Crossroads (1986)

Blues music began by Black folks in the Mississippi Delta. And, depending on who you ask, it was either born from jazz, slavery, or while waiting on a train. It was shaped by the weight of the fields and the shadow of Jim Crow. In its sound went work songs, spirituals, hollers, and the silent grief. In the world of the blues, music was a sanctuary and something to lean on when the law, land, and times delivered less than little comfort.

From this environment emerged the legend of the "Crossroads." Most of us know the tale famously tied to Robert Johnson about talent paid for with a heavy price. Whether these narratives are taken literally or not, the common theme they express is the reality that created the blues: Nothing comes without sacrifice. When films go to "crossroads," they try to tell the history of the blues through the ideas and experiences of the people who created it.

Sinners takes that history and grounds its story in the lived experiences, fears, and hopes of the Black communities that shaped the Delta region. The 1986 film Crossroads, by stark contrast, tries to draw from those same traditions, but it ultimately treats its historic culture simply as folklore.

The blues in Crossroads is just a setting for another story that focuses on the “Karate Kid” Ralph Macchio at the height of his career. And it strays far from the culture that created the music. The two together reveal something about how film can either honor a legacy with clarity or turn it into something that’s easier, safer, and a lot less closely associated with the people responsible for bringing the blues into the world.