Sinners: Echoes of Tradition

Star Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O’Connell, and Delroy Lindo.
Music Composed by Ludwig Göransson
Cinematography by Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Directed by Ryan Coogler 

When you turn a hard-to-swallow pill into sugar candy with the power of music, even the darkest night can burst into bright sunshine..

Music has been the foundation for the growth of cultures throughout human history. In every art form, it plays a vital role in shaping stories with compelling tones. Like the Shepherd Note, different instruments have a profound effect on our psyche. Each expression in music evokes emotions that subconsciously register both the tact and the act. In Indian traditional artforms: Kathakalakshepa [carried the wisdom of epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana, blending narration with philosophy], Burra Katha [it used sharp wit and humor to highlight social and historical themes], Hari Katha [intertwined music and moral lessons, fostering deep reflection through its poetic storytelling], Janapada, Jangam Katha [performed by wandering poets, brought devotional stories to life through song, reinforcing spiritual traditions], Kathakali, Yaksha Gana, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Kathak… music is the heartbeat that breathes life into performances. Stage dramas, too, rely on music to guide audiences through the story. In Telugu, the blend of prose and poetry gives rise to Pandyam, and across cultures, music strengthens theatrical narratives. The Mahabharata, Ramayana, and other Puranic stories have endured for generations, not just for their wisdom, but because music carries their essence straight into the soul, embedding their legacy deep within us.

Music has a way of soothing the soul while awakening it from the depths of memory’s darkness. Ryan Coogler set out to craft a musical horror film that doesn’t just unsettle… it enrages, exposing the dangers of filling the voids in our hearts and minds with inexcusable hatred. Sinners explores how music should serve as a bridge between souls, not as a tool for division and destruction. If you start dancing to the tunes of the devil, it can easily manipulate you to become a part of its cult, which might offer you something more than the pain you go through in the name of life, but the cost is permanent, the damage to your soul irreversible.

What is the real sin? – Music or Clusterred Thoughts?

Music is not the root cause of sin, but a sinful mind’s clustered thoughts can lead to tunes of bullets that yield only evil outcomes. The destruction of paths doesn’t need music. At the same time, during Pralayam, we believe Lord Shiva will dance to burn the universe to ashes. On the other hand, in one of the stories, Nataraja, he used music to end the darkness. See, how with the change of perspective, the utility of music changes – it can be destructive and constructive, too. Here, music is a metaphor for our thoughts that are guided by temptation. Let’s understand more about it from Sinners perspective.

Shadows of Yearning:

Desire isn’t merely a test of morality. It’s survival, rebellion, and fleeting solace in a world designed to suppress. The Mississippi Delta of the 1930s was a crucible of suffering for Black communities, where oppressive forces loomed at every turn: the exploitative sharecropping system, the suffocating grip of Jim Crow laws, and the ever present specter of violence. In such unforgiving terrain, temptation became more than a vice. It was oxygen, a brief reprieve from despair. Some sought refuge in the illicit, whether through underground music, stolen moments of indulgence, or defiance of religious constraints. But temptation was a double edged sword, capable of granting liberation or leading to ruin, mirroring the external battles that shaped every choice. The story highlights how Afro Americans used music, especially the delta blues, as a spiritual weapon, a means of temporarily escaping suffering and discrimination. The film doesn’t shy away from this tension. Instead, it lays bare the painful reality that desperation can blur the line between survival and self-destruction.

Echoes of Truth:

The blues isn’t just music. It’s resistance, storytelling, and raw, unrestrained truth woven into melody and sorrow. In Sinners, the tension between juke joints and places of worship embodies a more profound conflict – a community caught between belief and purging, redemption and self-expression. While the church calls for purity and restraint, the blues embraces flaws, desires, and agony with open arms, no censorship, no judgment. It’s the kind of music that bleeds honesty, giving voice to those who would otherwise be silenced. Through Sammy’s journey, we see how the blues defy time, shaping not just new genres but generations of souls longing for something real. It’s a force that transcends circumstance, carrying the weight of suffering without ever succumbing to it.

