SINNERS WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME 😭🙏🏾
Added 2025-08-03 17:41:43 +0000 UTCThis is the quick stream of consciousness analysis I wrote and sent to my sister after reading some of yall’s comments and thinking about Sinners all day. This movie got me bout to mess around and write a paper for no one and no reason 💀
Comments
Oh! I've put this on my list!! I actually haven't seen Sorry To Bother You either (even though I've had it in my queue forever!)
Alanda
2025-08-16 22:05:24 +0000 UTCI also gotta say, this kind of analysis and exploration just reinforces my hope that you get to Blindspotting (2018) some day. If I were really dreaming big that would also lead to the TV show sequel (2021-2023). My pitch would be that in 2018 the Bay area had a cultural moment at the movies. The mainstream hit was, of course, Ryan Coogler's Black Panther. The hip indie hit was Sorry to Bother You. The third movie, which didn't get as much acclaim but was still notable, was Blindspotting.
Tyler Foster
2025-08-05 17:34:03 +0000 UTCOh absolutely! I was actually just thinking about this theme of asserting control/power through a kind of consumptive ownership and, when left unchecked, the inevitability of cannibalism. (I'm watching zombie horror again and there's similar thematic exploration)
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:58:31 +0000 UTCThis is very interesting. Especially in the context of this unique ownership deal Coogler signed with the studio for the rights to this film. ART IS LIFE, LIFE IS ART!!!
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:38:31 +0000 UTC🥰🥰🥰 That makes me so happy to hear!
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:34:02 +0000 UTCthank you! I think Annie might be one of my favorite fictional characters ever! 😭😭😭
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:33:54 +0000 UTCWell there’s nowhere in the world where human beings reside that’s untouched by human brutality. The goal of media that examines human atrocity/injustice/“evil” (and any critical analysis we do around that media) is not to encourage us to abandon our lives in search of some elusive utopia. The goal is to be aware of the reality of our history and our current circumstances. To acknowledge the context in which we live our lives so that we’re able to mitigate harm, avoid repeating our worst mistakes, and progress toward something better. I think there are a lot of powerful messages in the film, but the one that’s most obvious, for me, is that everyone suffers under the reality of these systems, even those who benefit from whiteness, and yet the desire/power to carve out a life for ourselves doesn’t vanish or placidly submit to that suffering. 💛
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:30:55 +0000 UTC🥹🥰
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:22:25 +0000 UTC😭🙂↕️💛
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:21:55 +0000 UTC🙂↕️👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:21:01 +0000 UTCRight! I think it's really important that those who suffer in the film are not immune to perpetuating harm! Yes, you were bitten. And didn't ask to be! But you still bit someone else! You still killed someone else! And whether or not it's intended to harm is largely irrelevant, because people are suffering nonetheless.
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:20:01 +0000 UTC🙂↕️🙂↕️
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:15:17 +0000 UTCOh that sounds like a great read! I didn't really register it while I was watching, but during the edit I noticed all of these really incredible shifts in the aspect ratio. I was having intense emotional/sensory reactions to these narrowing/widening views without even realizing that the scope of my perspective had changed. Just incredibly agile storytelling!
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:14:22 +0000 UTCThat's really lovely of you to say, and I'm so glad you got something from it. I almost didn't post this, because I didn't anyone would be that interested, but I love that we've all shared some of the same responses to this story and how we view our lives against it.
Alanda
2025-08-05 04:00:52 +0000 UTCOh these women are phenomenal characters fr! Such disparate experiences, but they have so much in common too!
Alanda
2025-08-05 03:56:58 +0000 UTCso glad you enjoyed it! This movie will really crawl in your brain and take over your consciousness 😭😭😭
Alanda
2025-08-05 03:54:55 +0000 UTCsooooo muccchhhhhh!!!! 😭😭😭
Alanda
2025-08-05 03:52:09 +0000 UTCLOL 😭😭😭
Alanda
2025-08-05 03:51:13 +0000 UTComg standing with you in spirit, love! 😭😭😭💛💛💛
Alanda
2025-08-05 03:50:53 +0000 UTC🥹💛
Alanda
2025-08-05 03:49:32 +0000 UTCabsolutely! It's one of those pieces of storytelling that you can see/think about for a very long time, and still discover new things that illustrate/examine its messaging! My lil ramble isn't even the tip of the iceberg! I'm just so happy to have this movie!
