The joke when two “things/people” walk into a bar is typically the precursor to a joke rooted in an “ism” of some type. The stereotypes associated with various groups builds an immediate reference for the listener and an easy target for the lazy creator, but even in these instances the joke reveals some element of truth. In the truth often lies an uncomfortable discussion not easily broached by the parties involved. Usually, the joke is directed towards an audience unable to explain their own thoughts comfortably, hence the laughter at the end of the punchline isn’t uproarious, it’s uncomfortable and awkward. This doesn’t mean the two things/people walk into a bar isn’t a successful strategy. It works… when it works. They Cloned Tyrone is that joke.
John Boyega: Fontaine
Jamie Foxx: Slick Charles
Teyonah Parris: Yo-Yo
Kiefer Sutherland: Nixon
J. Alphonse Nicholson: Issac
Blaxploitation: a term for a genre of movies, made particularly in the 1970s, that largely featured Black actors and were aimed at Black audiences
Afrofuturism: a movement in literature, music, art, etc., featuring futuristic or science fiction themes which incorporate elements of Black history and culture
It’s important to lead any review of this film with an explanation of the genre it rests in. Blaxploitation often bears a negative connotation but shouldn’t. In those films from the 70s we found Black superheroes at a time when Black life was transitional and still carrying the weight of horrible, dangerous, racists practices, which didn’t subside after Civil Rights. Those practices simply shifted into less obvious problems from “red lining, the war on drugs, excessive policing and income inequality”. All issues which shape the existence of Black folks today. Blaxploitation allowed Black folks to take on “The Man” via storytelling and music. The movie’s most would consider negative, at the core can’t be because they are really the first opportunities to see Black folks on the big screen as written by Black folks. They Cloned Tyrone takes the anti-hero Fontaine into a thematic version of man vs self and transposes him into a discussion of man vs society, while moving towards an awareness slowly revealed in a sci-fi plot of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. While the mediums of control of an environment are somewhat generic, Fried Chicken, Hip-Hop, Television, and they make this a film which could easily be dismissed, the cast allows what could devolve into a repetitious Groundhog’s Day to work. It’s a slow burn and it’s heavy handed in establishing the importance of how entertainment informs Black culture, but it is certainly worth a watch as it prepares to potentially move from city to city in the future. If you’d like a short film that is similar in tone peep this film on Netflix featuring Joey Badass.
