I really liked the movie Shaft and found it very interesting compared to present day action movies. I found Shaft to be a very independent, intelligent, and yet a cool cat character; who knew how to get the job done by keeping everyone in their place without using violence all the time. Although Shaft was not a real aggressive or violent man,instead, he uses his posture to challenge his oppressors rather than force; which is seen in so many movies like "Training Day" starring Denzel Washington. Comparing these two movies, I really enjoyed not hearing all of the harsh language. Not to sound like a little girl, it really is annoying to here every other word be the f-word. Not only that, in present day action films, they wouldn't use posture as a sense of I'm "The Man" instead they would just knock you out. On another note in regards to the reading, the main character Shaft compared to present day action hero's are physically portrayed so much differently. Today, to be a masculine manly man we are pushed with the image that they have a hard, muscular body. In the 1970's audiences were marked with the image of these leading man to have lean and toned bodies, a body not all juiced up on steroids and ready to rumble.
After viewing the movie and having a class discussion about it,I have found this movie's underlying theme to be more about being a man than about racial stereotypes. Shaft was more about Shafts interactions with other men and proving to be "The Man" rather than fighting against a wall of stereotypes. While he and his other leading characters (Ben) did embody certain aspects of the black stereotype such as being a pimp, a ghetto street walker, drug dealing, and crime; I felt as though it was more about who was the bigger man to get the job done...SHAFT!
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I agree with how there are so many differences between Shaft and a present day action movie. I liked too how there wasn't as much violence and swearing. I thought Shaft was more of a man for not doing all of that compared to the men today. He was definitely intelligent compared to the men today and used that to his advantage more then anything. I also liked his posture and how he was intimidating without having to use all the violence.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same about the underlying theme of the movie. I almost felt like things like the pen and mug scene poked at how racial differences are overpronounced. The way the movie plays out definitely agrees more with the best man for the job idea.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the idea that the movie is more about masculinity, but maybe that's because we weren't around in the 70s to recognize a lot of racial stereotypes in the film. I realized in class when one girl was describing what she expected from a stereotype that the expectations have definitely changed. Masculinity, while represented differently today, is more recognizable I think because it is a more universal idea than racial discrimination
ReplyDeleteThe reading discussed stereotypes of masculinity within stereotypes of race, which is also important to discuss. And watching how Richard Roundtree acts and performs dominance and confidence simply with his stance, is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to know though, that Ben wasn't a gangster at all, but a community activist. That's why he despised Bumpy, who was a gangster and in his view responsible for the miseries of the poor black community within itself, and also mistrusted Shaft, who represented the police force that in the view of many activists at the time, represented the forces of oppression from without. The alliances in this movie, as well as the complexity of the racial discussion, were important and fascinating. We didn't focus on it in class because we didn't quite get to it. But it's just as significant.