tati

writer of human & machine words

trans. cyborg. hermit-lite. 30ish. script kitty.


Loves:

-@julez

-fighting games


_tati on discord.


MayaGay
@MayaGay

Been a while since I've read a good film history book, and Odie Henderson's Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation Cinema was a good way to break that. Rollicking and informative, Henderson uses the brief era where black lead exploitation films became financially viable (roughly 1971-1978 by the book's calculus) to explore the way race is utilized by the entertainment industry, the conditions black people in front and behind the camera were forced to create their art in, and the contemporary reactions to the movies compared to their historic place they now occupy. It is also peppered with Henderson's own memories and opinions on the movies in question, acting as a pretty good index of the era. It is an extremely fun read. If you want to learn how people like Melvin Van Peebles, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Gunn, and Pam Grier helped form the counterpoint to the noble negro archetype that Hollywood meticulously upheld, do yourself a favor and seek this out.