Week 9: Cool Minority

Luke and Amy take the A train to Harlem with Shaft, one bad shut-your-mouth.  They explore the world of blaxploitation and its relationship to other genres from which it draws, notably gangster movies and film noir.  What is it about Shaft that makes him such an enduring representative of cool?  And how does the world of cool intersect with -- or even spring from -- African-American culture?