And so did the term blaxploitation. Grier says the action films were a product of their time — and were not only limited to Black themes. “There was white exploitation, Black exploitation.

It was basically a political marketing ploy.” Yet Grier clarified that there is not only blaxploitation onscreen, but rather exploitative genre films for any race and gender. “There was white ...

Those movies, which still draw sold-out revival house crowds 50 years later, are now commonly referred to as “blaxploitation” pictures — a term Grier says was introduced by marketers at ...