Corruption of Art: 

Art at its purest, holds power. But power, left unguarded, is ripe for exploitation. The film paints a haunting allegory where the essence of music is hunted, evoured by greed, misinterpreted by those who see artistry not as expression, but as profit. The Vampires are depicted not just as blood sucking monsters but as metaphors for systemic oppression and exploitation. A chilling scene shows a local clansman being turned into a vampire, symbolizing how hate and violence are passed down through generations. It’s a cycle, one that traps not only those who wield power but also those desperate enough to become part of the machine. Smoke’s journey epitomizes the brutal reality of those who resist versus those who surrender. The cost of survival in an industry built on extraction is steep, and the film forces the audience to confront a difficult truth – the struggle for artistic integrity is a war without end.

Duality of Human Brain:

Sinners is more of a metaphorical film than a straightforward vampire story. It is more about how, in history, a person seeking refuge became the dictator. In a way, it represents the basis of racial hatred and the dangerous outcomes of racial discrimination. Vampires are not equated to one race, but they are the oppressors of all kinds. You see people walking into juke joint, mostly from the working class. Who work and want to enjoy themselves. At the same time, the devil is lured by this very aspect of naive celebration.

Both twins walk away from their love – one is in pain from the past, the other is in pain due to the future. The blues summoned both demons, didn’t they? One brother needed to handle the past and succumb to its wounds, while the other found a future that keeps him alive but never happy or free of guilt.

Also Read: Killers of the Flower Moon: Inappropriately Humane

In fact, their fates reversed. The carefree and happy going twin became a person hurt by the past yet surviving in the future, while the other let everything go, even his life. The rules of sacrifice are clear here, if you do it for selfish reasons, even accidentally, you will end up struggling with it. You may benefit from a good deed, but when you do it selflessly, you are honored with the ultimate gift you ever wanted. This is, indeed, the duality of human nature, where your naive self wants to enjoy life and find every possible reason to believe in people, while your hardened, pessimistic self wants to despise all and simply get it done.

Technically, Sinners is a spectacle, immersive in its design, striking in its cinematography, and pulsing with a score that feels alive. One of its most unforgettable moments sees Coogler weaving a transcendent fusion of musical history, a visual and sonic tribute to Black artistry that resonates with raw emotion. Yet, not every scene carries the same weight. When the vampires begin singing, the performance feel hollowed out. Their first song, performed by a small group, lacks the soul of the blues. But as the group widens, the second song takes flight breathtaking in its execution. Then comes “The Way to Dublin”, charged with hive-like energy, sung by both black and white vampires. In that moment, their voices merge, bound by power and ancestral memory.

Understanding the convergence of Irish and African musical traditions both of which shaped the blues and country music, foundational elements of American music is key to grasping the film’s deeper significance. It’s a bold, cinematic statement that refuses to hold back.

Michael B. Jordan approached both characters brilliantly. They are not poles apart, yet you can differentiate between the two. You can easily understand the pain behind his swag and tough exterior for one twin, while he is at his carefree best for the other. Hailee Steinfeld managed to leave a mark on us with her appearance in the first frame itself. In fact, every actor did their best, while Miles Carton carried the singer role brilliantly. A few performances did feel cardboardish at times, but overall, it is a solid ensemble movie.

Now, such a brilliantly interlaced film does have flaws in writing, as it strives to reach the moon, yet the blood scares it. The movie could have been a little more elaborate in the ideology it wanted to portray. In the end, it suggests that freedom cannot be a myth, and true freedom can only be earned when past guilt is completely erased. In the Dwindling Skyscrapers, that is, our memories, those wounds will always stay fresh, and the immortality of pain must give way to a new dawn. This can only happen through the acceptance of culture, art, and traditions as they are. Can we ever truly achieve that? Sinners – or rather, the clustered thoughts within us, will never allow it. Sinners is the true embodiment of the paradox we call life.

Theatrical Trailer: