Alex Beightol, May 2, 2025
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Total # of views as of May 14, 2025 at 9:08 AM EST - 158,667
Total # of comments as of May 14, 2025 at 9:08 AM EST - 1,563
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WARNING- This showcase vlog and many of that vlog's discussion thread comments (including some that are quoted below in this pancocojams' post) include spoilers for the movie Sinners (i.e. information about the plot of that movie.)
****
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams posts showcases a YouTube vlog hosted by Alex Beightol about the fictional character Mary, a White passing woman in Ryan Coogler's 2025 hit movie Sinners. That vlog and its discussion thread focus on Mary passing for White in the 1930s United States South. Vlogger Alex Bightol also discusses the fact that- like the fictional character Mary she portrays- actress Hailee Steinfeld has a multiracial family ancestry. Also, like Mary, Hailee Steinfeld physically looks like a White woman. In that YouTube vlog Alex Bightol discusses the subjects of the "one drop of Black blood" law, "passing for White", "White passing", and "white presenting" in Ryan Coogler's Sinners movie.
In addition, this pancocojams post features selected comments from the discussion thread* of Alex Bightol's vlog in which commenters share their personal experiences with those subjects and share the names of additional American movies, books, television shows etc. that revolve around those subjects.
As background to those selected comments, this pancocojams post includes information about the movie Sinners as well as the United States' definitions of racial terms that inform fictional works and refer to real life experiences in historical and present day United States.
*That showcased vlog's discussion thread also includes numerous comments from people (mostly in the United States)'s real life experiences of family members passing for White, and/or their real life experiences of White passing and/or being White presenting. However, while I highly recommend reading those comments, that sub-section of comments from that vlog's discussion thread aren't included in this pancocojams post's compilation.)
Thanks to Ryan Coogler, Hailee Steinfeld and all those who are associated with the movie Sinners. Thanks to Alex Beightol, the host of the YouTube vlog that is embedded in this pancocojams post. Also, thanks to all those who are quoted in this pancocojams post.
A lot of commenters in this discussion thread shared their personal experiences being White passing or being a part of families with White passing members. This discussion thread is recommended reading for those who want to learn more about this subject.
****
DEFINITIONS OF CERTAIN TERMS USED IN THESE FEATURED COMMENTS
These are my wording for these terms (gleaned from various online sources)
Definition #1- the "one drop of Black blood" rule: a term in the United States that stipulates that any known African black ancestry makes a person Black no matter how that person looks or how long ago they descended from a person of Black ancestry.
**
Definition #2- "Passing for White": a term that refers to the actions and/or results of a person who physically appears to be White and chooses to permanently or temporarily cross over into the White race and live as a White person.
**
Definition #3 - "White passing": a referent for a person of color (POC), who choses to passes for White [read definition #2]
**
Definition #4 - "White presenting": a referent for a person of color who appears to be White to other people but does not deny their biracial or multiracial background and doesn't permanently or temporarily pass for White (read definition #1).
-snip-
Read comment #36 below for similar meanings for definitions #2, #3, and #4 .
****
INFORMATION ABOUT RYAN COOGLER'S MOVIE "SINNERS"
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinners_(2025_film [retriieved on May 14, 2025]
"Sinners is a 2025 American musical horror film[4][5][6] produced, written, and directed by Ryan Coogler.[7] Set in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta, the film stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twin brothers who return to their hometown to start again, only to be confronted by a supernatural evil. The film co-stars Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, and Delroy Lindo.
Sinners was theatrically released in the United States on April 18, 2025 by Warner Bros. Pictures.[8] Critics praised Coogler's direction, Göransson's score, and the cast performances, and the film has grossed over $287 million worldwide, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 2025."...
****SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR THIS EMBEDDED VLOG
This is only a small sample of the comments on the subject of the one drop of Black blood" rule, "passing for White", "White passing" and "White presenting" that are found in the discussion thread for Alex Beightol's vlog episode entitled "Hailee Steinfield's Blackness" which is embedded in this pancocojams' post.
As a reminder, some of these comments contain spoilers about Ryan Coogle's movie Sinners
These comments are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
All of these comments are from May 2, 2025- May 14, 2025.
