#Omar Benson Miller

[luckydiorxoxo]

Li Jun Li, Jayme Lawson, Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, Omar Benson Miller, Ryan Coogler, Miles Caton and Jack O'Connell attend the ‘SINNERS’ premiere

[jastervhett]

Sinners (2025)

…What it looks like when you get a pair of Jordans®….

Sinners (2025)

[stevefriel1988]

An autograph I ordered from eBay arrived today. I love Omar Benson Miller, what a guy.

[concrete-and-fishnets]

No amount of talking about this movie is enough

[creativitybeware]

Just saw Sinners. The way I have to see the movie again cause it’s THAT good. The main message? Keep that door SHUT

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Sinners

Just when you thought this genre of horror had nothing new to offer. Last year's Nosferatu was a love letter to the classic dark gothic nature of vampires, but this film delivered something that hasn't been explored in ages. The majority of vampire stories take place in the cold and cloudy plains of the Europe, but the more darker and grittier stories lie in the deep south. It dirty, hot, crime ridden and filled with struggle and especially during the Jim Crow era. The lore of hidden monsters and creatures of the night run rampant in the south and what better setting for a horror film could you ask for? The brilliance of this film is the outstanding layers of storytelling going on throughout. Everything from religious beliefs, racial divides and parallels, the growth of business in the prohibition era and the heart of music that started with the Blues was on display. I can do a whole essay on the deep intricacies of the social climate and significance of this film and how all of it was handled from such a brilliant and young writer and director. This was complete package of a film that is brought magically to life by an Oscar caliber cast that shepherd a new talent to the forefront.

Miles Caton gives a breakout performance as Sammie "Preacher Boy" Moore, the focal point of the story. Not only does Miles nail the charm of a dreamer that has aspirations leaving the small town struggle, but he captures that coming of age aspect of Sammie. Sammie steals your heart and soul the moment he starts to play and his voice is truly hypnotizing. He was a humble boy, but by the film's end, he becomes a troubled and scarred man. Michael B. Jordan does double duty as Sammie’s twin cousins, Elijah "Smoke" and Elias "Stack" Moore and he doesn't disappoint. Smoke was the strong, straight forward and deadly soldier of the twins that was always about business. Stack was the smooth talking, wise cracking, salesman that could sale a fish water and I loved every second of his comedic timing. Each character was a wonderful highlight of Jordan's commanding presence, charm and fun personality. Together they were not to messed with and immediately drew your attention. Who knew one man could have such great chemistry with himself. Wunmi Mosaku is always amazing and as Smoke's love interest, Annie, they were a strong mature couple that brought out the heart of the film and in Elijah. Their story was so heartbreaking and yet filled with so much love.

Hailee Steinfeld dazzles as Mary and steals almost all of her scenes. Her insane chemistry with Stack was filled with passion and fire. I loved how she could cut through the barrier Elias puts up and finds the real man behind the playboy exterior. Jayme Lawson was sweet as the love interest for Sammie, Pearline. Their chemistry was innocent and fun the moment they met and I loved where it went. Omar Benson Miller was a loveable and loyal giant, Cornbread. Omar always brings a sense of fun to the screen and he does that in spades here. Li Jun Li and Yao were great as the married couple Grace and Bo Chow. Through them you get the extra layer of life experience as a minority in the south and I loved how parallel their story ran together with the twins. The passion of Grace, no matter how detriment it was to everyone else, was exceptional. Jack O'Connell rounds out the cast as the main vampire, Remmick. Now he was a special type of vampire that I truly loved. Not only was he so intoxicating, but he was a wordsmith. He tackles the racial divide of the south in such a way that was so smooth and brilliantly said that I nearly stood out of my chair in applause. Was he evil? Sure. He wasn't as malevolent as he could've been, but rather jovial and that was a huge surprise for me. Jack's performance made Remmick a new favorite villain of mine.

