The Daily Tism

Autistic man needs to point out historical inaccuracies in film or no one else will

Added 2025-06-13 10:00:06 +0000 UTC

Piece by Andrew Hickey, Image Shutterstock

An autistic man “spoiling” a historical film by highlighting every inaccuracy and anachronism has called his interventions “tough but necessary”, in a statement released today.

Jack Harrington, 46, was moved to make the statement after seeing the critical acclaim and rapturous audience response to Ryan Coogler's hit film Sinners.

"I was initially willing to give the film a chance," he said. “Even when they played Wang Dang Doodle, a song written by Willie Dixon in 1960, over a scene clearly stated to be set in 1932. After all, that was non-diegetic use of the song, so it can pass.”

"What is completely unacceptable though is that they had the characters talking about 'the blues' and being 'a bluesman’,” continued Harrington. “When everyone knows that in 1932 casual use of 'the blues' would have referred to the classic female-vocal-led vaudeville-influenced styles of a Memphis Minnie, Ma Rainey, or Bessie Smith, not to what was later referred to as the country or Delta blues.”

"Seriously, it's like Ryan Coogler has never read a single book by Elijah Wald. I could have sent him a reading list if he had just consulted me, a 46-year-old white man from Britain, about Black American culture.”

When asked if he had also taken exception to the flying vampires with glowing eyes who can grow razor-sharp talons, Harrington replied, "No, all that stuff was perfectly fine."