1. @jessicaruby1ify
"Stellar video. You explained Hailey's role perfectly. I hope more people see your video. So that when they see the movie, they'll realize that this isn't just a vampire movie; instead, this is a historical film. It's a very sad one, too. Thank you for the upload. 😊 "
**
2. @jlane03
"Thank you for making this video and explaining it so well. I think there were so many people who don't understand her character (and I can tell by all the people saying she should have been played by Zendaya or Jurnee Smollett) or even the concept of passing in that time period"
**
3. @malcolmcarstafhnur832
"This is the most nuanced handling of Mary's character yet. AWESOME Job. I feel as though some people have never heard of passing before. Passing, Passe' Blanche...these are a part of our survival story just as much as anything else"
**
4. @haniyyahn
"Keep in mind that Mary did not materialize out of thin air. However, pale her people were they lived among other Black people, went to school and church with them, etc. They were Black in their small communities where Black and white people know your family and lineage and white anywhere no one knows them like this. And yes on the spiritual death - she is suffering because she is not the person she is pretending to be and her pretending causes constant anxiety for that reason and also because if she slips up she is in real danger. So, a heavy toll on the individual, not just the community. There were also levels of passinng. Many people who could pass did so only when white people assumerd it or when outside of their communities- as to get jobs they coukd not otherwise or the way Mary tried to use it to help darker relatives (keep in mind often that person was the only one in their family who could pass). I dont think she was the group's undoing. I think Grace was. Mary was only interested in (biting) Stack."
**
5. @khalicamoore9512
"The moment she started talking to Stacks, I was like, "Oh sh-t* she's kin." meaning she is black also. I spent my teen years in PA , which operated similar to how the video described the South at that time. I knew a lot of passing latinos and black people and it was always weird how they would interact ,but most worked like a double agent. They would tell the poc who is really part of the kkk, who is racist, and all the f-ed up stuff they would say when we were in the room. However, for most of them, they had relatives in the school and would hear these horrific things they would say about poc some would have their cover blown and directly face social punishments and even lose educational things like their grades and opportunities. It's really horrific and it's something we don't talk about enough. I loved her character because it really showed the ups and downs of passing"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.
**
Reply
6. "She is not black, what is wrong with you"
**
Reply
7. @khalicamoore9512
"@fs6688
1. In the movie, she is a black woman. She is white passing ,meaning
that to white people, they see her as white even though legally and blood wise
she isn't white. An example is Keanu Reeves, David Gallagher, Bella Thorne,and
Mariah Carey. Most white passing people have a percentage of white blood( for
lack of better wording). However, this isn't the case for all as it can be
based off looks.
2. Hailey Steinfield (the actress) is
considered black in the US because any drop of black blood ( around 1/8 or
more) is considered to be a black person in the US. This was an actual supreme
court case, and it still holds today. So even outside of the movie, she is just
considered a white passing black person. Not only is her mother Filipino but
her grandfather is black and Filipino which again makes her a white passing
afro Filipino"
**
8. @A-Oh-Trey
"Ooh, great analysis. Makes me realize
just how intentional Coogler was in having Hailee's character be the one who
ends up giving the vampires an in to invade the juke joint. Mary, who tries to
use her ability to pass in order to bring opportunity back, but ends up losing
her humanity in the process."
**
Reply
9. @coraggio93
"Fascinating. Instead of casting a white
actor, like in the 1950's version of "Imitation of Life", Ryan
Coogler cast an actor who has a mixed race grandfather. Good for Ryan Coogler."
**
Reply
10. @ASocialMediaConsumer
"Imitation of Life, Queenie, Beloved, Their Eyes Were
Watching God, The Wedding, Belle, and several others... this trope is not new.
In fact, it is common in "black" stort-telling. Not to diminish the
reality of the one drop rule... but versions of this character have been on
screen since the very early days of movie making."
**
Reply
11. @lenan5913
"That's true but I think those movies were indies. This is a
blockbuster and has wider reach. Plus it's the first time the actor and
character have both been "passing". They usually choose someone
unambiguously white or black to play the character"
**
Reply
12. @Kind_kelpie1989
"@lenan5913 I take
your point but it’s not the first time they’ve cast “passing” people in this
role. Wentworth Miller and Ruth Nega come to mind but yes, they were not in
block buster films."
