Note: This article contains spoilers.
During the first half-hour of “Sinners,” hundreds of thoughts rushed through my mind, ranging from how gorgeous Miles Caton’s (debut) voice is to wondering how they seamlessly shot Michael B. Jordan (“Creed III”) passing a cigarette to himself. But the thing that stuck out to me the most was the appearance of Bo (Yao, “#LookAtMe”) and Grace (Li Jun Li, “Babylon”) in the film; an Asian American shopkeeping couple in the Deep South. As an Asian American, my personal knowledge of the Asian American diaspora in the early 20th century consisted of the large communities on the West Coast of the United States — not anywhere near Clarksdale, Mississippi. After the film ended, I did some research and discovered that Chinese Americans really did have a presence in the Mississippi Delta at that time.
The spread of Chinese Americans to the Mississippi Delta area began in the late 19th century, as white plantation owners used newly immigrated workers to pick cotton in a similar manner to the recently freed Black slaves. Over time, these Chinese communities began opening their own businesses — grocery stores — in the area, serving both white and Black customers. But still, the Chinese Americans in these Mississippi Delta communities found themselves in limbo; they were not Black, but they were not white either. They were stuck in this awkward middle. This overlooked community played a vital role in small towns across the South, and as such, director Ryan Coogler (“Creed III”) includes them in “Sinners,” providing meaningful, historically accurate representation. Coogler even went so far as recruiting Dolly Li, a documentarian on Asian American history, as a historical consultant in depicting the Chinese American community for the film.
During the climax of “Sinners,” an Asian American character takes center stage. In the scene, vampires surround all sides of the juke joint and Grace, under a spell of fury and desperation due to the torment inflicted on her, allows them to enter, kickstarting a clash between the survivors and the vampires. This scene has resulted in discourse about Grace’s decision to let the vampires in, but more commonly, about Grace herself. Many have pointed to Grace and her ethnic identity as Chinese in a Black-dominated space as a possible metaphor for the complex relationship between Asian and African Americans throughout the history of the U.S. While I believe that any piece of art is open to interpretation, I find this to be a total misreading of Coogler’s intention with “Sinners,” which is a celebration of cultures together.
One of the most breathtaking sequences in “Sinners” is a one-shot take of Sammie performing at the juke joint while the power of his music summons spirits ranging from tribal dancers of the past to hip-hop DJs of the future. But while the musicians of the African diaspora fill the musical number, Coogler highlights another culture as well — the Chinese. While Bo and Grace dance together, the spirit of a traditional Peking opera dancer appears alongside them. This inclusion acts as a subtle but powerful embrace of multiculturalism, with the scene becoming a celebration of unity — in this case, through music. Sammie’s blues song creates a joyous atmosphere inside the joint, but the joy is not merely a product of the music, instead it’s the coming together of cultures across the globe; that is what “Sinners” is truly about.
As for Grace and her decision, the reasoning behind it is really straightforward: She did it because she was a mother.
What people fail to recognize while assessing Grace is what she experienced prior to allowing the vampires to come inside. Not only was she persuaded by Bo (already a vampire at this point) at the entrance, but also by the leader Remmick (Jack O’ Connell, “Back to Black”); both of whom tempted her to step outside and become a vampire alongside them. Losing her husband is one thing already, but Remmick’s words take it a step further when he threatens to attack her daughter and sexually harasses her through a comment in Taishanese — her own language. This violation, one that targeted her culturally, personally and maternally, would push anyone to fury and desperation. For Grace, the threat to her only child and the degrading comment in her own language struck at the deepest parts of her identity as a Chinese American mother, influencing her to do what she did.
Even Coogler himself makes it clear that Grace’s actions were connected to her role as a mother. In an interview with Ballislife, Coogler discusses the reasoning behind allowing the vampires to come in.
“What happened with that character (Grace) was not because the character was Asian, but because that character was a mom,” Coogler said.
Grace made this decision as a mother pushed to the edge, trying to protect the one thing she had left — her daughter. Whether the choice to let the vampires in was wise or not is, of course, left to the viewer, but what shouldn’t be up for interpretation is the motivation behind it. Grace acted out of love, fear and instinct; she shouldn’t be blamed, she should be understood.
Grace is not just grappling with the duty of saving her daughter, however, as she is also coping with a fear of losing her connection to home. Even though they owned grocery stores to serve the community, Grace and Bo still lived in this limbo of being Chinese American in the Mississippi Delta. For Grace, the only connections she still had to her home and ancestry in China were her husband and daughter. And at this point, her connections were already either taken away or gravely threatened; her husband had already been turned into a vampire, and her daughter was at risk of becoming one too. Even Remmick speaking in Taishanese twisted her own language and culture against her. The emotions she experienced didn’t just stem from the pressure of protecting her daughter, but the fear of cultural disconnect and preserving her connection to home as well.
“Sinners” isn’t just about the celebration of cultures, but the power of one’s connection to their culture. The film confronts the lingering repercussions and scars of white supremacy in the United States: the presence and danger of the KKK, the need for a safe space for African Americans and, in this case, the limbo that Chinese Americans found themselves in within these communities. Embracing one’s culture allows one to stay connected to their heritage and identity. Yet, “Sinners” is more than just recognizing one’s own culture. It’s about the recognition of other cultures, and the power of community. That is what motivated Coogler to represent Chinese Americans in the Mississippi Delta in “Sinners.” In the same interview with Ballislife, Coogler talks about the importance of the relationship between Asian and African Americans. He notes that the history between the two groups is truthfully filled with tension, which overshadows the more positive connections.
“I think that the history that involves tension gets a lot more attention than the history that involves love. And that, for me, in this movie man, that’s the relationship of love,” Coogler said.
Now more than ever, it is evident that solidarity between communities, whether it be Asian Americans, African Americans or any such diaspora in this country, is important in building a brighter future. Like the juke joint scene in “Sinners,” we must embrace cultures and unity, and we can do so draped in song, dance and celebration.
Daily Arts Writer JC Rafal can be reached at rafaljc@umich.edu.
