existed to begin with.

Interesting!  Do you know if the article was reprinted anywhere?  NYTimes won't let me read it without creating a login.  :-\\

Interesting!  Do you know if the article was reprinted anywhere?  NYTimes won't let me read it without creating a login.  :-\\


The NYT is so quirky that way. I was able to read it without creating an account. Anyway not to worry, because I put the entire text of the article in my post.

Don't forget what great soundtracks many of the "Blaxploitation" films had too. Among the more well known, of course, are "Shaft" and "Superfly".

The NYT is so quirky that way. I was able to read it without creating an account. Anyway not to worry, because I put the entire text of the article in my post.

Don't forget what great soundtracks many of the "Blaxploitation" films had too. Among the more well known, of course, are "Shaft" and "Superfly".


O0 Good topic.  Thanks!

A now overlooked part of the 70s is the explosion of African-American talent in cinema. A new documentary has been released, covering this now-forgotten era. I bring this up, because today's narrative would have it that we have made strides but back then was nothing but a cesspool of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. I want to point out that  although we have made strides, their was an enormous atmosphere of openness as well during that era. An atmosphere that seems to have faded, and one that I miss. ...


Back then, the remedy for racial strife was progress.  Today, sadly it seems more about punishment.  :-\\

Mitchell also rushes through the downswing of the era (he too neatly points at the poor box office for the musical “The Wiz” as the definitive blow), spending little time on the animating question of why such an electrifying and successful period died. Better, Mitchell seems to say, to bask in the radiance of these works and the fact that they existed to begin with.


Just watched the documentary. I'm guessing those movies died because they were so tied to the disco era, which as we all know suffered a short sharp decline. I was only a baby in the 70s, but as an onlooker, that seems like the most obvious connection.

Anyway with all cinema, there are peaks and troughs. Just how like how we had loads of Native American themed films in the 90s and nothing since.

Just watched the documentary. I'm guessing those movies died because they were so tied to the disco era, which as we all know suffered a short sharp decline. I was only a baby in the 70s, but as an onlooker, that seems like the most obvious connection.

Anyway with all cinema, there are peaks and troughs. Just how like how we had loads of Native American themed films in the 90s and nothing since.


Interesting observation, but not quite accurate. Many or most of these films pre-dated the disco era and had excellent soundtracks that had little to do with disco, like the aforementioned "Shaft" (1971) and "Superfly" (also 1971). And the big daddy of them all, Melvin Van Peeble's "Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song" (also 1971) with a soundtrack by Earth, Wind and Fire (who also appear in the movie). I think you may be blending two eras and two styles of music together. The music I mention may have been a direct precursor to disco, but was not identified as disco or part of the "disco era". I might add that iit also holds up far, far better than what came to be known as "disco".

Just watched the documentary. I'm guessing those movies died because they were so tied to the disco era, which as we all know suffered a short sharp decline. I was only a baby in the 70s, but as an onlooker, that seems like the most obvious connection.

Anyway with all cinema, there are peaks and troughs. Just how like how we had loads of Native American themed films in the 90s and nothing since.



Interesting observation, but not quite accurate. Many or most of these films pre-dated the disco era and had excellent soundtracks that had little to do with disco, like the aforementioned "Shaft" (1971) and "Superfly" (also 1971). And the big daddy of them all, Melvin Van Peeble's "Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song" (also 1971) with a soundtrack by Earth, Wind and Fire (who also appear in the movie). I think you may be blending two eras and two styles of music together. The music I mention may have been a direct precursor to disco, but was not identified as disco or part of the "disco era". I might add that iit also holds up far, far better than what came to be known as "disco".


In addition, a main outlet for Blaxploitation films was the drive-in. A drive-ins started to fade, so did the genre.

Just watched the documentary. I'm guessing those movies died because they were so tied to the disco era, which as we all know suffered a short sharp decline. I was only a baby in the 70s, but as an onlooker, that seems like the most obvious connection...



Interesting observation, but not quite accurate. Many or most of these films pre-dated the disco era and had excellent soundtracks that had little to do with disco, like the aforementioned "Shaft" (1971) and "Superfly" (also 1971). And the big daddy of them all, Melvin Van Peeble's "Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song" (also 1971) with a soundtrack by Earth, Wind and Fire (who also appear in the movie). I think you may be blending two eras and two styles of music together. The music I mention may have been a direct precursor to disco, but was not identified as disco or part of the "disco era". I might add that iit also holds up far, far better than what came to be known as "disco".


I agree, the timelines are off.  I'll add that per my (imperfect) recollection, the glitz and glamour surrounding Disco was very different from the urban grittiness of what I remember of the Blaxploitation films.  I'd go as far to say that the growth of Disco somewhat "pushed out" Blaxploitation films' musical influence same as it did other genres, though I have no research to back that up, just my imperfect memory.


In addition, a main outlet for Blaxploitation films was the drive-in. A drive-ins started to fade, so did the genre.


No opinion on this.  I didn't go to drive-ins much as a teen in the 70's (in rural Michigan).