Blaxploitation Movies and Music Are the Story of the 1970s
Blaxploitation signaled the moment ghetto culture and the Black vernacular hit the American mainstream, paving the way for rap, hip-hop, disco, and modern sports.
1970s
Anti-Authority Film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Still Bites
Film-goers viewed One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as a metaphor for ’70s era struggles against war, racism, and political corruption.
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The Film Adaptation of Joan Didion’s ‘Play It As It Lays’ Still Slays
There’s a danger to Frank Perry’s 1972 film adaptation of Joan Didion’s novel Play It As It Lays, and that’s why we’ve subdued it for so long. Now 50 years later, it’s time to unleash the beast.
‘Shaft’ Helped Create the Archetype Black Action Hero of the 1970s
Gordon Parks’ classic blaxploitation film Shaft presents Richard Roundtree as a swaggering, controversial action hero in gritty, early ’70s New York.
Ideological Incoherence in Films ‘3 Women’ ‘Girlfriends’ and Late ‘70s Feminism
The inconclusive nature of modern womanhood espoused by 3 Women and Girlfriends reflects and reifies the inconclusive nature of second-wave feminism.
The 10 Best Sappy Love Songs of the 1970s
Just in time for Valentine's Day... If you were a child of the 1970s, you no doubt grew up hearing these tunes on your parents' eight-track player and car radio. The songs on this list are sappy, high-drama love ballads -- and for that they're being celebrated.
‘Eyes of Laura Mars’ Is Best as a Document of ’70s New York
A romantic thriller that boasts a contribution from John Carpenter, Eyes of Laura Mars benefits greatly from the gritty '70s Manhattan scenery.
‘Pick Up the Pieces’ Is a Primer in Music as Cultural Memory
John Corbett's writing is often poetic in Pick Up the Pieces: Excursions in Seventies Music, with each essay being a resonant reflection on the music, artists, scenes, and memories seemingly etched deeply in his being.
By the Book: Pick up the Pieces: Excursions in Seventies Music
In this excerpt of '70s music, Pick up the Pieces, John Corbett puts his critique of Kraftwerk's Autobahn to poetry and pogos with his conflict for the Clash and their album, The Clash.
‘For Discos Only’ Is the Rare Archival Release You Can Truly Boogie To
With For Discos Only, Craft Recordings have created a multi-disc mirrorball extravangza that simply cannot be beat in terms of groovy fun.
Time Out of Minds: Interview with Author Ryan Walsh on Van Morrison’s ‘Astral Weeks’
Ryan Walsh chronicles the making of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and the chaotic Boston scene that gave birth to it and tells us all about it in this expansive interview.
Ian Buruma’s ‘A Tokyo Romance’ Is a Timeless Commentary on Cross-cultural Engagement
There's something deeply personal and universalistic about Ian Buruma's writing. He acknowledges the multiplicity of possible perspectives without sliding into the rudderless waters of postmodernism.