In the early 70's, "Mainstream films did nothing to give black people a sense that they were powerful and physically beautiful, or, at least for black women, that they were desired if they were darker than a brown grocery sack." (McKissack). That is why blaxploitation films started to come out. The genre was the most productive period in black film making, but it is often difficult to track the titles down. "At a time when most black men realized a fundamental freedom and power over their lives was denied at every turn, the pimp, for better or worse, was equated with self assertion". (Quoted in McK