Kpop Demon Hunters, Sinners, and the resistance in singing our song.

Sinners and Kpop Demon Hunters – two breakout movies of the season – remind us in the power of gathering and raising our voice for collective change.

Note: This piece would be stronger with specific references, but I’d hate to be the one to spoil either film for you! I’m hoping those that have seen either movie can fill in the blanks with what I’m vaguely referring to. Links may have spoilers so click at your own risk.

According to some, we didn’t have a “song of the summer,” a chart-topping bop that reflects the sentiment of the season (last year’s “brat girl summer,” for example, didn’t just top the charts, but become a catchphrase reflected in culture for months to follow). I disagree, because my summer has been distinctly marked by two songs. Since July, after watching the animated movie Kpop Demon Hunters several times, I've had Golden on repeat. Before then, it was I Lied to You, from the soundtrack to Sinners, after I saw it in theaters in early May. I don't think it's a coincidence that in our current social and political climate, two movies about reclaiming our unique stories and perspectives to ward off evil are setting the soundtrack for the season.

On the surface, the two movies couldn't seem more different. In Sinners, a group of people organizing a juke joint are threatened by a group of evil outsiders who are inexplicably drawn to their gathering. In Kpop Demon Hunters, a K-Pop girl band is tasked with using their voices to protect the world from demons. Each movie is rooted in distinctly different cultural backgrounds; Sinners, directed by Black Panther's Ryan Coogler, is rooted in Black Southern American culture, while Kpop is rooted in Korean culture and spirituality. One's an R-rated horror drama, the other, a family-friendly animated film. Sinners was released in theaters in April (although I think it’s streaming success qualifies it as a summer hit). Netflix, in contrast, released Kpop on their streaming platform in June with little fanfare.

Neither of these movies were expected to receive this level of attention. Sinners was projected to gross $30–40M on its opening weekend. The film made $19.2 million on its first day, has a 97% review on Rotten Tomatoes, and is already available to stream on most platforms. Kpop Demon Hunters was only released on June 20, but has already become the second most-watched movie on Netflix of all time. Three – three! – songs from the movie have been in the top 10 slots of the Billboard Top 100 songs for weeks. (It also has a 97% review on Rotten Tomatoes).

Despite their differences, both of these movies have a similar message. The protagonists in both movies are well-aware of how their music creates safe spaces for their communities. Sinners centers around juke joints—community-driven, informal sanctuaries in the Jim Crow-era American South where Black people could express themselves through music, dancing, and community. Meanwhile, the girl group in Kpop performs in major stadiums to power the Honmoon, a mystical barrier that separates the human world from the demon realm. Although the girl group in Kpop also uses the internet to engage their fans, both movies focus on physical, real-world gatherings to depict the power of connection through music. Both plots are driven by the protagonists' commitments to their communities—to those that gather in the spaces they create for safety and connectedness. As viewers, we're invited to enjoy each of these spaces alongside the audiences, and we understand the strength of the lead characters through a series of intoxicating, awe-inspiring scenes that highlight what happens when we're united in song. Here are scenes from Kpop and Sinners that, to me, mirror each other.

We also see, through each of the film's threats, what's at stake if we place these gifts into the wrong hands. Each group of protagonists is challenged by another group with similar, yet sinister talents. In Sinners, the villains are a group of outsiders that wield both supernatural and real-world power. So are the villains in Kpop. Both groups are focused on co-opting the protagonists' existing community for their nefarious objectives. In fact, each set of villains has a scene where they perform to lure the protagonists' communities to their cause (Kpop, Sinners).

But both villains use the same tactics to erode the strength of the communities that each protagonist tries to protect. They try to create an alternative group that falsely pledges to provide the same sense of community and connectedness. Their music aims to cast fear and doubt in the listener. And they both aim to woo audiences to their side by questioning how "good" each of them truly is. The protagonists build community for the benefit of the community, while the villains hope to "feed" on them for their own gain. We watch the communities in each (the juke joint members in Sinners, the fans in Kpop) be played as pawns in this battle between good and evil.

Both movies portray these evils as supernatural threats (although a whole article could be dedicated to how each movie explores race, gender, and class in depth). But I think these movies resonate right now because this battle has been the struggle of the summer, one marked by broad moments of resistance against increasingly draconian and polarizing decisions by the Trump administration. Whether through the anti-ICE organizing, the No Kings protest, the growing acknowledgment of the genocide in Gaza, or the ongoing boycott of Target, we're watching communities find their voice against a growing threat – one that's doing whatever it can to make hate, bigotry, and discrimination not just socially acceptable but alluring.

Each movie also visualizes the heaviness that comes with staying true to our values, our families, and our communities, especially when we may feel complicit in the darkness that we're fighting against. At least one protagonist from each film isn't blindly committed to goodness; in fact, they're experiencing their own reckoning, questioning the strength of their voice and its role in the future. Like us, the events unfolding around them are forcing them to root more deeply in what's true, right, and just – even when it feels impossible.

Sinners and Kpop show us that our unique voices, stories, and perspectives are what save us. They foster a sense of togetherness and give us refuge from the darkest and deepest threats. They teach us to be critical of the message behind the music and to consider how culture can be appropriated for individual gain. It's telling that both movies don't feature a sole character who saves the day, but rather a community that rises to answer the call, reminding us that we can't do this alone. We've been bombarded with a glut of superhero films where a group of heroes saves the day, but the fact that the audience plays an active part in creating change is why these movies have surpassed them in impact. They place us, the viewers, as active agents in the change we wish to create and invite us to add our own voices to the soundtrack.

This weekend, the film Kpop was released in theaters nationwide for a limited run. Each showing is designed to be a singalong event, so audiences can sing along with the film together. It's quite meta that a movie about fandom as a force for good is creating its own fandom, and people around the world will be singing alongside fictional superheroes to protect the world from demons. Maybe it'll act as a larger invitation to rally together to face—and defeat—the demons that threaten us all.

Reflect:

• What communities are you a part of? How do they reflect, or contrast with, the future you'd like to see?

• Music is a potent place to rally for change. What artists or albums feel like they're meeting the moment?

• What do you expect from the artists that inspire you? In your opinion, what's their responsibility to the communities they serve?