Willie Dynamite - Blaxpoitation Theme

Blaxpoitation Theme

The film produces many of the qualities seen in blaxpoitation films, popular in the 1970’s. Blaxpoitation films would present a black character, usually shown in the ghetto, characterized by poverty, drugs, and violence. These black characters would be seen pitted against white characters of power, usually the police, as seen in this film.

In one scene, Willie is aggressively detained by the police while driving. The charge is suspicion of armed robbery, fitting a description of wearing a brown coat. Willie is shouting that he is unlawfully charged and that it’s unconstitutional, while the police are laughing about the detainment. This is an example of blaxpoitation where white police are committing corrupt acts against black people. Willie is later let go after the police lineup proves his innocence.

As he exits the station, a police officer tells Willie that his car was parked, by the police from the detainment, in a no-tow zone. With trouble as it is, he then finds two detectives unlawfully searching his car without a warrant. They tell him a black female overdosed and believed it was Willie’s fault. The black detective tells Willie he should care, “Yeah Willie, she’s my sister. She’s your sister too.”

When the two detectives are chasing Willie Dynamite through New York, the white detective is seen on a rooftop telling the black detective what to do. This is a reflection of the 1970’s, where white men had higher power in society, as blacks were a minority. The two detectives represent the blaxpoitation images in film, the black detective as a hard working man going by the books, and the white detective looking anywhere for a shortcut.

In another scene, the two detectives are talking to each other before their performance review on the police force. Celli, the white detective, reads the newspaper and tells Pointer that he may have to leave the force for his religion. Celli complains that Pointer is too orthodox in his ways, another example of white police looking for a shortcut to make money.

Inside the courtroom, when Willie is detained for possession, he announces that the police have obtained evidence without a warrant. This is a recurring example in blaxpoitation films, where corrupt police use unorthodox ways to catch black criminals.