The director's frequent collaborator Ludwig Göransson delivers another unforgettable score that is infused with every element of Southern Blues and it was magical. Not only does he capture the the dirty and sweaty aspect of the Blues, but also soulful influence it has had on the Black culture and Black music over generations. There is one amazing scene that shows this and it was mesmerizing to witness. Visually, this film was absolutely stunning to witness on the IMAX screen as the format was correctly used. The right amount of grain and flaring of the image was astounding in the direct sunlight throughout the film. It gave it that old timey look and especially at night in the more dimmer scenes. Writer and Director Ryan Coogler has delivered another astounding masterpiece of a film that bends, folds and mixes so many genres in such a wonderful melting pot of a story. Its another technical marvel of directing and a true representation of the darker layer of the Blues, scary lore of the deep south and of Black culture. This is a must see in the IMAX format whenever and wherever you can! Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[capnsaveahoe]

🖤🩸🧛

Pedro Pascal via IG

[cray-cray-anime]

I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T NOTICE THEY PUT THE TURTLES VOICE ACTORS AS CAMEO

[iamjupitersbaby]

[tyger-land]

[turtlesoup1990]

Some of Raphael's voice actors

[neverscreens]

— SINNERS, (2025). 4K TRAILER.

Like or reblog if it was useful, every interaction shows us that we should keep making screencaps for y'all ♡

[blackinperiodfilms]

Sinners | Official Trailer

From Ryan Coogler—director of “Black Panther” and “Creed”—and starring Michael B. Jordan comes a new vision of fear: “Sinners.”

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Coogler, “Sinners” stars Jordan (the “Black Panther” and “Creed” franchises) in a dual role, joined by Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld (“Bumblebee,” “True Grit”), Jack O’Connell (“Ferrari”), Wunmi Mosaku (“Passenger”), Jayme Lawson (“The Woman King”), Omar Benson Miller (“True Lies”) and Delroy Lindo (“Da 5 Bloods”).

Only in theaters March 7.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

Some new fandom/fanfiction writing thoughts from me...

Author's Note:

This is just some thoughts I needed to get out because they kept me from finishing my Vampire!Terry Richmond Fic and forced me to start writing my "Sinners" fic I hadn't planned on dropping until April, but my spirit was moved to write by some aspects of the media hype of the "Sinners" new movie trailer release. It's stream of consciousness straight from the hip for Black History Month, so let ya girl cook!

Who remembers this movie?

Do you remember this dynamic duo? (Yes Dr. Karen Jenson!)

Do you remember what happened to most of the "Blade" fanfictions in that fandom as the series progressed (even into television)... and who got centered instead of Blade/Karen Jenson?

Blade essentially became a secondary character in his own franchise. He stopped knowing other Black folks, too. Even the writer of the original franchise David S. Goyer confessed that the studio wanted Blade to be white from jump.

Bitch...whut?

Others have written of this before with the Blade franchise. I personally have lamented the missed opportunity to expand the role of the sexy, beautiful, dark-skinned genius hematologist, Dr. Karen Jenson, played by the gorgeous and talented N'Bushe Wright. Who is still fine just so you know:

The de-centering of Black characters from their own leading roles in fandom is nothing new. Y'all remember this oldey but goodey?:

Remember how they did our girl Abbie Mills (played by the lovely and fabulous actress, Nicole Beharie)? She was the heart of the show with great chemistry between her and Ichabod (Tom Milson). But the Sleepy Hollow Showrunners started centering this heaux:

They even brought in Ichie and Katrina's old ass son Henry Parrish/Jeremy Crane:

Baybee, me and a ton of other Black women were OVER the sidelining of Abbie Mills. Don't even get me started on how they did baby girl by writing her off her own show. Soon it was looking like this:

Chile when I tell y'all Black women rode in like the Sin Eaters on that show and burned that bitch to the ground! No Abbie Mills? No more Nicole Beharie? Alright, bet. Nan one of you hoes is working then. The industry treated Nicole so bad after that show. She was blacklisted and experienced a hostile work environment with that American flavored soup du jour: racism. A recent book, "Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood", broke down all the horrors Nicole Beharie went through bts.

Here was a show that gained popularity because of BLACK WOMEN. We started the weekly Tweet storms, chatted to each other, wrote fics, did panels about it at fandom conferences (I spoke on some and attended a few myself about the TV series). It was a sexy multicultural cast, a literal crack fic come to life that first season.

But then...the centering of whiteness rears its ugly head and ruins nice things.

Which brings me to the new "Sinners" movie trailer release, and my fears at seeing a lot of the media hype online (thumbnail photos, clips etc) pushing Hailee Stenfield a lot more than Michael B. Jordan (in a double role as twins!) or even the other Black women characters in the trailer.

They got Wunmi Mosaku in this bitch with Jayme Lawson.