**
Reply
13. @across75man75
"Imitation of life, was a huge hit from a major studio in the
50s."
**
Reply
16. @astralyeti
"where was it in their eyes were watching God?"
**
Reply
17. @ASocialMediaConsumer
"@astralyeti The main
character Jaine. She remains in the "blk community," but her
appearance and racial background garnered attention (wanted and unwanted) that
reflect experiences tied to "one drop"."
**
Reply
18. @Vanipollonia1
"Don't forget the movies "Passing", "The Feast
of All Saints", "A House Divided", "Pinky", "Show
Boat", "Lost Boundaries", "Band of Angels", "I
Passed for White", "Illusions", "Devil in a Blue
Dress", "A Family Thing", "The Human Stain", the
character of Allan Willis on the TV show "The Jeffersons", the
episode "Libertyville" on the TV show "Cold Case", &
the episode "Blood" on the TV show "Law & Order"."
**
Reply
19. @cheriebenjamin0315
"Belle the young lady was not White passing or even close.
She was just biracial and in the context of Sinners’ Mary, not the same. The
Wedding was about an interracial couple
very different. Not about being white passing. Imitation of Life is the closest
to touching on it and even to this day people are still confused as to whether
Sarah Jane’s daddy was white or white passing despite it being explained in the
dialogue. Queenie touched on it somewhat but it wasn’t a major focal point of
the film. In Their Eyes Were Watching God I don’t recollect that at all being a
focal point or even in the movie. The only thing you can factor into that is it
starred Halle Berry who we all know her mother is white.
Also why are we calling it a trope when it’s a factor if the black experience? Or do the factors of the black experience in all its parts only matter if the people are darker complexions?
If we’re going to tell the stories we have to tell them all
and can’t cherry pick. That kind of thing is what can lead those who have black
heritage but are white presenting to perhaps not want to mention it and feel
shut out but then when a large collection of black folks find out about that
persons heritage they want to be angry as to why the person didn’t speak on it."
**
Reply
20. @Vanipollonia1
"@ Regarding "Imitation of Life", in the book it is
mentioned that Sarah Jane's father is White but, in the movie, he is described
as "practically White". This is because the decency laws that
dictated what Hollywood could & could not portray in their movies could not
showcase that Sarah Jane was a first-generation biracial person of an
interracial couple. Therefore, the movie changed her father's race to
White-passing. And in "The Wedding", the Shelby character was White-passing
in the book, but Halle Berry played her in the movie."
**
Reply
21. @SuperSonicBaroque
"Don’t forget PINKIE!"
Reply
22. @moriahadams7895
"
**
Reply
23. @Waterfallcreationsevents
"Immigration of life broke me when I watched and it pissed me
off so much"
**
Reply
24. @wysesoserious
"Facts"
**
Reply
25. "@fabrisseterbrugghe8567
"Julie in Showboat was probably one of the first to have this
discussed as part of her character"
**
Reply
26. @Vanipollonia1
"@fabrisseterbrugghe8567 Thanks for bringing up "Showboat"
& Julie. What's interesting is that the character of Julie could have been
played by Lena Horne, but Ava Gardner acquired the role. Ava even thought it
was strange that she got the role & not Lena."
**
Reply
27. @AfriasporaFilms
"Thank you for posting this. Many miss the entire complexity
of Mary’s character because they dismiss her as being white when as you pointed
out she clearly was not. Steinfield’s own background is an even greater layer
of authenticity."
**
28. @jacklyneverage3881
"Thank you for this video! Because folks got on my nerves who
reviewed this film and just misidentified her, didn't understand her character,
blamed her for the vampires getting in."
**
29. @kathiaserrano7740
"Thank you for the insight. They’re so many people watching
this movie through a modern day lens and it’s messing up their view of the
film. Race relations and culture were different back then."
**
30. @anitamuhammad3968
"With this explanation, which is beautiful, it
made me think of the point or name of the movie- (we are all) sinners”."
