Sinners is a horror movie more meticulously researched than most “race” films. The most concise onscreen potrayal of the exploitative nature of the economics of sharecropping is in a movie that has vampires in it
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I've been seeing a trend in that movies set in The Deep South are better at this because you simply *can't* gloss over that stuff without completely undermining the socioeconomic currents running beneath everything.
And there's a massive wealth of superstitious shit to use there too
kudos to @coldcrashpics.bsky.social for his video essay on the original candyman film and providing social, historical, and racial context for the movie
I like how fantasy/horror can do more to draw attention to disparity in our real lives by setting it in a “fake” world so it gets through the brains of people who definitely wouldn’t go to a movie about slavery or sharecropping or genocide on purpose.
I think this speaks to part of why “genre” art (movies, books, tv, etc.) is considered lesser by mainstream critics and society. Some of the strongest critiques of bigotry, white supremacy, unfettered capitalism, and the like are often found there.
Horror, sci-fi, and fantasy have always been better at this kind of thing than realism—makes sense as humans have always told stories about injustice through parables and fairy tales and the like
Scifi has always been a mirror to the concerns of today. There are plenty of stories that fall to history and some that stand out because they match the future. But a lot of people are reasonably scared about things they write about.
Genre plots are a lot better at naturalistic exposition of systems. Similar to how so many alternative histories are done via detective stories since the world building is less clunky.
My grad school research on Sugar economies in the Caribbean eventually led me to Louisiana, the Southern Tenants Farmer's Union (great anachronistic acronym) and reading on sharecropping. You've made me excited for this movie, beyond it being Coogler directed.
We need more art created this way. It will be a way to teach history to people who don't seek to be educated.
Films have power.
(they have contributed to men thinking that the way of being a man is to be brutal & bullying, indifferent to the feelings of others)
Oh, apparently it’s back up. It seems it was just a server glitch. I’m glad: it’s a good show. (I don’t have a subscription, any more so just looking at coverage.)
yeah there's an entire genre of films about the jim crow south that are often saccharine, sentimental, and don't really get into oppression except as a mechanism for redeeming the white protagonists, does that help?
Thanks for replying. Yes, that helps but why are you comparing Sinners to that genre? Doesn’t sound like they intended to be accurate and Sinners isn’t a “race film” by the definition you gave.
Are you familiar with the long-standing efforts to re-write history in the South? I had not been aware of the extent it had been put forward prior to this VOX episode.
Yes, I’m familiar. The federal government is institutionalizing the effort by removing references to historical black achievement on federal sites. The radical right has demonized DEI and CRT, and wants to ban books that accurately describe the atrocities of American History.
That said, Sinners isn’t a race movie. I would’ve been less disturbed if the OP referenced the accuracy of Sinners relative to other fictional horror movies or fictional films based on historical events. Race movies do not seem to be a relevant comparator for Sinners imo.
Sinners would be a standout period piece even if the horror elements were completely absent. It's to its credit that we go nearly an hour before we encounter the hook, yet it feels appropriately paced.
I LOVED IT - and woo boy does it have me examining my own (white) lifelong consumption of Black culture. so much to learn from this incredible - and yes, fun - film and I plan to see it again and again
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(Brit here, so forgivable....)
And there's a massive wealth of superstitious shit to use there too
I went into this movie open minded…i honestly ignored the vampire part with the exception of “you not gonna invite me in”
And I highly recommend this film to all. Even to those who don’t like vampire films
Watchmen and the Tulsa race massacre...
Genre pieces picking up slack for what school is supposed to do.
https://youtu.be/EXKnL3uhIdk
Films have power.
(they have contributed to men thinking that the way of being a man is to be brutal & bullying, indifferent to the feelings of others)
IDK about no one. At least all the cool people are all doin' it.
Are you familiar with the long-standing efforts to re-write history in the South? I had not been aware of the extent it had been put forward prior to this VOX episode.
https://youtu.be/dOkFXPblLpU?si=NyYXh7wo7G_1Why5
I hate it.