Some Initial Impressions on Sinners

The thing I appreciate so much about this film is how intelligent the movie is. I haven’t seen a film dipping into so many different nuanced conversations since Parasite, and this one being explicitly black makes it so much more outstanding. That scene (his “Radio Raheem” moment, his “Jaws” dolly zoom, *the* scene of his career) was the icing on the cake, but the magical blending of cultures is dripping throughout the film. In that regard, it’s a great film about allyship on multiple levels. –Jalen White 

********************** 

 Y'all know I like colors. Red, white, and blue are constantly represented. Obvi a critique on Amerika, and its "Dream project" but I'm still working through the implications of when/which particular characters show up in certain colors. I did find it interesting that ole girl with the half black grandaddy was dressed in white for most of the film ( I believe the epilogue was the only time she wasn't), whereas the love interest of the other Jordan twin was dressed in white only in the afterlife. Jalen, your observation of Coogler’s critique of Western knowledge/epistemes is it! Definitely going to help me parse out the significance of character and color attribution. –Nicole Dixon 

********************** 

 Dipping into many conversations: Jalen's idea of the film "dipping into conversations." You've expressed something there that I hadn't narrated for myself yet. Yes! And I'd just add, some of the conversations it's dipping into are about genre, which strikes me as a critical characteristic of some of our most impactful African American literary works (looking at Whitehead's UGRR, for example). The ways that they engage with, disrupt, and reshape various genre conventions as a practice of thematic and discursive innovation offers a key area for further exploration in Af-Am lit. –Elizabeth Cali 

**********************

I’ve been sitting with the film for a bit now, and one element that continues to echo in my mind is its deep entanglement with spirituality and the consequences of assimilation—particularly through sound, music, and Black artistic expression. Remmick’s attraction to the juke joint—especially the preacher boy’s music—immediately stood out to me. It’s not just that he listens; he attempts to mimic, to recreate what is sacred and soulful. That moment is more than cultural appropriation—it’s a metaphor for the colonization of Black expression. He doesn’t just want to observe; he wants to possess, to infiltrate and distort what was never his to claim. It reminds me of how often Black creativity becomes a commodity—disconnected from its spiritual roots once co-opted. --Rie'Onna Holmon

Related: 

 • A Notebook on Sinners