Vansploitation is a term used for a genre of Americanindependent films from the 1970s in which vans are a "key element to the plot", and that often feature comedic stories about college-age people. The short-lived genre emerged in the United States in the early 1970s, exploiting the popularity of vans with young people, was very popular in the mid to late 1970s, and disappeared in the early 1980s. Vansploitation films were originally made mostly for young audiences. Blue Summer is credited as the first film of the genre which continued with films like The Van and Van Nuys Blvd., 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 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 Rods became very popular, and they were followed by motorcycle films in the 1960s. 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 Johnssold about three million copies, and is credited for an increase in van sales the following year. The song was used prominently in the soundtrack of The Van.
Important examples
Coffman names six films as "essential texts" for the vansploitation genre: 1973: Blue Summer, directed by Chuck Vincent 1976: C.B. Hustlers, directed by Stu Segall 1977: The Van, directed by Sam Grossman 1977: Supervan, directed by Lamar Card 1978: Mag Wheels, directed by Bethel Buckalew 1979: Van Nuys Blvd., directed by William Sachs
