‘Sinners’ in the LGBTQIA+ Lens: Introduction

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Sinners has become a cultural phenomenon. Led by big stars like Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld along with Black Panther co-writer and director Ryan Cooglar, of course the film was set up to be a blockbuster hit from the beginning. With incredible music, amazing shots, and absolutely sublime performances from the movie’s main cast, the film became a quick favorite for many audiences. Not only is it a big scale production, with clearly a lot of skill, talent, and passion from its creative team, it has also effortlessly reflected the current times we live in while simultaneously sharing real history and adding in the thrilling aspect of vampires and magic to a country already fraught with tension.

Setting a record with 16 Oscar nominations, Sinners proves that there’s a reason why everyone is still talking about the film. In the current sociopolitical climate, only a year later, the deeply entrenched systemic inequities highlighted in the film are being exposed as foundational U.S. beliefs merely receded, biding their time in the shadows until they felt welcome again. But despite what conservative influencers and pundits would have you believe, the hate that they justify is neither superior, nor even the majority-held value system in this country. 

When billionaires are able to buy entire news outlets, it’s a challenge to know what information being presented to you is true, especially when people are in powerful positions or have built a relationship with their audience based on trust. This trust is being manipulated to peddle not just products, but also ideologies. Sinners opens the door to discuss some of these tactics and provide potential methods of protecting yourself and your community from harm.

The following series is a collaborative analysis of Sinners themes in relation to our real experiences in LGBTQIA+ communities, and what we can learn about how we conduct ourselves and move forward in our collective struggles.