31. @bishoptl
"Excellent video. I knew Hailee's background before heading into this movie, so I suspected what her role might be, and as soon as it was made clear what her connection to the larger group was, I felt oddly satisfied to be proven correct. The 'one-drop' rule, physical attributes of blackness vs whiteness, passing - all of these aspects of our culture and the wider power structures at large affect all of us every day. Black and white. Thanks for taking the time to break this down for an audience that may not have that knowledge. Earned a new subscriber here."
**
32. @NishiNish5678
"Loved this breakdown because there's a Mary in just about every community. I was confused as to why other people were confused"
**
Reply
33. @triplelife5147
"I think it's a combination of people not knowing their history and a
recent movement to gatekeep Blackness. There's a lot of foolishness online
nowadays."
34. @cliffordrose4335
35. @SimplyBeingTT
"
Thank you for breaking this down for people that need a history lesson, and whose lack of knowledge are coercing uneducated commentary regarding the characters of Annie and Mary. 🖤👊🏽🤎"
**
36. @oldmama8929
"There seems to be a bit of confusion about white, white passing and white presenting. White means there is no PoC heritage in your near ancestry. About two great grandparents . White passing is having PoC near ancestry and being fair enough to 'pass' as white and live a white person, as a 'conscious choice'. White presenting is being fair enough that society 'thinks' you are white, but you have made the choice to live in the PoC community as one of its members. Both choices were frought with danger at the time."
37. @kevkeisha
"Finding people that take issue with Steinfeld's role is
equivalent to a pebble in the ocean. There is significantly more praise for her
role and the movie than dissenting viewpoints. Why give those dissenting
perspectives any energy at all?
To answer my own question, I assume it's because negativity
(especially racism) draws more views..."
**
Reply
38. @abaetol [Alex Beightol, the host of this embedded vlog]
"There are buckets of those pebbles on my TT and in the
comments of Instagram, where people were wondering with genuine curiosity what
her role represented. That role, and its history, touches a nerve that people
do not understand. That history and on going negotiation within our community,
is a hot topic that people are starving to discuss. The energy evident in my
video is to the super fascinating history and the way it shapes social
tensions. But, if you think you have sufficiently answered your own question,
ignore the many comments, views, and ways Hailee’s casting has sparked
conversation. You are free to believe and assume the worst."
39. @Hypegreene05
"
**
40. @tiff6323
**
41. @sxt4447
"My confusion is with everyone else’s confusion. I’ve known
she was a quarter Blasian since she was in True Grit. She never hid her
ancestry. Y’all just didn’t know her or pay attention to her before this movie."
**
42. @dobbyinagluetrap
"Honestly don't know how people missed this. It seemed
obvious when she first interacted with Stack in the train station - they
obviously had more complex history than a simple fling. Then they literally
state her background at the jute joint. The movie TELLS audiences clear as day."
**
Reply
43. @nomdeguerre247
"She's not black either so...what's your point?"
**
Reply
44. @kimbralina3000
"Yes she has black ancestry but she's STILL white, at the
time she would be classed as something different but is still white."
**
Reply
45. @loadishstone
"@kimbralina3000 My god why are you being purposely obtuse?
The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 literally existed. Mary is black specifically
BECAUSE the time and place she was in was the hypodescent south. Did you just
not watch the video even?"
**
Reply
46. @Shadowyartsdirty3
"@dobbyinagluetrap unfortunately some audience members are
resistant to the acquisition of intellectual and nuance. Hence some of the
comments of people saying but "shes not black despite", despite it
literally being explained she's Philipino black."
**
Reply
47. @Ray03595
"She’s white lol. Folks just google what her parents look
like. They are white people, having a small percentage of non-European ancestry
doesn’t change that"
**
Reply
48. @Ray03595
"@Shadowyartsdirty3
she’s not black. She has black ancestry."
**
Reply
49. @AfriasporaFilms
"@ And in the history
of this country that black ancestry was enough to make her black. Black was and
still is a term of INCLUSIVITY. But really we are talking about the character
Mary in the context of the 1930s, NOT the actress today."
