On the contrary, some of the most successful blaxploitation films were written and directed by African Americans. Superfly was conceived by Gordon Parks Jr.; Shaft by the elder Gordon Parks, and Cotton Comes to Harlem by Melvin Van Peeples. It marked the first time big budget movies were targeted at Black audiences, and Blacks loved them. They were hardly stereotypical since White movie makers had never before presented Black characters as superheroes with larger than life personas.