It tells us that this is going to be a story about masculinity and possibly about gayness. Since this is the first we see of Chiron, this scene tells us that he is seen as different and “gay” and therefore not masculine. Additionally, the sound design when Chiron is hiding in an abandoned apartment and the boys are banging on the walls and doors makes you feel like you are right there in the scene with him. It conveys the panic he’s feeling as he runs from the boys. The handheld camera is incredibly shaky as it runs with Chiron. In the first scene, we see Chiron running from three boys and one of them yells “get his gay ass,” (00:02:35). Hibbert, is already viewed as different and feminine which causes him to face discrimination. In the first act of the film, titled “Little,” 10-year-old Chiron, portrayed by Alex R. Additionally, Moonlight addresses the painful effects of hypermasculinity and homophobia as well as the possibility of healing from those effects.įrom the beginning of the film, Chiron is set apart and singled out by his peers. Naturally, Moonlight addresses issues of difference, power, and discrimination through the lens of masculinity and homophobia by showing you critical points in Chiron’s life, cinematography that places you in the middle of conflict with Chiron, and colors and symbols found in the mise en scene and sound design that tell a story within themselves. Moonlight handles issues that many Black queer men face like not fitting into the ideals of masculinity, experiencing homophobia, and figuring out one’s identity with grace, compassion, and respect. In a review of Moonlight, critic Hilton Als asks the following rhetorical question, “Did I ever imagine, during my anxious, closeted childhood, that I’d live long enough to see a movie like ‘Moonlight,’ … Did any gay man who came of age, as I did, in the era of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and AIDS, think he’d survive to see a version of his life told onscreen with such knowledge, unpredictability, and grace?” Moonlight is important for many Black queer boys and men who rarely see themselves represented on screen but are often marginalized in their communities. Many people didn’t think a film like Moonlight would ever be made in their lifetime. It has an all-Black cast and was adapted from the unpublished play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney, a Black gay man. In a world where heterosexual white men are often put at the forefront in films, Moonlight is a breath of fresh air. Moonlight is one of my favorite films and I wish more people were aware of this beautifully told story. Many people, even those who aren’t queer or Black, can find something in this film that speaks to them. Moonlight’s story is told through colors, sounds, and subtext, and it can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. Moonlight documents Chiron’s struggles with masculinity, homophobia, and accepting himself. We follow him as he grows up in Liberty City, Miami with no father and a mother struggling with a crack addiction, plus all the pressure of being a Black boy. Moonlight is an insightful and compelling independent film directed by Barry Jenkins that follows Chiron, a Black gay man, at three different points in his life. The Power of Moonlight (2016): Masculinity, Homophobia, and Healing
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |