Lois 's Reviews > Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation Cinema

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Odie Henderson, Tantor Audio, and NetGalley.

This audiobook is narrated by the author, Odie Henderson. Having the author narrate their own work can sometimes go wrong. Not in this case, though. I loved hearing Odie's own excitement and emotion as he narrated this fun book.

This is for folks who know and love these movies as well as for folks who've not watched a single movie and aren't entirely sure what blaxploitation movies are. This is a fun and fundamental education about this era in film, told in a nostalgic tone.

I grew up in the 80s, so I missed the opportunity to see these movies in the theatre. Like the author, I grew up patronizing first family or individually owned video rental stores and then Blockbuster once they put the smaller places out of business. Unlike the author, my parents and family did not rent or talk much about blaxploitation films. My first exposure to the blaxploitation genre was in high school. I had a teacher who was a fan, and I think I rented and watched Shaft. I grew up in Detroit, so I'm somewhat surprised that I didn't have more exposure.

This book takes you behind the scenes of this era; the movies, the actors, and the filming itself. I truly loved this. This made me miss my late father tremendously as he was a huge movie buff, and I bet he saw these films in the theatre. After Eddie Murphy did that Netflix Dolomite movie, my husband and I laughed all through the original movie. These movies represent an era, and I enjoyed this history tremendously.

I grew up watching Spike Lee Joints, and I want to point out that these blaxploitation films proved that a Black audience existed and paved the way for filmmakers like Lee. I also want to say that this covered early Black filmmakers like Oscar Micheaux, this is a thorough history of Black Cinema.

Thank you to Odie Henderson, Tantor Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.