Fifty years ago the first SHAFT film was released. Based on a novel by journalist Ernest Tidyman and directed by respected photographer Gordon Parks it changed the world. As a kid growing-up in Harlem, that was the first time I got to see my neighborhood on screen, but it wouldn’t be the last. Shaft influenced future films Superfly, Black Caesar and Gordon’s War.
Over the years I’ve written a few stories on the impact of both the movie and soundtrack.
Tribeca 2021 — ‘A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks’ Film Review
When ‘Shaft’ Ruled Hollywood for Ebony
Shafted: On Ernest R. Tidyman and the Makings of Shaft for Mulholland Books
On Shaft: The Soundtrack & Isaac Hayes for Blackadelic Pop
Michael A. Gonzales has been writing about music and culture since the 1980s. He has written for Vibe, Essence, The Source and Spin. Currently he writes true-crime features for CrimeReads, a book column (The Blacklist) for Catapult, essays for LongReads and music features for Wax Poetics. Forthcoming essay subjects include Octavia E. Butler, The Wire and Isaac Hayes. Gonzales blogs at Blackadelicpop.blogspot.com. Check out some of his work for soulhead.
’50 years of SHAFT’ Chronicled by Cultural Critic Michael Gonzales
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