"Can You Dig It? Black in vogue"

African American films of the late 60's and early 70's are often called 'Blaxploitation' films. That's because many people feel the films exploited black people by perpetuating the stereotypes depicted through male characters like John Shaft, Black Caesar and Nigger Charley; and women with names like Cleopatra or Coffy or Foxy Brown. People felt the movies glorified the role of pimps and prostitutes and gangsters. But there are those who would disagree. Stuart Baker's 'Can You Dig It?' argues that the term "blaxploitation is unfair. "Roundtree's John Shaft was groundbreaking," Baker said. "He was a James Bond strong man but this was a new representation of a black man in American cinema; he was single-minded and sexually uninhibited and could speak to both black and white people without feeling he had to doff his cap." Baker goes on to say that "the role of Nigger Charley, a character based in the Deep South of the 1850's manages to bring to the big screen all the bigotry and inhumanity of slavery in Americas history in a hip, knowing, entertain and funny manner." Undoubtedly this debate will continue forever.