**
Reply
50. @G-uu9yf
"@Ray03595 the
CHARACTER in 1930s…"
**
Reply
51. @zoejnobaptiste3332
"@Ray03595 you must
be slow. This person is referring to the character of Mary, not Hailey herself.
The character existing in the 1930's is socially and historically black
regardless of her 'passing'. Everyone knows the actress is white. Why are you
fighting ppl commenting on the character and ignoring the entire context of the
movie? The entire video was dedicated to explaining this but you're here
arguing and missing the point. Hailey is white, yes. Mary, the fictional
character in the 1930's vampire movie is considered black and white passing."
**
52. @sunii4264
"She Black, And, She knows she Black. 1 drop makes them
uncomfortable, in the train station scene,by her proximity, she was boarding
the Colored section of the train. The South has a long memory & Mary wasn't
testing it.
Stack has Mary pass to protect the lives of THEIR WHOLE community; she moved to a whole other state to not endanger her loved ones , lest she offend folk that looked like her & mess their lives up. She was one of many!💜💯"
53. @roxywyndham
"
**
Reply
54. @nopenallnull
"Clock it!"
**
Reply
55. @imo.124
"Nope!"
**
Reply
56. @G-uu9yf
"She doesn’t claim to be black."
Reply
57. @troy511
"
58. @roxywyndham
"
**
Reply
59. @G-uu9yf
"@roxywyndham idk I wouldn’t call them weirdos. It was the
law of this land for a long time, and continued as part of the social fabric of
the country. Most post-slavery and post-colonial countries have some sort of
racial classification system. People aren’t weird for adhering to them once
they’ve become part of culture. Traveling to different parts of South America,
the Caribbean, and Africa, I’ve heard people classify me as so many things (I’m
East African). I don’t really care. But I don’t think it’s dumb. It’s just
history."
**
Reply
60. @desixox
"She’s white, with black in her. But don’t try to erase black
people. Black people can have white in them - but they’re black. She has black
in her, but this is a white woman."
**
Reply
61. @Theemultidimensionalgoddess
"🎯🎯🎯🎯"
**
Reply
62. @bebeade71
"Are we talking about Hailee or Mary? Hailee yes she is White
or Multiracial bc of her Black, White, and the Filipino heritage but Mary
would've been considered a colored in the movie."
**
Reply
63. @sebolai-dd4wo
"@bebeade71 hailee doesnt even look colored....she is
whyte...whats wrong with being whyte?? did i miss something?"
64. @vgibbs12
"Y’all beating the hell out of this horse…let it go it isn’t
that deep. 30 years ago when Jennifer Beals had a similar role in Devil in blue
dress it was relevant but now it’s like whatever. Btw fyi Jennifer Beals dad is
black in real life so…"
65. @brklynrox
**
66. @vw3575
"She looks like the lady who played the ungrateful daughter
Sarah Jane in the classic movie "imitation of life". I googled her
today after movie n showed it to everyone n they freaked out. I understood the
assignment"
67. @CitanulsPumpkin
"
The episode is basically an adaptation of the Hitchcock movie Psycho. Except they took the human serial killer and all the transphobia and replaced it with a paranoia demon who turned the residents of a Los Angeles hotel into a lynch mob.
One of the pivotal scenes is when the main character is talking to a woman who just moved into the hotel. She is a carbon copy of the female lead from the movie Psycho. A former bank employee on the run after walking out of the bank with a duffelbag stuffed with fifty thousand dollars. Except she's not one of the blonde haired blue-eyed swimsuit models Hitchcock put in all his movies. She looks pretty much like Hallie Stienfeld as far as skin tone goes, and she has to explain to the main character, a hundred something year old white male European vampire, what "passing for white" means.
The self-involved melodramatic vampire had to have racism
explained to him. He's all like, "Oh yeah, that racism thing you humans
do. I never got into that. I was too busy having sex with other vampires on top
of piles of dead and dying nuns. So anyway, you were telling me you got fired
because your bank found out you weren't white enough. That's rough."
