Dive deep into the hidden gems and historical references that make this supernatural thriller so compelling! From symbolic color choices to real-world historical connections, we're uncovering the layers of meaning you might have overlooked in this gripping tale of vampires, blues music, and racial tension in the American South.
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00:00Our own juke joint, for us and by us.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at easter eggs, historical references, and small details you likely missed in Ryan Coogler's Sinners.
00:13There will be spoilers.
00:15They called me preacher boy, counting my daddy being the pastor.
00:20Number 10. Stack's Modern Look
00:22In a mid-credits scene, Stack and Mary pay a visit to an elderly Sammy, now played by real-life blues legend Buddy Guy.
00:33It's been 60 years since that fateful night, which is apparent in the vampire's new wardrobes.
00:38Stack's look in particular screams 1992.
00:42We get the sense that Stack is a Spike Lee fan, with a style akin to Radio Raheem's.
00:47Most notably, Stack has brass knuckles that spell out his name.
00:51It's similar to the love and hate knuckle rings that Radio sports.
00:55It was with this hand that Kane iced his brother.
01:00Love.
01:02These five fingers, they go straight to the soul of man.
01:06The right hand.
01:08The hand of love.
01:09In Do the Right Thing, Radio's murder sparks a riot that results in Sal's pizzeria burning down.
01:15Similarly, Stack's death, or changing into a vampire, marks a turning point with the juke joint eventually being set ablaze.
01:23This is the way.
01:25Together.
01:27Number 9. Significance of the Segregated Stores
01:29In the film, the local grocery stores are operated by a Chinese-American couple, Grace and Bo Chow.
01:36Why you gotta come here bringing trouble?
01:37Trouble ain't all he bringing.
01:39According to production designer Hannah Buechler, this set piece drew inspiration from Min Sang & Co. Grocery, a real-life business based in the Mississippi Delta region.
01:48Numerous Chinese-American-owned shops arose across the South during this period.
01:52And working alongside our mom and dad was seven days a week.
01:58This being the Jim Crow era, Chinese immigrants found themselves in the middle of a segregated social landscape.
02:04Although an anti-Asian sentiment existed, this smaller Chinese community wasn't as easily categorized in a predominantly black and white society.
02:12This put Chinese store owners in a unique position to accommodate Caucasian and African-American customers.
02:18Hence why the Chows have two shops across the street from one another, just like Min Sang.
02:24Mama, Daddy wants you.
02:27Number 8. Wakanda Forever
02:29Before Sinners, Hannah Buechler collaborated with director Ryan Coogler on Black Panther, which won her an Academy Award.
02:36Buechler and Coogler returned for Wakanda Forever.
02:39Unfortunately, the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman loomed over the sequel's production.
02:43They have lost their protector.
02:47Sinners features a tribute to Boseman in Jedediah's church.
02:50On a wall are three crosses.
02:52The rough sawn beams holding them are separated by 33 inches, the same age Jesus was when he died.
02:59First Corinthians 10, 13.
03:05Read.
03:06The crosses are positioned to represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
03:10Buechler also arranged the crossed beams above after the Wakanda Forever gesture.
03:15This Easter egg was for Boseman.
03:17It's fitting that T'Challa would be looking down on Sammy, as both have Killmonger for a cousin.
03:22You ain't the son of a king, you are the son of a murderer!
03:24Buechler's son!
03:25Number 7.
03:26A Candyman Crossover
03:27As mentioned before, the mid-credits scene flashes forward six decades to 1992.
03:33More specifically, the scene takes place on October 16th, 1992.
03:38This is an important date in horror movie history, marking the release of the original Candyman.
03:43Who is that?
03:48Helen, I came for you.
03:52Sinners shares a few other parallels to that classic.
03:55Both are grounded in African-American history, with the titular Candyman being an enslaved person
04:00who was murdered over his relationship with a white woman.
04:03The two films also have the backdrop of Chicago in common.
04:06While Sinners mainly takes place in Mississippi,
04:09Smoke and Stack spent some time in Chicago working for Al Capone.
04:12I heard about some of them casinos up there. Y'all hit a big?
04:18We hit.
04:19Just not the way you're thinking.
04:20The Windy City is also where Stack finds Sammy years later,
04:24and just in time to catch a midnight screening of Candyman.
04:28Come with me and be immortal.
04:31Number 6.
04:32Mary Passing
04:33Passing was a term associated with black, often mixed-race individuals identifying as white
04:39to be accepted in a predominantly prejudiced society.
04:42Although she appears white, Mary is multiracial.
04:47You know I waited for you.
04:48I don't know how in the hell you gonna do that.
04:50Because you told me you loved me.
04:52Likewise, actress Haley Steinfeld is part African-American on her grandfather's side.
04:56Mary doesn't strive to pass for white,
04:59as she's open about her heritage and isn't afraid to associate with African-Americans.
05:03When she's turned into a vampire, though, Mary does pass herself off as a living human.
05:15Cornbread?
05:16Mary is also the first juke joint patron who gets turned into a vampire,
05:29emphasizing how she can effortlessly cross between the white and black communities.