You know Wunmi, right?

Marvel Wunmi in the Loki TV Series:

Lovecraft Country Wunmi:

Wunmi with Idris in "Luther" Season 5:

Then there's the exquisite Jayme Lawson from "MLK/X: Genius" with our new fic king at the moment, Aaron Pierre. He plays Malcolm X and she is Dr. Betty Shabazz:

Jayme playing the Queen in "The Woman King":

Jayme as the mayor in "The Batman" (she could be our next Angela Bassett with her acting range and beauty!):

Now, about that elephant in the room for me personally.

Hailee Steinfeld and Jack O'Connell.

Their images are everywhere, often more so than images of the star Michael B. Jordan. Twitter (I will never call it X), Threads, Bluesky, YouTube, TikTok et al, have them hyped up to the point where I'm worried that it will turn into a Blade situation. The white characters overshadowing the central Black one.

Of course, they're playing the vampires. The bad guys. The ones we want to see the Black people vanquish. Some bad guys are sexy if we're being honest (cough--Killmonger--cough). Life in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the birthplace of the Blues, is tough enough with racism, lynchings, prohibition...just white people nonsense in general, let alone white vampires. A horror movie has to have compelling antagonists to keep our interests. But again, the overshadowing of Michael in some places...

On IMDB, Hailee is listed first as the star, then comes Jack O'Connell, and then Michael B. Jordan. Y'all, the two white actors are listed first BEFORE Michael is. I don't care if Hailee was nominated for an Oscar at fourteen. (Black people should know by now the Oscars are highschool popularity contests for white people, and every now and then they throw a bone at negroes who act circles around them on any given day.)

How is Wallace Vince Killmonger Adonis Creed John Clark (aka Muffin to me), listed third in his own goddamn movie? Maybe this will change when the movie comes out, but...excuse me?

Give me a minute. I need to sip some tea to calm down.

I barely see Wunmi in online hype, and she has been in some pretty high profile roles the last few years, especially in superhero action projects. And it looks like she plays a Hoodoo practioner (like myself). I want to see more of her promoted too. Like why can't I see a photo of this on more fandom websites?

That question was rhetorical. We all know why.

The centering of whiteness even in Black spaces.

I already know the fanfiction that will be churned out soon by non-Black people. Shippings of Mary/Remmick (Steinfeld and O'Connell's characters in the movie). There will be the I/R shipping of Mary and Stack (Steinfeld and Jordan) because the ads are playing up their sexy juke joint dance everywhere. I'm beginning to get a sense of deja vu...a la Blade/Sleepy Hollow decentering vibes.

The trailer all but gave away most of the plot in terms of what the Black characters will be up against during Prohibition Mississippi. Moonshine and Monsters, with sprinklings of Black American Blues music, both real history and the myths of it with Robert Johnson/Crossroads energy. And clearly Mary, who starts off as human, will get turned into a vampire like Remmick...and then run off to dance with hot, sweaty negroes tryna have their own goddamn fun away from white racism and the dangers of white women turning into the o.g. Karen's of their day. Smh. Can't have nothing without white characters slithering in and causing chaos as usual, lol! (I'm looking at you Agent Ross in the Black Panther fandom, you dirty C.I.A. infiltrator!) Plus there's always some dumb Black man willing to risk it all for unseasoned coochie putting every other Black person in his community in danger.

I mean, even in real life, Black people can't even access DEI opportunities without white women taking all the spots. Now I gotta watch DEI Mary-the-vampire mess up Black people's good times? The horror!

Now I'm just fussing. America recently voted the orange racist/fascist menace back into the white house, and he brought his incompetent white people and their Pee-oh-See lackeys. (One day we have to have a conversation about why so many Indians from India in this country-- and their children-- side with white racism and use anti-Blackness to move ahead in America.) I'm a little salty with white folks right now, not gonna lie. We saw those voting exit polls where only Black women and Black men overwhelmingly voted for the correct side of history to try and stop the Magats by any means necessary with the little we had to work with. Forgive me if I'm grumbling and projecting this onto a fictional movie. Two beautiful dark-skinned women are also love interests in the film (based on the trailer), but I can't find them promoted as much as the white vampires? I don't like it.

