Cool Protagonists are… well… cool. There’s James Bond cool. There’s Harry Callahan cool. And then there’s John Shaft cool.
Says it right here in the IMDB plot summary for the 1971 movie Shaft [screenplay by Ernest Tidyman and John D.F. Black, based on Tidyman's novel] which kicked off the series starring Richard Roundtree as the lead character: “Cool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.”
The movie’s taglines are cool:
The mob wanted Harlem back. They got shaft…up to here.
SHAFT’s his name. SHAFT’s his game.
Shaft’s his name. Shaft’s his game.
Wanna see Shaft? Better ask yo’ mamma.
Hotter than Bond, Cooler than Bullitt.
His dialogue is cool:
Sergeant Tom Hannon: Hey, where the hell are you going, Shaft?
John Shaft: To get laid, where the hell are you going?Vic Androzzi: Have a chair, John.
Shaft: I don’t like your chair.John Shaft: You are one wise Caucasian, Vic.
John Shaft: Don’t let your mouth get your ass in trouble.
John Shaft: Warms my black heart to see you so concerned about us minority folks.
Vic Androzzi: Oh come on Shaft, what is it with this black shit, huh?
[Vic holds a black pen up to Shaft's face]
Vic Androzzi: You ain’t so black.
John Shaft: [Holds a white coffee cup next to Vic's face] And you ain’t so white either baby.
But it’s Shaft in action that is really cool:
And of course, his theme song by Issac Hayes with that cool wah-wah pedal:
Shaft is so cool, the character started an entire subgenre: Blacksploitation movies.
Shaft is fearless. Doesn’t take shit from anybody. Knows how to handle a gun and his fists. A ladies man. Has the right line all the time. He’s larger than life, but from the streets, an idealized version of a real man in a tough urban environment.
Sometimes we like our heroes hot. But sometimes, we like them cool. And Shaft is one cool mother… [shut your mouth]!
SHAFT (july 2nd, 1971) didn’t start the “Blaxploitation” movement.
My understanding is that Melvin Van Peebles’ SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAD ASS SONG ( April 23rd, 1971) has that honor…
Both did change the way movie soundtracks were developed and marketed.
While SSBAS predates Shaft, there are many who credit the latter. Via Wikipedia:
“Blaxploitation films were the first to regularly feature soundtracks of funk and soul music as well as a primarily black cast.[1] Variety credited Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, released in 1971, with the invention of the blaxploitation genre while others argue that the Hollywood-financed film Shaft, also released in 1971, is closer to being a blaxploitation piece and thus is more likely to have begun the trend.[2]“
I can agree that there is a lot of publicity value in a ‘Hollywood movie’ like SHAFT. There is a point in that Hollywood casting Richard Roundtree gave the project another, hipper, and yes better direction.
However, I would point out however that Shaft was initially conceived as a movie for a white actor in the lead whereas SSBAS was ALWAYS conceived as a black movie for the black audience which Van Peebles surmised was being under served by the media establishment.
In any case, it is a muddy area of film history with both movies being released so close to one another. I would estimate that SSBAS lit the fuse and SHAFT threw gas on the fire making it bright enough for mainstream audiences to see…
Good point, Bill. Both should be considered as progenitors of the sub-genre. Thanks for that additional background!