Alanda
2025-08-05 03:49:09 +0000 UTCI would take it one step further back only to say it starts with a need to consume. Or rather a subconscious inability to recognize when "you've had enough." In the literal case of vampires, it's blood. In the context of the metaphor, it's societal resources. I would also say that in practice, it's not unique to capitalism. Within any system, an actor ultimately assumes control. It's inevitable to keep any system intact. It's there that hunger and corruption take root.
RC Flores
2025-08-04 12:59:27 +0000 UTCI'm so glad you watch Sinners, Ryan Cougler is Awesome!!!!!!
angelia blackson
2025-08-04 11:29:47 +0000 UTCTo your point, Smoke tells Annie in her shop that he hasn't seen any magic, only power, and power comes from money. But in the end, as Hogwood begs for his life, he offers Smoke money, and Smoke kills him. He realizes that money is nothing and family is everything.
Christina Perdue
2025-08-04 08:34:09 +0000 UTCBest movie of the year
Christina Perdue
2025-08-04 08:27:02 +0000 UTCI admit that someone else's comments (sadly I don't remember who) pointed me in the direction of this interpretation, so I can't take credit, but I love that within Sinners you can also see Coogler's experiences as a young Black creative who is both trying to make independently financed original movies while also being part of the biggest and most corporate Hollywood studio around, working on the world's biggest franchise (even if the MCU appears to be running out of steam). In some ways it might be more expected to make Smoke and Stack the two halves of the equation but instead it's Sammie and Stack. Hollywood wants his talent, with the promise that through them he can live forever, as long as he gives up his independence to be part of the collective, and maybe look the other way when that collective absorbs and absolves some moral and ethical monsters along the way, like Hogwood. And Coogler doesn't even deny that there is a truth to that, if you accept those conditions. Stack lives a life that works for Stack, and so does Sammie, and Coogler is both of them simultaneously.
Tyler Foster
2025-08-04 05:52:36 +0000 UTCi am absolutely loving the content we’re getting over here. 🤍
earthangel
2025-08-04 04:31:34 +0000 UTCMs. Alanda, you did that ma’am. Your analysis is very beautifully written, and I love it! I recently spoke with my mother about Sinners as my second watch was with her and her first time watch. These are the very things we discussed, and I spoke about how Annie was my favorite character. It was how she carried herself and accepted her reality. The love she had not only for her husband and child, but for those around her. She used her knowledge to try to protect them, especially after Stack’s death. She felt for Smoke, but she recognized the urgency to remove his body to protect the people that were still inside. She was the real MVP of the film.
LaTrese Harris
2025-08-04 04:24:17 +0000 UTCSo, which country are you planning to move to then? If America's so inherently evil?
Nell Sun
2025-08-04 04:18:41 +0000 UTCUgh you genius you
Quinton
2025-08-04 03:48:10 +0000 UTCAlanda, you are already my wife in my head due to your humor, calming energy, warm smile, and empathetic heart -- now you are adding analytical writer and historian to the mix? Total package, indeed. 💖
Mo Mi
2025-08-04 02:57:37 +0000 UTCOkay, this was a slay and made me like the movie even more 😭 making Remmick Irish was an interesting choice too, part of a group which had historically been subjugated and face prejudice in the US and UK, to show that even those who have experienced oppression can become the oppressors to others
Daniel McGuinness
2025-08-04 01:50:49 +0000 UTCOne of my friends is creating a class focused on the spirituality, history, and the importance of music as a form of communication/storytelling throughout history. He’s seen this movie so many times he can quote it word for word and has also seen new things he didn’t notice each time.
Brandy Henry
2025-08-04 00:20:44 +0000 UTCI really liked how he chose an Irish man as the main villain. The Irish in America were treated quite poorly when our ancestors first immigrated. 'Luck of the Irish' is a good example. It was used as derogatory term to diminish the accomplishments of Irish Americans. Implying we could only ever achieve anything if it was purely due to luck. Yet, as Irish Americans, were part of the majority now and continue to perpetuate those injustices on others. Tragically continuing the cycle of hatred and abuse. Brilliant choice for the villain.
David
2025-08-03 23:33:52 +0000 UTC💯 !!!!!
Patrick Anthony
2025-08-03 22:54:37 +0000 UTCI've already paused multiple times to read this. If you've got more please do post it as well. I'd love to read it.
Nyssa Rawther 🍉
2025-08-03 22:47:27 +0000 UTCI'd read it!