Listen, I used to do screenwriting. I helped friends make short films for festivals. I also screened films to help choose projects for the L.A. Film Festival when that was still a thing when I was a member of Film Independent. I've done screenwriting fellowships, too. I understand film marketing, and the work it takes trying to get the largest audience possible to see a movie by pushing the big names or face draws to a project.

But...

I want Black things centered in "Sinners". In the long run it will be, because...Ryan Coogler is that dude.

I want this rambling lament to be a call to other Black fic writers who plan on seeing the film to write your asses off after you see it, and even before you see it based off the trailer. I want hundreds, if not thousands of "Sinners" fics stretching out the worldbuilding we'll soon see on the screen. Heck, I already have a prequel fic started that I want to post in the next few days once I finish it. @nahimjustfeelingit-writes has one out already, and I saw a couple more by other writers floating down my TL.

I want Smoke and Stack and their world steeped in Blackness so that they won't be isolated or damn near relegated to a corner like Blade or Abbie Mills was among their world of supernatural shenanigans by the end of their onscreen run.

I hope we write so much that no one would dare try to push these other Black characters aside. There's so much richness to work with: the Blues guitar singer (who has a fucking banjo inside the core of his magical guitar!), the Hoodoo woman, the Black sexy female love interest that Jayme plays, Delroy Lindo's piano player and his Native wife (I'm guessing), and even the Asian woman (probably descended from the Chinese railroad workers in Mississippi) . We need all the fics telling so many stories in this "Sinners" world.

Granted, fic writers are free to write what they want. Black writers will take a side Black character and create a whole universe for them outside of the main characters in a predominately white film/fandom. But that's only because Black characters are always set aside, shunned, or written in racist/stereotypical ways. They are often fetishized, turned into brutes, or given so much less time in the front. Me writing all this is not saying that non-Black writers can't write stories about Mary or Remmick or anyone they choose. They write/appropriate what they want anyway, so it doesn't matter. I'm only interested in what Black fic writers are going to create

I want to be selfish and see Wunmi and Jayme heralded and pined over even if their characters aren't used as much as Hailee's in the film. I want us to have our shine finally. I want "Sinners" fics that reflect that.

I want to see more Black fics with Black characters paired with Black characters.

I want Black fic readers discovering this new fandom and finding new writers and new stories celebrating us.

I want this movie to succeed and everyone who goes to see it having a good, scary, time.

I want to see Muffin show out in his first period piece. Dressed casket sharp with gold teeth, lol!

I want Black fic writers to be able to write Black horror period piece stories that aren't rooted in Black trauma. There will be so many magical/supernatural things to write about in "Sinners" that we don't even have to touch on the horrors of historic white racism in America if we don't want to.

I promise you, Black people back then experienced joy, wonder, falling in love, and going up against antagonists that weren't always white people or white racism, or even the remnants of our enslaved past. The Klan ain't got to show up! Lol! Hell, white people don't even have to show up in your story. Coogler even hinted that there were more things other than vampires going on in the movie. We'll see. But my point is, we can create "Sinners" fics that Black readers won't have to fear dwelling on Black trauma porn as a plot point.

So...my fellow MBJ/Coogler fans...can we write the hell out of this new fandom? Revel in Blackness? Enjoy our latest entry into the vampire genre?

I would love to hear people's thoughts after they see the movie in April!

Last thought: If you know of some "Sinners" fics, share them!

[nade2308]

@whumpgifathon | Day 13: Aesthetic

"CSI: Miami", season 10, episode 3 "Blown Away", Ryan Wolfe

Worried H for his people will never cease to make me feel things. I love how often he puts himself into danger to make sure his people are okay. One such case is driving through a tornado to get to Ryan and Walter.

@thethistlegirl

[xineohp18]

My First Movie Analysis- Sinners

**SPOILER ALERT**

Just in time for Easter, Ryan Coogler delivers to us Sinners, a movie set in Mississippi in 1932. This movie is beyond amazing. I feel like I've said that so much since seeing it last night. I keep having new revelations every time I talk through my thoughts, so let me dive in with as much as I can articulate at the moment, shall we?

From the beginning of the film, we learn that some people possess a gift of music that is known to conjure up evil. I can't recall what they called these people, but the movie does show native groups, including Native Americans and tribes somewhere in Africa.

