by ASH KINNEY D’HARCOURT
The 1970s in the United States saw significant social, cultural, and economic upheaval in the context of an ongoing sexual revolution, anti-war sentiment and political scandals. Struggling to maintain relevance during this decade, the industry began to incorporate more explicit violence and sexuality as well as new narratives on screen to draw in untapped markets. Themes that had once been only discreetly approached or suggested through innuendo now took center stage. Amid these developments, a trend toward exploitation reshaped the film industry and, in doing so, redefined cinematic genres. The Ransom Center’s Movie Posters Collection provides a glimpse into the shift that led to a flourishing era of exploitation films that encompass the B-movie horror, Blaxploitation, and martial arts action films.
The science fiction horror film Zaat (rhymes with “hat”) depicts a mad scientist who undergoes a transformation into a homicidal walking catfish. The 1971 film was made using $75,000, with a substantial $25,000 of that budget purportedly allocated toward film prints and advertising. The poster promises “a creature like you’ve never seen before,” one that the film indeed fulfills—although audiences and critics remained unimpressed with the creature’s fear factor. The production itself garnered criticism for its acting and special effects, resulting in a lackluster performance at the box office, and despite being re-released several times, the film languishes with a one-star rating on Rotten Tomatoes today. This may be an instance in which the poster art is more captivating than the film it advertises. Zaat’s eye-catching poster boldly declares “ZAAT… is DEATH!” with the imposing title in oversized, blood-drenched letters against a monochromatic pale mint backdrop. The film’s creature is positioned in the composition of the poster among a tableau of moments in the film, with its glowing red eyes casting an uncanny gaze back at the viewer.
The 1970s in the United States saw significant social, cultural, and economic upheaval. A trend toward exploitation reshaped the film industry and, in doing so, redefined cinematic genres.
Blaxploitation films such as Warner Bro.’s Cleopatra Jones (1973) attracted Black audiences who played a crucial role in rescuing major studios from financial crises in the 1970s. These low-budget films casting Black actors in Black-centered narratives delved into the issues of racial oppression and institutional corruption that were often sidestepped by the mainstream cinema of the decade. Strategically designed through market research, the poster art for studio-back Blaxploitation films serve as a lens through which to study the genre’s historical significance. Author Stephane Dunn asserts that Cleopatra Jones (1973) disrupts the conventional racial and sexual hierarchy of the crime action thriller genre by positioning a Black woman, played by Tamara Dobson, as the protagonist. This is encapsulated in the composition of the poster art, in which Dobson’s “6 feet 2” commanding presence is depicted at the center and is surrounded by minimal, hand-drawn characters. Her gun-wielding figure stands out against a yellow and orange flame backdrop, and the monumental significance of this image is reinforced by the stereographic typeface of the film’s title.
The 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film Hapkido features prominent martial artists Carter Wong and Sammo Hung as well as, according to IMDb, a notable cameo by Jackie Chan. However, according to the movie poster, the star of the film is Angela Mao. Depicted as the central figure in the design, the dynamic nature of Mao traversing across rooftops contrasts with the subdued typeface. The carefully rendered curves of the roofs and fallen adversaries, along with her pigtail, create a whirlwind of motion around Mao’s figure. The marketing of martial arts films to American audiences often involved exoticizing their stars, evident in the reductive language describing the martial artist at the top of the poster aimed at leveraging racist Western stereotypes of Asian women as delicate. Nonetheless, Mao’s prominent placement at the poster’s center suggests audiences’ desire to witness her formidable martial arts prowess. Thus, the poster art provides ample material for critique.
The distribution of Hong Kong martial arts films such as Hapkido and the production of exploitation films in the United States declined in the latter part of the decade as studios redirected their focus to the newest cash cow—the Hollywood blockbuster. Fortunately, the works within the Ransom Center’s Movie Posters Collection offers plenty of avenues for exploring the visual cultures and cinematic histories preserved in the movie posters of decades past.
Zaat (1971)
The cluttered artwork in the poster for Zaat (1971) depicts references to atomic bombs, infectious agents, a kidnapping and a variety of monsters. This mixed promotional tactic may have been aimed at playing on a number of common fears of the era.
Cleopatra Jones (1973)
Blaxploitation films such as Cleopatra Jones (1973) attracted Black audiences who played a crucial role in rescuing studios from financial crises in the 1970s. Although later cast aside by the industry, the genre challenged many Hollywood stereotypes and, for a brief time, provided a platform for Black filmmakers, writers and actors to contribute these culturally significant texts.
Hapkido (1972)
Though Hong Kong productions such as Hapkido (1972) were carelessly recut and dubbed for US distribution, they nonetheless gained popularity owing to their impeccably choreographed and executed fight scenes. In particular, minoritized US moviegoers in the 1970s may have been drawn to the genre’s depiction of an East Asian hero combating and overcoming social injustice.