YoursUNTRULY
2025-08-03 22:31:19 +0000 UTCOoh! And let's not forget watching Slim transmute and distill his pain into music in real time. There's so much to it, I would personally love to read your paper!
treasure.evolution
2025-08-03 20:13:54 +0000 UTCwhat an amazing amazing dissection of Sinners' themes. I myself am still baffled by the visual sumpstiousness. Currently writing something about the rhythm of its visual aesthetics, especially in the first half of the movie, and how those aesthetics fluctuate between fragmentation and linear narrative (poetry and prose) even within a scene. Where a movie like Raven Jackson's 'All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt' I would say is unflinchingly poetic, Sinners in its' depiction of how black folks are moving through the atmosphere dips in and out of convention (filmic and literary) which fits perfectly with its' themes.
Kirwyn Sutherland
2025-08-03 20:01:21 +0000 UTCAlanda, that was an absolutely wonderful read, and you made so many great points. It really made me think about a lot of my own experiences throughout the past half century, and it helped me to better understand just why I have valued specific friendships and relationships above and beyond so many others. That's all I'll type here, as I don't want to share so much of my personal thoughts and feelings online, nor do I want to become a distraction from all you shared here. Thank you.
Tim D.
2025-08-03 19:32:21 +0000 UTCI would love to see you dive deeper into the 4 women of Sinners. They each offer so much to think about and discuss.
Vicki M
2025-08-03 19:24:05 +0000 UTCHOLD ON- she's a writer and historian! Seriously! That was beautifully written and insightful. You delved into the deeper layers of social identity and historical oppression that make this movie so poetic and real at the same time.
Ana Fox
2025-08-03 18:46:38 +0000 UTCThe movie is everything, really. The music, the characters. The way each character gets introduced is perfect! Love reading what you have written. I very much understand how this movie can't leave your mind!
Dominik
2025-08-03 18:43:28 +0000 UTCOne more thing Still on my mind regularly two months later - still not tired of the soundtrack. Still in awe over the real and authentic representation of so many characters.
Simone Cherie
2025-08-03 18:39:44 +0000 UTCIt's that kind of movie! My friends and I have had endless discussions about freedom and what it means to be free. Stack at the end saying they *were* free that day. Does he mean he no longer feels free or is he just free in a different way? Or was he talking about communal freedom? There's so much to unpack.
Waylon Jordan
2025-08-03 18:37:57 +0000 UTCThe substance is phenomenal
Joe
2025-08-03 18:34:46 +0000 UTCNoooowwwwww what if I told you that Remmick has a lot in common with a Puss In Boots: The Last Wish character? I wanna just live in Cooglers mind for a minute.
RinCaimo
2025-08-03 18:31:37 +0000 UTCMy food got cold reading through this whole thing lol but that’s ok. You write damn well. Lmk if you’ll be free to help me with defending my proposed dissertation 😂
Quinn
2025-08-03 18:21:55 +0000 UTCThis is telling me I gotta watch your reaction again brb lol
☆Cam☆
2025-08-03 18:20:47 +0000 UTCI would totally read your books if you ever became an author. js
Joe
2025-08-03 18:17:27 +0000 UTCI figured Sinners as whole would have a profound effect on you. I appreciate the fact that it made you look deep beyond it's vampire/ horror movie surface. It's the type of writing that isn't merely blood and gore for the sake of a vapid/predictable jumpscare. Due credit to Coogler for tailoring a movie to the esoteric folk who can see/understand the broader intent of his cinematic storytelling, and gave something very, very special to be fixated/pondered upon. I'm glad the movie compelled you to breakdown the many complex layers of such a unique film and Southern Gothic story. That is how POWERFUL a well conceived/executed idea can be to those who are open to understanding it.
Santiago Hardy
2025-08-03 18:16:39 +0000 UTCThank you, lovely! It’s a bit scattered and undeveloped but the ideas are there! 🥹💛
Alanda
2025-08-03 18:11:39 +0000 UTCLITERALLLYYYYYYY 😭😭😭 Im begging my brain throughout the day to think of something else but its so satisfying to analyze 🤧
Alanda
2025-08-03 18:09:20 +0000 UTCFantastic writing.
AP
2025-08-03 18:08:02 +0000 UTCRound of applause 🙌
The Cinema With James
2025-08-03 18:06:04 +0000 UTCThe English degree I earned almost two decades ago and have done nothing with rocketed to the fore of my consciousness after watching this movie. I wrote pages and pages of notes, marveling at the symbolism and the metaphors, the allegories and fables, and how all of them were seamlessly melded into a world at once both alien and sadly too familiar. I haven't been able to STOP thinking about this movie since my first viewing (which was 20+ viewings ago). This is one case in which the hype is both deserved and yet not nearly enough.