Upon researching this, I found an article by Pavielle The Purpose Church from 2023 titled Exposing Deception Pt 2: The Supernatural Power in Music. It immediately jumped out to me that they point out Samuel 16:23 which discusses that "an evil spirit was tormenting Saul, but when David played his lyre...King Saul was able to rest and relax and experience relief from the torment because the evil spirit would leave." Is this perhaps where Sammy (Preacher Boy)--played by Miles Caton--gets his name? Is this what he ultimately does in his career??

Then we're introduced to Smoke and Stack--played by Michael B. Jordan. They're clearly known to be some bad ass dudes. Nobody wants to cross them. People are afraid of them and/or respect them. As the movie goes on, we get to better understand them individually and see their duality.

Something I didn't initially peep is how Smoke wore blue and Stack wore red. I already know red can signify evil (which made it interesting that this was the only color available for their sign, as well). When I googled "meaning behind blue," I got that it "generally symboliz[es] calmness, peace, and trust[.]"

We learn they left for Chicago--possibly hoping for a better life or getting away from the troubles at home. Stack used to be beaten by their father--which I picked up on even when they pick up Sammy and ask him how his dad is treating him. Smoke and Stack feel they can start over by moving back home with loads of money after working for Al Capone; they had been gone for 7 years.

Both Smoke and Stack have love interests. Smoke is in love with Annie, a black woman who might be from Louisiana or at least has roots from there. Possibly she's a Voodoo Priestess ? We're introduced to her selling medicine to children. We learn that her and Smoke lost a baby.

Stack had some kind of entanglement with a white woman, Mary, who it seems he's been dodging all of these years. (So many characters with Biblical names...) Mary's mom used to take care of the twins--which I'm still pondering on because Mary said she nursed them, which is odd for a white woman in those times. But this also gives this kind of savior story, now that I think about it. It is clear that because of Mary's mom, she's considered family amongst the sharecroppers/non-white community there.

We also meet Grace and her husband and their daughter--a Chinese family who owns stores in this black community (sound familiar?). We're introduced to Cornbread, who has a pregnant wife, and to Pearline, who's married but flirting with Sammy.

We constantly see Sammy attracted to sinners. He seems to be more attracted to Stack than Smoke, and his lusting for Pearline--a married singer who's always seen out wandering like she's single. (It's interesting how we see her pain and death highlighted when she's a vampire at the climax of the movie.) I don't know why, but she gives me Shug from-The-Color-Purple vibes lol.

It ultimately ends being a LONG night. Sammy's dad warned him that morning: If he kept playing with the devil, he just might bring him home--and that he does.

We meet Remmick appearing to fall from the sky, burning in the sun. He goes to a random house and let's them know he is running from Native Americans. I can't remember what he called them exactly, but we see the Klansman garb inside the house. The racial slur resonates with these bigots, who--despite this man burning in the sun in front of them--believe his sap story and let him in. When the Native Americans show up to potentially save them, the wife's hatred and belief of this burning white man makes her turn them away. In a beautiful fashion, the Native American man prays that God be with her, and they get out of there before the sun goes down.

Now my daughter wanted to understand how the Native Americans knew Remmick was a vampire. She really wanted Remmick's backstory. I felt it was essentially the same way Annie sensed the vampires were evil. Their 3rd eye can see clearly, if you will. Also, the element of the Native Americans and Chinese family show to me that this--the evil the movie is spotlighting--isn't just black and white.

Racial hate and greed for gold--money--ultimately get the white couple turned.

Later that evening at the juke joint, it is ultimately a white woman, money, and greed that bring evil upon everyone there.

Sammy's music lures the vampires to the juke joint. His music is that conduit for spirits, and we see what I think is the dopest scene in the movie: Sammy singing and future musicians and everyone's ancestors and lineage dancing throughout the juke joint. Eventually, the juke joint walls burn down surrounding them by fire while the vampires watch in thirst.

Despite Smoke turning them away and ordering Cornbread not to let them in, Mary offers Stack to go get him some money from these folks--who Annie has openly expressed give her the heebie-jeebies.

I know Dr. Umar loved seeing this LOL

Mind you, Mary making this offer is happening simultaneously while Smoke is being honorable and telling Sammy the truth about what happened with him and Stack's dad. I think it was here where Smoke mentions their dad was evil.

Later, we learn the guitar Sammy is playing belonged to his evil uncle. And there's clearly something about this guitar because in the after-credits scene in 1992, Stack and Mary are longing to hear Sammy play this mysteriously restored guitar.

