'Superfly' and 1970s Blaxploitation Cinema

Super Fly, Gordon Parks Jr.’s early blaxploitation film, is one of the most iconic to ever come out of the genre. Controversial but hugely popular, blaxploitation films made their name mixing African American pride and style with plenty of action thrills. We’ll be honest: these films were not necessarily well-made. Microphones and camera wires frequently entered the frame, the stunt coordination isn’t the most believable, and the sound design leaves something to be desired. Still, blaxploitation films have lasted, and for good reason. Their social implications impacted communities in both good and bad ways and the music– especially the original Super Fly soundtrack, provided by Curtis Mayfield–has been sampled throughout hip hop history. It’s not a total surprise, then, that Hollywood’s reviving the genre. With Director X’s upcoming reimagining of Super Fly, let’s take a minute to pay homage to the original Super Fly and its hero, Youngblood Priest, which helped kick off a genre that to this day inspires Hollywood’s underrepresented communities to stand up and tell their own stories.

Need to brush up on this one-of-a-kind genre? The Fandor library’s got you covered with its own curated selection of blaxploitation films. And did you know that Gordon Parks Jr.'s father, Gordon Parks, was responsible for Shaft, one of the most successful films of the blaxploitation genre? Check out his film page and stream his movie right here on Fandor.

• #entertainment
• #blaxploitation_cinema
• #black_films
• #black_culture
• #super_fly
• #superfly