This thesis defines the term exploitation as it relates to the style of a number of key American film titles that emerged during the 1960s and 1970s, concurrent with the fall of cinema censorship. These productions presented spectacles of convincing corporeality and the adaptation of film techniques which may be labelled ‘realist'. The key films of this thesis will be argued to comprise a cinematic movement that can be labelled exploitation. The first part of this thesis will outline the time period of this study and the methodology used; based upon the historical and comparative writing on the classic Hollywood era of cinema initiated by David Bordwell. Drawing upon Bordwell and other scholars who have engaged with what the Academy recognises as the ‘new film history' (such as Eric Schaefer and his discussion of the classic exploitation film), I will introduce the work of André Bazin and argue that his writing on cinema realism can be attributed and understood as a style of filmmaking. This style is appropriated by exploitation insofar as similar, minimalist representations of modernity were brought to American cinema, albeit presented in generic narratives. The second part of this thesis will look at each of the key exploitation genres in detail: blaxploitation, exploitation-horror and sexploitation. I will engage with previous writing on what may be deemed ‘marginal' cinema and argue that each of the genres discussed in this thesis contain films that approach taboo subject matter with an oppositional approach to their Hollywood ‘other'. This point is especially relevant insofar as exploitation reveals images of physical horror and sexuality that the mainstream hides. In conclusion, this thesis hopes to bring a more contained and studied look at ‘marginal' cinema to the Academy and to give a definition of exploitation that will influence and inspire future studies of the form.

The American Genre Film Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2009 by Tim League, founder and CEO of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. With a sense of rebellion against established film archives, AGFA is dedicated to the collection of 35mm prints of exploitation films from the 1960s-1980s in order to conserve and distribute these neglected films. A confluence of issues including the history of the films in the collection, AGFA’s connection with the Alamo Drafthouse, and influences from the hipster subcultures combine to inform AGFA’s practices and mission. This thesis will explore how the American Genre Film Archive conforms to and rebels against the established archive community by means of its mission and institutional structure. Also, this thesis will explore AGFA as a hipster institution through its collecting and exhibition practices. AGFA’s roles in the wider film archive community and the hipster community converge into an unusual archive serving unusual films. / text

Dans l’historiographie du cinéma québécois, un certain manque est notable concernant le cinéma populaire du début des années 1970 (1968-1975). Historiens et chercheurs accordèrent peu d’importance à cette section de notre cinématographie par déni d’un type de cinéma populaire exploitant la sexualité. Ce qui fut péjorativement appelé la vague de « films de fesses » n’eut droit à aucune étude académique sérieuse et nous proposons, donc, de la revisiter afin de mieux comprendre son apparition et son existence. Dans ce dessein, nous suggérons de l’aborder sous l’angle du cinéma d’exploitation, cinéma populaire méconnu et controversé. Pour cela, nous devrons expliquer les contours de ce cinéma puisque, lui aussi, souffre d’un léger manque d’études sérieuses et approfondies. Nous ferons au premier chapitre un panorama de la norme cinématographique qu’est le cinéma hollywoodien, afin de bien cerner, au deuxième chapitre, le cinéma d’exploitation qui selon nous s’efforce d’être en constante opposition avec le cinéma mainstream. Par la suite, nous mettrons en place le contexte socio-historique et cinématographique qui permit l’apparition d’un cinéma d’exploitation québécois et nous ferons l’énumération des différents titres qui se retrouvent dans ce corpus filmique. Les chapitres IV et V présenteront les analyses de différentes œuvres qui, selon nous, récupèrent de façon partielle ou totale des éléments du cinéma d’exploitation afin de créer une résistance culturelle quant au cinéma dominant américain. / There has been a noticeable lack of research, in the historiography of Quebec cinema, concerning the popular cinema of the early seventies (1968-1975). Historians and researchers have given little importance to this period in the history of Quebec cinema, since many of the movies of the early seventies belong to a kind of popular cinema which focused on sexuality. This wave of "films de fesses" -- as they were pejoratively dubbed -- hasn't received any serious academic attention, and we propose to revisit it to get a clearer understanding of its birth and of its features. In this essay, we suggest to approach it from the angle of exploitation cinema -- a form of popular cinema which is widely misunderstood and controversial. To this end, we will need to define the boundaries delimiting this cinema because its study has also suffered from a lack of academic seriousness and enthusiasm. In the first chapter, we will paint a general picture of the cinematic norm provided by hollywood cinema, in order to delinate, in the second chapter, exploitation cinema which, according to us, strives to oppose mainstream cinema. Afterwards, we will clarify the socio-historical and cinematic context which lead to the creation of a new form of exploitation cinema in Quebec, and we will list the titles of the movies that belong to this filmic corpus. The fourth and fifth chapters will present analyses of different films which, according to us, reuse certain elements of exploitation cinema, partially or totally, in order to induce cultural resistance against the dominant form of American cinema.

Dans l’historiographie du cinéma québécois, un certain manque est notable concernant le cinéma populaire du début des années 1970 (1968-1975). Historiens et chercheurs accordèrent peu d’importance à cette section de notre cinématographie par déni d’un type de cinéma populaire exploitant la sexualité. Ce qui fut péjorativement appelé la vague de « films de fesses » n’eut droit à aucune étude académique sérieuse et nous proposons, donc, de la revisiter afin de mieux comprendre son apparition et son existence. Dans ce dessein, nous suggérons de l’aborder sous l’angle du cinéma d’exploitation, cinéma populaire méconnu et controversé. Pour cela, nous devrons expliquer les contours de ce cinéma puisque, lui aussi, souffre d’un léger manque d’études sérieuses et approfondies. Nous ferons au premier chapitre un panorama de la norme cinématographique qu’est le cinéma hollywoodien, afin de bien cerner, au deuxième chapitre, le cinéma d’exploitation qui selon nous s’efforce d’être en constante opposition avec le cinéma mainstream. Par la suite, nous mettrons en place le contexte socio-historique et cinématographique qui permit l’apparition d’un cinéma d’exploitation québécois et nous ferons l’énumération des différents titres qui se retrouvent dans ce corpus filmique. Les chapitres IV et V présenteront les analyses de différentes œuvres qui, selon nous, récupèrent de façon partielle ou totale des éléments du cinéma d’exploitation afin de créer une résistance culturelle quant au cinéma dominant américain. / There has been a noticeable lack of research, in the historiography of Quebec cinema, concerning the popular cinema of the early seventies (1968-1975). Historians and researchers have given little importance to this period in the history of Quebec cinema, since many of the movies of the early seventies belong to a kind of popular cinema which focused on sexuality. This wave of "films de fesses" -- as they were pejoratively dubbed -- hasn't received any serious academic attention, and we propose to revisit it to get a clearer understanding of its birth and of its features. In this essay, we suggest to approach it from the angle of exploitation cinema -- a form of popular cinema which is widely misunderstood and controversial. To this end, we will need to define the boundaries delimiting this cinema because its study has also suffered from a lack of academic seriousness and enthusiasm. In the first chapter, we will paint a general picture of the cinematic norm provided by hollywood cinema, in order to delinate, in the second chapter, exploitation cinema which, according to us, strives to oppose mainstream cinema. Afterwards, we will clarify the socio-historical and cinematic context which lead to the creation of a new form of exploitation cinema in Quebec, and we will list the titles of the movies that belong to this filmic corpus. The fourth and fifth chapters will present analyses of different films which, according to us, reuse certain elements of exploitation cinema, partially or totally, in order to induce cultural resistance against the dominant form of American cinema.