We constantly see money as the root of evil. Cornbread is trying to do right by his wife, but she's willing to be dishonored/disrespected if he can make money. Smoke and Stack are just throwing money around. However, Smoke is negotiating and being a businessman. He's even imparting financial literacy on a young girl he pays to watch his truck. Meanwhile, Stack is just flaunting cash. He offers to pay Delta Slim $40/night plus all the beer he can drink to play at their juke joint. That's the equivalent of somewhere around $864.67 - $933.72 today.

Delta Slim is an interesting character. He's a self-proclaimed sinner, but he also tries to do right by people. He's an alcoholic I'm guessing behind the pain he's endured in his life. He puts that pain in his music. At the same time, money lures him in, too, along with this 'coincidentally' Irish beer from the North side of Chicago. But he ultimately sacrifices himself to save Sammy and the others.

The scene of Slim being devoured by the vampires is interesting, and I feel the way he succumbs is strategic, but I can't put words to why just yet. Maybe it was him holding his arms out, like Jesus being crucified...

The Irish beer being from the North Side of Chicago means something to me as a Chicagoan. The North Side is the white side of the city. We already have three white vampires killing everyone. Remmick is Irish, so it's almost like even Smoke and Stack lured in this evil by bringing the devil home with them...

Let's look at these evils that wipe out this group of black--and a couple of brown--people:

-White people--who claim they're saving them and giving them this freer, immortal life

-A white woman--who claims she's so in love with this black man and black people--in part because her granddad was 1/2 black so it's like she feels she's black too ? How often have white women been the cause of pain and death to black people?

-Money--"The root of all evil"

-Liquor--and a foreign liquor at that

How does this parallel with our lives--black lives--in America?

I'm still trying to understand what made Grace invite the vampires in...

My daughter asked "Why vampires?" Vampires were my favorite monsters as a kid. It's something about their attractiveness and ability to lure their victims to their death. Also, their ability to turn others and make more vampires--who can also lure and make more vampires.

Back to the duality of the twins: Smoke is honorable. (I use that adjective a lot because I feel it more strongly as the movie carries on.) Stack is trouble. I think I missed this, but I feel like Stack may have killed their dad (or maybe he was telling Sammy the truth). Either way, he was the trouble-causer and Smoke just loved him dearly and always had his back. This was an AMAZING performance by Michael B. Jordan. AMAZING. Like the look on his face when Mary killed Stack... The pain Michael showed that he was feeling. It was just like I would imagine that as an identical twin, Smoke would literally be feeling Stack's pain. Just amazing...

Then how the twins died: Smoke being an honorable man of his word. Protecting their property and land. Avenging the deaths of his twin and of his woman (and of all those people). Single-handedly slaughtering the Klan. And being able to reunite with his love and their son. While Stack is still trapped in the evil their father imparted on him. A vampire. Soul trapped forever with the evil woman who brought him down. Living forever, but never able to even see the sun.

There's something to Stack having that evil guitar in 1992 after having lied about its origin in 1932. Like even with his twin brother wanting so badly to save him from his suffering, he couldn't. But I was happy to see that he loved his brother so much, he honored his promise to let Sammy live out his life. Is this perhaps showing us that Stack wasn't all bad? There was good in there; he just had to work harder than Smoke to realize it.

Then there's the fact that this evil had to be invited in. I don't have all the words around it just yet, but maybe it's that simple. We have to be weary of what we're inviting into out lives--into our homes.

I think the holiness of Sammy's father gave him a lineage that ultimately saved his soul. He took it for granted almost. He wanted the thrill of being a sinner, not a good ol' preacher's boy from Mississippi. I think his gift and that experience probably made him a better musician. He also could see through the difference in guitars how he could choose good or evil--kind of what Smoke was talking to him about upstairs that night. (He could just play music in the church.)

I'm currently training as a YTT, and this made me think of Patanjali: 'Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional'--or a choice...something like that.

So that's all I got for now. If you read this entire thing: THANK YOU! I can't wait to see this movie again to catch more. Also, I'm looking forward to other thought-provoking takes on the film. I had to get this out there because the two I'd seen so far seemed to have missed so much for the culture...

They thought they were mad about the Superbowl? Just wait until white people realize they've been likened to vampires promising peace but really damning us all...