Sinners and Its Connections To Black History

It’s not often you leave a vampire movie feeling smarter but that’s exactly what happened at the Sinners and Its Wild Ride through Black History event Thursday night at the Woodland. Presented by the Maplewood Film Society and the Maplewood - Division of Arts & Culture, over 300 people turned out to watch Ryan Coogler’s modern day masterpiece and hear Princeton's Khalil Gibran Muhammad, the inaugural Professor of African American Studies and Public Affairs in a conversation led by Trenesa Stanford-Danuser, chief communications officer and chief of staff at Catalyst.

Sinners (currently nominated for a record-breaking 16 Academy Awards) tells the story of two twin brothers trying to leave their troubled past behind. They return to their hometown only to find a greater evil waiting for them. Set around a 1930 juke joint in barn, the film seamlessly weaves from a joyful celebration of Black music to a genre-defying vampire battle.

Though the film was long, everyone stayed in their seats for the privilege of hearing Professor Muhammad’s deeply researched insights that wove from the history of the blues to the economics of cotton sharecroppers to the symbolism of vampires as the promise of a unified culture.

For all in attendance, one thing was clear: From the film’s many jump scares to its euphoric, sweeping musical scenes, Sinners is a film better enjoyed with a crowd. “Thank you so much for coming out tonight to experience this movie all together,” said Professor Muhammad before the talk began.

When asked what he felt was the message at the film’s core, the Professor explained “it serves as context for what we talk about today as Black joy. Even in the midst of terrible suffering and oppression, Black people in those days, in those moments of release, and ecstasy, and joy, and music, were able to be human beings in the fullest sense of the world.”

And joy was what was felt by all on Thursday at the Woodland. As Denuser admitted after the screening, “I nearly jumped out of my seat a couple of times… but I love vampires.”

Thanks to all who came out to join us on Thursday, especially our friends at the SoMA Community Coalition on Race and the Essex County Civics Club.