strong focus on masculinity. This emphasis on the male effort to improve black life was accompanied by sexist beliefs by many leading activists. Their sexist views were felt to be a reaction to the hierarchical power structure already prevalent in society. Having been subjugated by white people for years, African-American men in turn treated women as beneath them. "Robyn Wiegman argues that the members of the Black Power Movement defined the politics of race within 'a metaphorics of phallic power,' which developed out of male activists' desire to counter cultural articulations of black male inferiority, and that this perspective is readily seen in the writings of influential figures such as Malcolm X, Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and Amiri Baraka." Shaft directly embodied this ideal of extreme black masculinity through displays of hypersexuality and misogyny. "Although Shaft lacked power in the racial sphere, by virtue of being a heterosexual male in a patriarchal system, he still maintains a semblance of power in relation to women." From the very beginning of the film, Shaft's sexuality was highlighted as an important characteristic of his persona. In this scene, Shaft was parting ways with two white officers and one asks him, "Where are you going?" "To get laid", Shaft replied. Shaft was described as a legendary "sex machine", and this dominance over females was presented as an instrument of power. Shaft not only has ample sexual relationships with women, but he treats them with little respect. "While he ha[d] a black girlfriend, which would satisfy the expectations of cultural nationalism, he is not above sleeping around and having random sex with attractive white women." In one scene, Shaft's girlfriend told him that she loves him, and Shaft memorably responded with "Yeah, I know." Also, after a white woman slept with Shaft, she told him, "You're pretty good in the sack, but you're pretty shitty afterwards. You know that?" This statement further highlights both Shaft's sexual prowess and his misogynist actions. Context The third blaxploitation film released, Shaft is one of the best and most popular films of the genre. Commenting on the film shortly after its release, New York Times movie critic Vincent Canby accurately predicted the wave of blaxploitation films to follow: "How audiences react, however, has a great deal to do with the kind of movies that do get made, and having watched the extraordinary receptions given to both Sweet Sweetback and