“Sinners” reading and media list

After seeing Ryan Coogler’s film a second time, I decided to compile a list of suggested media and literature to help me better understand the film’s complex tapestry. I have compiled a list of films, songs, and books (fiction and nonfiction) to explore to better understand or complement the movie. Sinners as a film represents one of those rare pieces of art that truly encapsulates multiculturalism, artistry, and history.

Movies

Ganja and Hess (1973)

Black people making films about vampires is nothing new, and you know if you heard of Blackula, but we are not talking about that film. Instead, we will discuss a gem buried in the archives of Black film, called Ganja and Hess. Bill Gunn directed this movie during the 70s. It is labeled as a Blaxploitation film, but some people contest calling it that due to its depth and complexity as a film. The movie is about an anthropologist, Hess, who gets stabbed by an ancient dagger from an African civilization lost in time. He struggles with his new vampiric life as he falls in love with a woman by the name of Ganja. This movie is a dark and erotic love story that is filled with seduction, prestige, and death, all blended with a touch of the Black church tradition instead of using Catholicism as we are used to seeing in vampire movies.

Mudbound (2017)

A movie like Sinners is set in the Jim Crow South; however, instead of 1932, it’s set in the 1940s after World War II. Where two families, one white and another black, have a very complex relationship within their homes and with each other. It deals with the trauma of war and discrimination in the world of Sharecroppers. Definitely a film I would suggest in relation to the experiences of Smoke and Stacks. Many soldiers were Black and did not receive fair treatment when they returned home.

Novels, Short Stories, and Poetry

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

Written by one of the greatest Sci-Fi writers and a woman rooted in African American culture, Octavia Butler. This was her last novel, written before she passed away. It is a novel about vampires, but not in the traditional sense; instead, it is told from a scientific perspective, painting the vampires as a divergent species from humans in the process of evolution. It follows a fifty-year-old vampire who still takes on the image of a vampire, and she is Black. I won’t give too much of the story away, but I highly suggest a companion to read along with Sinners as stories written by Black people about vampires. However, I will warn you that there are some weird aspects of the story.

Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

As we speak about Hoodoo in conjunction with Annie in Sinners, I highly suggest reading this novel. It is the story of multiple generations of women and their lives during and after enslavement in the South. The main character is a conjure woman and was taught about hoodoo by her mom, and remains in a black community on a forgotten plantation where she remains as the community’s midwife and healer. This novel does not portray hoodoo as merely black magic or something to harm others, but also illustrates the complexity of the system and its potential for both good and evil.

Echo Tree by Henry Dumas

Sinners is set in Mississippi, but it also includes references to Arkansas, which is closely connected to Mississippi culture. A lesser-known writer from this region is Henry Dumas, a writer whose life was taken too soon, sadly, due to police brutality. He was part of the Black Aesthetics movement and wrote beautiful narratives that were filled with Afro-diasporic myth and religion rooted in Southern tradition. This book is a collection of stories he wrote throughout his short career.

Native Son by Richard Wright

Richard Wright, a Mississippi native who spent time in Arkansas and Chicago. He is known as a dark and gritty writer who showcases the nihilism within the Black Male psyche. Native Son is considered Wright’s magnum opus, which details the life of a man named Bigger living in Chicago and is a Mississippi immigrant. The story reveals that the life of African Americans in the North was not as perfect as it may have seemed, as Smoke and Stacks discussed in the movie.

Uncle Tom’s Children by Richard Wright

While Native Son was the magnum opus, Uncle Tom’s Children was the predecessor; a collection of short stories that display the harsh realities of Jim Crow and Black’s retaliation toward these threats. The stories are set in the 1930s and are excellent representations of Smoke (If you know you know).

Penguin Book of Irish Poetry by Patrick Crotty

This is a collection of poems from Ireland, dating back to pre-Christian times and continuing into modern times. This is a good way to understand Remmick and be introduced to Irish literature.

The Epic of Sunjata by David Conrad

A West African epic originating from the ancient Mali empire. It follows the tale of the first king of Mali. This book is mentioned because it is a tale constantly told by griots throughout the region.

Nonfiction

African American Religion: A Very Short Introduction by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

One of the central themes of Sinners is African American religion. If one wants to understand the complexities of African American religious tradition in a short amount of time, this is the book for you.

Slave Religion by Albert J. Raboteau

Want a deeper understanding of the unique history of African American Christianity? This is the book that gives you an in-depth look into its formation.

Black Magic by Yvonne Chireau

This book speaks more about the complex history of Hoodoo, from the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all. It shows how it was used for healing and to harm.

The Color Complex by Kathy Russell

Discussing the issue of race and its impact on African Americans. The book does a deep dive into race as a caste system and the history of race mixing within the Americas. This is a valuable topic to explore in relation to the complexity of race, particularly through the character of Mary.

The Scotch-Irish: A Social History by James Graham Leyburn

This is an area of study I am not familiar with, so I had to ask one of my good friends and colleagues, Taegen. I noticed that many were confused about Remmick’s Irish heritage and how it related to the South. Many are unaware of the Scotch-Irish heritage in Appalachia, a prominent region of the South. A considerable number of those who live there are of Scotch-Irish descent. This book covers their history from Europe to America.

Music

To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar

Follows the theme of the devil tempting musicians. This is a recurring concept in African American tradition.

I will leave it here and might put out a part two for this list. Please enjoy!