Shaft (2000)

The "black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks" is back in this sequel directed by John Singleton. It follows John Shaft's nephew who seems to have much of the same characteristics as his uncle while at the same time not quite measuring up to what the original Shaft was like. These two films have both similarities and differences which are both important to understanding what the director was trying to portray when it comes to topics such as racism.

John Shaft in the 2000 version of the film had some of the same characteristics of his uncle while at the same time not being as great. He did things his way, never missed a shot and got the girls but this time the audience didn't really get the "I want to be him" kind of attitude. What differed in this respect is that he starts out in the film as a detective whereas in the 1971 version Shaft is not connected to any type of law enforcement. As for his ability to get women, there was a scene which deliberately showed he could not match up to his uncle. The scene at his surprise party showed John Shaft leaving with two women and not just one. Also, the cheesy lines he used on women made us laugh at him rather than envy his charm. The original Shaft would never say "It's my duty to please that booty". Also, as Roger Ebert talks about in his review, the sexual aspect is not as prevalent in this film as it was in the original. The opening credits start out with this idea but it is not really carried out much in the film. Ebert says "One thing modern about the movie is its low sexual quotient. Blaxploitation came along at a time when American movies were sexy, with lots of nudity and bedroom time. Modern action pictures seem prudish by comparison; like "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "M:I2," this one prefers action to sex". I agree that this movie focused more on the action scenes than the sex scenes and this may be a reflection on the times it was filmed. It was more acceptable in the 1970's than in 2000.

One thing which I think is important to think about when talking about the issue of racism in these two films is the context in which they were made. The original Shaft was made at a time when race was a bigger issue and it was important for this film to make a deeper statement about it. The Shaft that was made in 2000 did not need to work as hard at making a statement because the times had changed immenselely from when the first one was filmed. It seemed to me as though the purpose of the original Shaft was to comment on certain ideologies of the time whereas this Shaft was for more entertainment purposes.

I don't think you can really compare the two when deciding which film is better. It seems to me that they were made at different times and for different reasons which chages the ideas of the viewer. I think the 1971 version was good for the time it was in and the 2000 version was typical for the time period it was made in.