Foxy Brown
(Foxy Brown)

Noticed in Hollywood in 1970 for her voluptuous physique while working as a switchboard operator for the distribution company AIP, Pam Grier quickly became the queen and sex-symbol of blaxploitation. In Foxy Brown – the title that spurred Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, which pays tribute to the actress – she plays an astute woman determined to avenge her FBI boyfriend, who was executed by a local drug syndicate. And while Pam Grier exudes charisma, sex appeal and a certain talent for fighting against unscrupulous white baddies (male and female), it would be pointless not to see the bold aggressiveness of this commercial production as offering a some kind of release for black audiences. JB