Update 25 Jan 2026: Thanks for checking out this resource about one of my favorite movies ever. I also wanna let you know I’m doing a live, IRL show Feb 7 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at the Music Hall. I’ll be talking about the good future we can create even out of the madness of today that we’re experiencing in democracy, tech, and climate. Come through!
You ever see a film so true, it feels like it conjured your ancestors, past and future, and offered them a mic?
That’s Sinners. That’s what Ryan Coogler just gave us in the form of a vampire movie that’s really a spiritual blues opera, a southern gothic sermon, and a love letter to Black complexity, music, memory, and resistance. So I did what I do—I poured a little bourbon, fired up the stream, and invited y’all to the pulpit-slash-juke-joint I call Speak Easy.
This one isn’t a regular episode. It’s a Sinners symposium. A communal breakdown. A spoiler-heavy celebration. And maybe the beginning of a curriculum we’ll be building together at “Sinners University.” Welcome to Juke Church.
On May 15th, I hosted a live stream with you to discuss this, the best movie of 2025. I’m making the replay available for free through Monday because it’s a holiday weekend about remembering. (update: Substack only let’s me set about half the broadcast for free trial). Then I’ll slide it behind a paywall, because I’m nurturing my inner Smoke & Stack.
What’s in this episode:
🎬 A spirited sermon on the film as “a blues opera disguised as horror”
📜 A framing of Sinners as kin to Fruitvale Station (yes, I said it—and I stand by it)
🔥 The double consciousness of vampires, exploitation and seduction, villain and victim
🎶 Music as sacred technology, from hoodoo and hymns to juke joints and P-Funk portals
💔 Why the blues is a bridge, and how the guitar becomes a redemption story
🩸 Bloodsuckers as record execs—and why Sammy never stood a chance
🪞 Race, passing, and the spiritual cost of survival, especially through Mary and Annie
⛪ Dualities everywhere—day/night, church/juke, respectability/resistance
🌀 The Fractal Film—how this movie fully lives inside its own scenes but also beyond and into our realities.
🧠 Audience insights, real-time reactions, and the most profound live chat I’ve hosted
Now here’s what you get in our Speak Easy Sinner’s Juke should you choose to pay the cover charge and become a paying subscriber. Don’t worry, Cornbread isn’t working the door.
♾️ Lifetime access to the full video
🧰 An annotated resource kit including multiple YouTube breakdowns and explainers I’ve curated, articles (with gift links), and even a video I recorded showing you how to find some Easter eggs the filmmakers planted on the Internet
📝 An 8-page, first draft of Sinners curriculum I’ve organized based on multiple public sources, my own analysis, and an integration of our own collective wisdom from the chats on my Substack.
🎧 An experimental AI-generated podcast that weaves across my curated sources and your own shared wisdom.
🎙️ Plus: the very human Fruitvale Station podcast I recorded in 2013, in tears, moments after seeing it for the first time.
This is a great time to upgrade to paid or even trial to see what we’ve done here.
🔗 References & Resources for the Sinners Breakdown
📚 Bombshell 8-page Sinner’s Study Pack I put together with Google NotebookLM
The document is open for anyone with the link (only you!) to comment if you want to add additional thoughts. Let me know if you think I should open it more fully for complete collaboration!
and a bonus. I used the Audio Overview feature in NotebookLM to create a 13-minute podcast weaving across all the sources. It’s not as good as me, but it’s fascinating as an experiment.
🎥 Related Films & Shows:
Fruitvale Station – Directed by Ryan Coogler; draws parallel to Sinners in its humanization of Black life and victimhood.
Here’s the SoundCloud pop-up podcast I recorded with my college roommate moments after seeing Fruitvale Station
Get Out, Lovecraft Country, Django Unchained, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Black Panther – Referenced as creative and thematic ancestors or cousins to Sinners.
Interview with the Vampire, Twilight, True Blood, Blade – Noted vampire genre entries that contrast with or echo Sinners.
📰 Articles:
New York Times Interview with Wunmi Mosaku (plays Annie).
May 9, 2025
Bloomberg on the historic nature of the film’s financial success and ticket performance. May 21, 2025 —
🎁 ‘Sinners’ Is Resurrecting the Art of Word-of-Mouth Marketing (Thanks Elizabeth)
🎧 Music & Sound Notes:
Official Sinners Soundtrack on Spotify — Contains Easter eggs like Remmick’s backstory via newspaper clippings. Watch my Loom on how to find images like these.
Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl Halftime Show — This is a cultural precursor to the Sinners moment and worth a re-watch.
Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé — I saw this live at SoFi Stadium. Like Kendrick at halftime, this is and historic, defiant cultural statement related to Sinners and Black artists in 2025 telling our stories despite the attempts to erase us.
CORRECTION: In the stream I referenced the 1990s scene as Muddy Waters playing Sammie. It was Buddy Guy.
📚 Some Historical Context:
Choctaw Donation to Irish During Potato Famine – True history referenced in the film and live chat.
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber & David Wengrow – Mentioned for its explanation of indigenous influence on democracy.
📺 Teach-ins & Community Conversations:
Jemar Tisby, PhD & Garrison Hayes did a Sinners Movie Teach-In on Substack – Watch the amazingness! and see Jemar’s syllabus which is filled with the types of banned history we will always find new ways to teach.
📺 Here are some of the YouTube Videos that helped me. I’ve organized them into an unlisted playlist just for you, and broken out below.
Powerful town hall with the central cast and each offers gems. Moderator did a great job!
Some good breakdowns
Great for history
Even better for history
Particular theories about the Choctaw role
Watching Coogler nerd out about aspect ratios? Yes please!
Priya K shared the below on our Speak Easy chat because Ryan Coogler cited Puss in Boots as an inspiration.
If you’ve scrolled this far, you’re the best. Thanks for being part of this. Now go tell the rest. I’ll update the materials as inspired and remain open to your suggestions of what else we can do here together. First, Sinners. Next, democracy??
