Abstract
Celebrated as a critical and commercial success, Ryan Coogler’s genre-defying opus Sinners has also been considered as one of the most culturally significant films of 2025. It also promises to be one of the most theologically resonant films of the year. This is evinced not only in its thematic and literary bases but, importantly, in its very audiovisual language and grammar, its stylistic strategies qua film. As reasoned in this essay, Coogler’s film is a rich locus theologicus, a nexus for theological discovery and insight.Sinners kindles the hermeneutical impulse to dialogue with African American/Pan-Africa theologies exemplified by the works of Jame H. Cone, Engelbert Mveng, and Laurenti Magesa, and with other relevant liberationist/praxical perspectives.
Recommended Citation
Sison, Antonio D. CPPS
(2026)
"Piercing the Veil in Sinners: Theological Insights from the Juke Joint,"
Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 30:
Iss.
2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol30/iss2/5
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
VolNum
30
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Africana Studies Commons, African History Commons, American Film Studies Commons, American Literature Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Asian American Studies Commons, Catholic Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, Cultural History Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Ethnomusicology Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Public History Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons, Visual Studies Commons, Women's Studies Commons