Shaft

film by Parks [1971]

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 15, 2026

Quick Summary

Shaft is a 1971 action film directed by Gordon Parks, a prominent figure in documenting African American life through photography and film. The movie is a key example of the blaxploitation genre, which emerged in the early to mid-1970s. Blaxploitation films featured Black actors and were intended to appeal to Black urban audiences, often breaking existing stereotypes by presenting self-possessed Black characters in control of their own destinies.12

Shaft centers on a Black detective and was a significant success, contributing to the rise of African American action films. While these films offered new roles for Black actors, they also faced criticism for perpetuating harmful stereotypes through their portrayal of characters involved in drug dealing, violence, and other unsavory activities.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

blaxploitation movies
…the most-popular subgenre, action (Shaft, 1971). But from the outset, African American critics found the stereotypes made possible by the behaviours of the heroes and heroines of the films—which often included drug dealing, violence, and easy sex—to be the most-pervasive and damaging effect of the movies; also damaging was…
Read More
…the most-popular subgenre, action (Shaft, 1971). But from the outset, African American critics found the stereotypes made possible by the behaviours of the heroes and heroines of the films—which often included drug dealing, violence, and easy sex—to be the most-pervasive and damaging effect of the movies; also damaging was…
Read More

Gordon Parks
Literature and film
He next directed Shaft (1971), which centers on a Black detective. A major success, it helped give rise to the genre of African American action films known as blaxploitation. A sequel, Shaft’s Big Score, appeared in 1972. Parks later directed the comedy The Super Cops (1974) and the…
Read More
He next directed Shaft (1971), which centers on a Black detective. A major success, it helped give rise to the genre of African American action films known as blaxploitation. A sequel, Shaft’s Big Score, appeared in 1972. Parks later directed the comedy The Super Cops (1974) and the…
Read More

Isaac Hayes
…track for the 1971 film Shaft; the title song, “Theme from Shaft,” became a number one hit and earned Hayes an Academy Award for best original song. Hayes reached his greatest popularity in the late 1960s and ’70s, placing (1969–76) 10 consecutive albums on the American pop and rhythm and…
Read More
…track for the 1971 film Shaft; the title song, “Theme from Shaft,” became a number one hit and earned Hayes an Academy Award for best original song. Hayes reached his greatest popularity in the late 1960s and ’70s, placing (1969–76) 10 consecutive albums on the American pop and rhythm and…
Read More