Gold Mine Processing Associate Janis Tedrow recommends the film Sinners produced and directed by Ryan Coogler.
In the film Sinners, two brothers during the 1930s Jim Crow set out to purchase a barn on a former slave plantation in order to open a juke joint. On the journey, they invite friends to work there, and it becomes an immediate success.
One of the old friends is a piano player. On his way to this new music venue, he meets Sammie, a young man whose father is a preacher. Sammie’s father wants him to become a preacher, but Sammie has bigger dreams of becoming a blues musician. Sammie is very talented, playing the mandolin and singing beautifully.
My favorite scene in the movie is when the patrons are dancing and singing. The scene takes the viewer on a historical journey from black music’s roots in Africa all the way through to modern hip hop and rap. Even though this movie focuses on the history of black music, it is a horror film with an underlining theme.
Then, white vampires show up and want to take over the town. The vampires stand for the monstrosity of racism, and the draining of life from the black community. Their goal is to keep the black community in chains, stopping upward mobility–a new kind of Ku Klux Klan.
The director’s vision is to illustrate through story the horrors of racism and its oppression on the black community. In addition, the idea of dying naturally is a fair price to pay for a life well lived.
I really enjoyed the movie, and the music was a high point. The film’s promotion of black music history is extremely interesting. The used of the vampire motif to explain racism and oppression was interesting to say the least. Overall, this is an excellent educational movie.
