“My jurisdiction extends from Ankara, Turkey to Watts, baby!”
About the Series: Blaxploitation and the Cities That Make Us is a 6-week analytical series exploring the relationship between Blaxploitation protagonists and the communities that shape them. Whether Los Angeles, Harlem, Oakland, or Detroit, these cities are living organisms that influence each protagonist’s identity. Through historical, cultural, and film analyses, this series examines how each project reflects the neighborhoods, struggles, and communities that gave rise to some of Black cinema’s most adored heroes.
Cleopatra Jones is a fast-paced, cracking, martial-arts ball of motion. Starring Tamara Dobson as the titular character, she establishes authority and makes it clear: this is Cleo’s world; we are just living in it. In this Los Angeles-produced Blaxploitation classic, the film highlights community, city culture, and what that means for Black women making a name for themselves in the City of Angels. Cleo’s greatest strength is not her martial arts ability or unwavering allegiance to cool, but rather her reliance on the community of Watts, California, and her rejection of the myth of the lone hero.