Visiting sites of the blues that influenced "Sinners"
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Composer Ludwig Göransson, filmmaker Ryan Coogler, guitarist and singer Buddy Guy and Brandon Pope during the Q&A for the Chicago screening of "Sinners." Photo: Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images
The Warner Bros. movie "Sinners" is introducing a new generation to the importance of blues and juke joints in a 1930s segregated United States.
The big picture: Black history is facing attack today as states pass laws limiting the discussion of racism in schools and the Trump administration purges history websites, but "Sinners" is encouraging some to find that history with maps, playlists and a little research.
- "Sinners" follows twin brothers Elijah "Smoke" and Elias "Stack" Moore, both played by Michael B. Jordan, who return home to Clarksdale, Mississippi, after years in Chicago's criminal underworld.
- The World War I veterans use stolen mafia money to set up a rural juke joint in a building purchased from a Ku Klux Klan member, but their plans get thwarted after white vampires surround the party.
State of play: Though the movie was filmed in the Louisiana communities of Donaldsonville, Braithwaite and St Bernard Parish, it's set in 1932 Clarksdale, Mississippi, during the height of prohibition and Jim Crow.
- Fans today can take an inexpensive drive through the regions and uncover the many overlooked stories on how the blues helped reshape American culture and transformed Black life.
Zoom in: Mississippi has mapped the Blues Trail, to be explored with a Spotify playlist and an app that guides you through essential sites of musicians, clubs and homes.
- Sites often have markers telling you the importance of the locations and how what happened there later influenced the world.
- Mississippi also has its own tamale festival and a Mississippi Delta Hot Tamale Trail, where visitors can see famous and historic tamale sites. In "Sinners," residents of Claksdale walk by a store selling hot tamales.
- Visitors can pay their respects to Charley Patton, the pioneering Black Native American bluesman, who is buried in Holly Ridge, Mississippi. Patton's guitar is mentioned in "Sinners."
The intrigue: To get close to the haints (Southern word for ghosts) as mentioned in "Sinners," brave visitors can visit the Beauregard Cemetery in Beauregard, Mississippi.
- That's where legendary bluesman Robert Johnson studied under blues guitarist Isaiah "Ike" Zimmerman, at midnight, where, as the saying goes, no matter how bad you play, "ain't nobody gonna complain."
- Or you can find the "Crossroads" where Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the Devil to become the world's best blues guitarist.
- The Crossroads is either at the intersection of Mississippi's Highways 61 and 49, in Clarksdale or somewhere else, depending on who you ask.
Between the lines: "Sinners" is set in one of the poorest regions of the United States today.
- Clarksdale has no movie theater for residents to see the film, per Capital B. News.
- The movie has grossed $248 million worldwide since it was released on April 18, per Box Office Mojo.
What we're watching: Clarksdale's community leaders have launched a petition to the cast of "Sinners" to host a screening and celebration in the town that inspired the film's storyline.
- Residents want more attention and visitors so they can capitalize on the rich history and the interests sparked by the horror flick.
More from Axios:
The rise of Black heritage tourism
Tamales and the blues: Latino links to Black American music and cuisine