**
68. @jazmonmctear3705
"Just watched Feast of All Saints and that's a great film to
review for the understanding of the levels and politics of skin tone within the
black community and how prejudice and colorism affects our multimelanated
families worldwide"
69. @theflashfan3234
"
**
70. @AshleighE2589
"If people are getting upset then they
clearly don’t know the history. People like Mary exist lol there’s nothing
confusing about. I watch a lot of old black and white films. My mom got me into
them when I was in high school. Prob way before then. I suggest people watch
“Pinky” and “ imitation of life”. These two movies are exactly what you’re
explaining in this video. Great movies about women passing as white for “better
lives” "
**
71. @mactrek2
"Interesting take. However, you seem to have glossed over the fact that had Mary stayed in the Black community her presence would have put the entire community in danger of being destroyed, as many were. Stax knew this and so did all the other Black people there. It never was just all about Mary. Mary still moved as a privileged white woman in her insistence in being there."
**
72. @hihi615
"I'm somewhat suprised to learn some
people didn't know about the one drop rule or passing people. I thought this
was common knowlege. But then again, many are quite ignorant when it comes to
black history. There were people like
Homer Plessy who changed history. Back in the day, i think if you were at least
1/8th, by law, and i think socially, you were black, as black as any other
black american, with the same laws set against you, unless you hid it. This is
why Mary gives the line "I didn't even wanna be white, I wanted to be with
you" or something like that when she's yelling at Stack because he left
her.
My grandfather's mom was half white, and his dad was fully black (as "fully" as an african american can get anyway, most of us are not fully african in dna but thats for another time). My grandpa and his siblings all look passing if they simply straighten their hair. But never once did anyone think "they werent black" because they grew up in a black area and back then (at least where he lived) it was assumed if you were hanging around black people, you were black.
But my point is that a lot of passing black/mixed people back then went the other route, like Mary. Many lied about/hid their heritage and pretended to be completely white in hopes of a better life/opportunities. This is why sometimes you might see older american white ppl do DNA tests and find an usually large percentage of west african dna, because they probably had a parent or grandparent who was passing and never told anyone."
**
73. @tessa63627
"She's like Jazmine Dubois from Boondocks.
There's even a movie about it (Imitation
of Life, both the 1934 version and the 1959 version. The 1934 version features
an actual passing black actress, and the version i grew up with. I've never
seen the 1959 version though)."
**
74. @iamkrohn
"NYTN (New York to Nashville) also
explores a lot of these old racial constructs by exploring her own family tree.
It is really interesting."
-snip-
"NYTN" is the name of a YouTube channel.
**
75. @MsTy2908
"Yes, the point is its ingrained in foundational black
Americans history in American.. black passing was in Alex Halle Queen, abd
highlights black passing in jim crow days after the civil war"
**
76. @hayleyquinn15
"Thank you for this video. Some people are losing their
minds over the casting but it makes sense to me. Thanks for the History lesson
too! 👌🏽"
**
77. @psimms5190
"I enjoyed your video on Mary, so thoughtfully done. Watching
Sinners brought Lydia Maria Child’s The Quadroons to mind, and you captured
that same complexity so well. You made it clear how deeply the political and
social climate shaped those choices. And the backlash the actress faced was …
awful. First for “taking a Black role,” then for “using her Blackness”? You
handled all of that with such nuance. Great job Alex!"
**
Reply
78. @joyc.e.7511
"I didn't know people were getting so heated about it. This
is why I stay off most social media, people freak out and get upset about the
reality of things."
**
Reply
79. @Danheron2
"@joyc.e.7511 yeah, I read download Tik Tok to discuss this
movies. I thought it was really cool and I didn’t know anyone who watched it
and I was blown away by how many people didn’t know about people like Mary? It
was hilarious. There is one woman who made a video defending her and was like I
never thought I would say this, but a lot of you people are not qualified to
talk about the history of racism 😂"
**
80. @TeXXicJA
"PASSING by Nella Larsen and the movie
Imitation of Life are just 2 works that show the heartbreak of this type of
existence. So glad I was exposed to them at a young age"
**
81. @lucysterling
"I haven’t seen this movie yet, though I do plan to because
it looks amazing, so I didn’t know anything about her character. This is all
super interesting to hear since we read Passing by Nella Larsen in one of my
classes this past year. It adds a whole other layer into the things we talked
about"
****
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