05:33In another ironic twist, Mary tells Stack early on to rot in hell,
05:38foreshadowing that both will soon be bonded in eternal damnation.
05:42Number 5. Smoke's Final Smoke
05:46Shortly before his death, Smoke has a smoke.
05:49His hands shake as he rolls the cigarette,
05:52which makes sense given what he's been through.
05:58If you paid close attention, though,
06:01you might have noticed that Smoke always had trouble rolling his own cigs.
06:04That's why Stack would hand him one, but his brother isn't by his side anymore.
06:08Following his last stand, Smoke sees a vision of Annie and their daughter.
06:12Annie tells Smoke to put out the cigarette and hold his daughter,
06:21calling him by his given name, Elijah.
06:23In doing so, Smoke leaves his old life behind in more ways than one,
06:28finally able to be Elijah in death.
06:31Conversely, Stack can never be Elias,
06:34eternally walking the earth as a vampire.
06:36I can make it so you can stick around, keep touring, keep living.
06:43Number 4. The Sawmill's Bloodstain
06:45Just as vampires can put up a deceitful front,
06:48another enemy was hiding in plain sight.
06:51The Moore brothers convert a sawmill into a juke joint,
06:53buying the property from Hogwood.
06:55You boys twins?
06:58Nah, we cousins.
07:00It's later revealed that Hogwood isn't just a racist.
07:03He's a Klan leader,
07:04planning to launch a massacre at dawn.
07:07Hogwood's intent was foreshadowed early on
07:09when the brothers arrived at the premises,
07:11noticing the bloodstained floors.
07:13Y'all wash these floors?
07:16Yeah.
07:18What was on them?
07:18Since accidents are bound to occur at sawmills,
07:24the dirty floorboard seemed innocent enough.
07:27Knowing Hogwood's evil plan,
07:29it becomes apparent that this isn't the first time
07:31the sawmill has been a kill zone.
07:33It will be the last time,
07:35as smoke spills the Klan's blood on the site.
07:44Number 3.
07:46Sammy Dances with the Devil
07:47After the bloodbath,
07:49Sammy is given a choice,
07:50the church or the blues.
07:53Drop the guitar, Sammy.
07:56Sammy chooses his guitar,
07:58using it as an instrument of empowerment and unity.
08:00In his father's eyes, though,
08:02Sammy is dancing with the devil.
08:04I'll be back in town for service in the morning.
08:08Son?
08:15You keep dancing with the devil.
08:17One day he's going to follow you home.
08:21To an extent,
08:22Sammy's journey parallels a legend linked to blues musicians Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson.
08:27No relation.
08:28It's been said that both Johnsons met the devil at a crossroads.
08:32In each case,
08:33the devil offered to help them master the guitar in exchange for their souls.
08:37Sammy also has a demonic encounter upon reaching a crossroads in his life.
08:41Although Sammy picks his guitar over the cross,
08:44he doesn't sell his soul.
08:45Even when Stack offers him immortality years later,
08:49Sammy is led not into temptation.
08:51I think I've seen enough of this place.
08:54Number 2.
08:55Colonization Commentary
08:56The juke joint not only serves as a beacon for the delta blues,
09:00but various music styles from the past and present rooted in black culture.
09:04I love you, blues.
09:06Well, somebody take me.
09:09When an Irish vampire named Remick shows up,
09:13he seeks to claim Sammy's sound as his own.
09:17You wouldn't mind us coming in now, would you?
09:19Those inside the joint must fight for their lives, culture, and identities.
09:24One can easily draw connections to colonization,
09:27a subject that the indigenous vampire hunters who were initially chasing Remick are familiar with.
09:31God forbid you let him into your home.
09:34And if so, we need to act now.
09:38There's also a clear nod to cultural appropriation,
09:41as many white artists throughout history have adopted Jara's trailblaze by black musicians.
09:46Offering immortality,
09:48Remick is reminiscent of a sleazy record producer
09:50who presents what seems like an enticing contract.
09:54But the devil is hidden in the details.
09:56You don't need to do that, sir.
09:59We'll be on our way.
10:01But we're going to walk real slow.
10:06Just in case y'all change your mind.
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10:25Number 1. Red and Blue
10:27Played by Michael B. Jordan,
10:29Twins Smoke and Stackmore
10:30may appear to be one and the same.
10:32Their real names even reference a single prophet
10:35who was known as Elijah and Elias.
10:37Nigga, it is me.
10:39Elias Moore.
10:41There are a few differences.
10:43Stack is the hot-headed brother,
10:44while Smoke is calmer and has a gentler side
10:47that only a select few recognize.
10:49You won't make me say it.
10:55It still hurts coming back here.
10:57This is reflected in their outfits,
10:59with Stack wearing heated red colors
11:01and Smoke draped in a soothing blue.
11:03Both brothers live violent lives, however.
11:06By the end,
11:07Smoke has been stripped of his blue attire,
11:09now covered in red blood.
11:11As he takes his dying breath,
11:13Smoke can finally find peace.
11:15Stack can never find such peace.
11:17His eternal existence defined by the color red.
11:21I think that was the best day of my life.
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