Vansploitation is a term and film genre used to describe American

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

s from the 1970s, in which a

van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

or vans are the main key element to the plot, and feature comedic stories about young adults.

History

The short-lived genre emerged in the United States during the early 1970s, exploiting the popularity of vans with young adults, and was very popular in the mid to late 1970s, but quickly fell off after the 1970s. Vansploitation films were originally made mostly for young audiences. ''Blue Summer'' (1973) is credited as the first film of the genre, which continued with films like '' The Van'' (1977) and '' Van Nuys Blvd.'' (1979), the latter having been called "the most technically competent Vansploitation film".

Defining qualities of the genre

Coffman argues that the mere appearance of a van in a film does not make it a vansploitation film. The van has to serve a special purpose in the story, which is summed up in the trailer of ''Van Nuys Blvd.'': "Freedom, fun and fine transportation". Often, vans were highly customized, up to the extent of having an entirely custom body in ''Supervan''. Besides the van itself, van culture (wardrobe, magazines, meetings of van drivers) is also often featured prominently. The genre follows two earlier ones that also dealt with car-related topics popular in youth culture at their respective times: In the 1950s, films featuring

Hot Rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...

s became very popular, and they were followed by

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

films in the 1960s (for example, ''

The Wild Angels ''The Wild Angels'' is a 1966 American independent outlaw biker film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Made on location in Southern California, ''The Wild Angels'' was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motor ...

'' and ''

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. It was produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and the S ...

''). As the popularity of vans in youth culture increased in the early 1970s, the first vansploitation films were created. Multiple factors are credited with creating the "customized van craze". For example, in 1975, the song " Chevy Van" by

Sammy Johns Sammy Reginald Johns (February 7, 1946 – January 4, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter known for his 1975 hit song "Chevy Van (song), Chevy Van", which was originally released in 1973. The song was RIAA certification, certified Music ...

sold about three million copies, and is credited for an increase in van sales the following year. The song (among others by Sammy Johns) was used prominently in the soundtrack of ''The Van'' (1977).

Notable films

Coffman names six films as "essential texts" for the vansploitation genre: * 1973: ''Blue Summer'' (aka ''Love Truck''), directed by Chuck Vincent * 1976: '' C.B. Hustlers'', directed by

Stu Segall Stu Segall is a Boston area–born TV and movie producer and director who is the founder of Stu Segall Productions, a San Diego–based TV production studio. Segall began his career in 1970, directing sexploitation movies and hard-core pornograph ...

* 1977: '' The Van'', directed by Sam Grossman * 1977: '' Supervan'', directed by

Lamar Card Lamar Card is an American film producer, film director and assistant film director. He is the CEO of the production company "Card International Motion Picture Corporation". Filmography (excerpt) * ''Flamingo Dreams'' (2000, director) * ''Shad ...

* 1978: ''Mag Wheels'' (aka ''Summer School''), directed by Bethel Buckalew * 1979: '' Van Nuys Blvd.'', directed by William Sachs

References

External links

Jason Coffman: A brief guide to vansploitation cinema
{{Authority control Film genres Film genres particular to the United States Film and video terminology 1970s in film