blaxploitation

noun, often attributive blax·ploi·ta·tion \ ˌblak-(ˌ)splȯi-ˈtā-shən \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Definition of blaxploitation

: the exploitation of blacks by producers of black-oriented films

blaxploitation movies

Recent Examples of blaxploitation from the Web

But for better or worse, the new version has no interest in fashioning the same sort of mashup of blaxploitation and film noir that Gordon Parks Jr. created.

— michael phillips, chicagotribune.com, "'Superfly' review: One last score, this time in Atlanta," 12 June 2018
But unlike her ’70s films, Quentin Tarantino’s homage to blaxploitation showcased a heroine who didn’t need to resort to soft-core tactics.

— dante a. ciampaglia, Newsweek, "‘Black Panther’ Owes Its Success to Heroes of Color Who Paved the Way," 13 Feb. 2018
Last fall, Variety reported that Sony was working on a remake of the 1972 blaxploitation flick Super Fly.

— michael arceneaux, The Root, "Do We Really Need A Super Fly Remake? Do We Need Any of These Blaxploitation Remakes, TBH?," 21 Jan. 2018
This was the film where the untouchable Beyoncé went lowbrow in a slapstick comedy (rated 54 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) as Foxxy Cleopatra, a parody of blaxploitation characters like Foxy Brown.

— caitlin kelley, Billboard, "Now That She's Starring in 'The Lion King,' Let's Look Back at Beyonce's Film Career," 2 Nov. 2017
The ’70s saw the birth of blaxploitation (Richard Roundtree, Pam Grier), diverse independent efforts (Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks) and huge comedic presences (Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor).

— calvin baker, New York Times, "A Former Superagent Bets Big on a More Diverse Hollywood," 4 Oct. 2017
This was pre-Spike Lee and after the blaxploitation era.

— lee daniels, HWD, "Lee Daniels’s Hollywood Dream Started with Seven Dollars and Cinderella," 14 Oct. 2017
Black visual-entertainment creatives had to make the best of their opportunities, which at the time were mostly sitcoms and blaxploitation films.

— matthew allen, The Root, "The Richard Pryor Show: A Master Class of Innovation vs. Censorship," 15 Sep. 2017
Tarantino loves to homage, and Jackie Brown is influenced by 70s blaxploitation films.

— lincoln michel, GQ, "Jackie Brown, the Best Quentin Tarantino Film, Is Streaming on Netflix," 21 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blaxploitation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.