Aidan Halliwell
2025-08-03 18:05:49 +0000 UTCI didn’t even touch on Remmick like LAWD! That’s a paper in and of itself! EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS MOVIE IS PHENOMENAL 😭
Alanda
2025-08-03 17:56:37 +0000 UTCRight like I couldn’t say ANYTHING even while I was watching it because I was equal parts overwhelmed and immersed
Alanda
2025-08-03 17:54:34 +0000 UTCI wrote one after seeing it in theaters three times. I’m 37 and not in school for film at all 🤣 I love this movie so much!
Shay Tuck
2025-08-03 17:52:41 +0000 UTCNo like the way I could talk about Sinners FOREVER like there’s so much to unpack about it😭😭😭 truly PEEEEEAAAAAAK CINEMA. Also the parallels between Remmick & Sammie’s dad like ooooo‼️‼️‼️ also it’s was very refreshing to see a (black)movie, especially one so popular, where Christianity wasn’t the savior(Remmick reciting The Lord’s Prayer with Sammie, Sammie’s dad wanting Sam to give up music when to Sammie, that’s what saved his life) & to see other practices be shown in a respected light(Annie our QUEEN being respected & loved in her community & not some “crazy witch doctor”) because PERIOD😭 like believe what you want but the chokehold this yt man religion has on our community & how it’s practiced be so depressing sometimes😭😭😭
bribricutie3
2025-08-03 17:52:27 +0000 UTCThis doesn’t get too deep with it, cause it’s more general thoughts on theme, but good lord this movie is ripe for analysis!!
Alanda
2025-08-03 17:51:35 +0000 UTCthis movie is so beautiful, heartbreaking and so powerful...I haven't stopped thinking about it ever since it came out and I saw it. I watch any and every commentary video about it that I can find! you know we would be seated if you decided to make another video just to properly express your feelings and thoughts about this video because after anyone watches it their mind is all over the place ❤️
world of tinashe
2025-08-03 17:50:27 +0000 UTCLike this is just the tip of the iceberg 😭
Alanda
2025-08-03 17:49:28 +0000 UTCLike I feel like my viewing experience was pretty sedate, but the after effects?!? Gotta watch it again
Alanda
2025-08-03 17:48:57 +0000 UTCOmg 😭
Alanda
2025-08-03 17:47:52 +0000 UTCNot me actually pausing the video so I can fully read it! It’s a film I’ve been analyzing since I first watched it in the theater! It’s a brilliant piece!
Drama King
2025-08-03 17:47:03 +0000 UTCROGERINA SHEBERT
Joe
2025-08-03 17:46:20 +0000 UTCI CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS!!!!! Your thoughts in the moment are always so insightful anyway but after giving you time to sit and process your feelings and get them written down, I'm sure you're gonna have some very enlightening takes on this phenomenal movie!!
Cosmic Giraffe
2025-08-03 17:45:39 +0000 UTCSHES A FILM CRITIC. OKAY ROGER SHE-BERT.
misery (the pig) 🐖
2025-08-03 17:45:21 +0000 UTCryan coogler did RESEARCH. this movie has so many layers i did the exact same thing with my brother 😭😭
nathan h
2025-08-03 17:45:16 +0000 UTCThis is exactly what film should do!
Ev 180
2025-08-03 17:45:05 +0000 UTCIt got her in a whole discovering journey 😭✋🏼
Nicolas Loewenstein
2025-08-03 17:44:48 +0000 UTCI saw Sinners alone in theaters and cried for the last 30 minutes of the film. And then I drove home and cried the entire 20 minute drive. I couldn't figure out why I was so moved until like a week later. But yea, Sinners spoke to me on a molecular level.
Lailah Johnson
2025-08-03 17:44:36 +0000 UTCOmg, I love when I can talk about movies with someone and fully express the thoughts I didn’t even know had on the messaging and themes. It’s so fun lol.
Destiny 🩵
2025-08-03 17:44:28 +0000 UTCSo many levels!
John
2025-08-03 17:44:18 +0000 UTCnow she preaching
Joe
2025-08-03 17:44:03 +0000 UTCGirllll 😭 video essay when???
Lunacr8tr
2025-08-03 17:43:34 +0000 UTCwrite the paper! i wrote one for the substance for myself 😭😭
Tyler Jones
2025-08-03 17:43:19 +0000 UTC
