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Shaft
Gordon Parks
A beautiful movie. If there was ever a film to help
launch a genre, this is the one. First got interested
in it after learning about the life of Gordon Parks.
There are so many layers and subtexts to be found
everywhere. The treatment of blackness is more nuanced
than I was expecting. Shaft is constantly attacked for
not being 'black enough' while also having to endure
pretty blatant racism throughout the film. Having the
plot revolve around a feud between Italian mobsters
and Harlem mobsters is the perfect setting for Shaft
to operate within: "it's hood against hood - on the
inside. On the outside, it's black against white." The
turtlenecks and trench coats were groovy. Shaft
doesn't come across as the ideal black hero, but
instead a cunning (if selfish) antihero making his way
through the world. It's pretty awesome, want to read
Parks' autobiography.