Moonlight: Environment and Self-Realization
By: Thomas Monfre
Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight is a coming-of-age film that follows a young boy named Chiron as he struggles to self-identify in an environment that seeks to label him from an early age. Using a story arc segmented into three periods of Chiron’s life, Jenkins portrays a story of love, loss, and self-realization, showing the audience that not everyone has the freedom to discover who they are at a young age.
The first act of the film begins in Miami, Florida where a young Chiron is being chased by other kids who call him a “faggot.” He eventually hides away in a run-down apartment used for drug deals, demonstrating his exposure to substance abuse from an early age. After Juan, an older gentleman looking to take care of Chiron, finds him and takes him to get food, Chiron reveals his difficult living situation at home with his mother, who is a drug addict. In this first section of the film, the audience learns that Chiron lacks a strong support structure and is exposed to a harmful environment that imposes definitions on him, limiting his flexibility for identity discovery.
The second act of the film cuts ahead to Chiron at a high school age, where his identify-confusion continues. After hearing Kevin talk about sexual encounters with other women, he feels unable to express feelings and confused as to who his environment is pressuring him to be. Chiron does not want to be big, intimidating, and strong, but his environment continually pushes him towards this. When sitting on the beach one night with Kevin, he confesses that “I cry so much sometimes I feel like I’m gonna turn into drops.” In this interaction, both Chiron and Kevin want to be themselves, but are only able to do so when in a private context. They kiss and share a sexual encounter, experiencing an intimacy Chiron has not yet experienced. Despite these private desires, Kevin still succumbs to environmental pressure when in public. After being pressured by a school bully, he punches Chiron repeatedly in the face, clearly feeling torn but desiring to fit in.
The third act of the film cuts ahead to Chiron as an adult living in Atlanta, where we see he has adopted an identity unfamiliar to himself. He is much larger, wears a gold grill, and deals drugs. Despite living an identity that is not a true reflection of himself, the same Chiron lives inside. He eventually visits Kevin (who is now a chef at a restaurant) and confesses to him that he has never been with anyone else in a sexual manner. Kevin admits that he has always done what other people have wanted, never what he has wanted. They embrace, and the film closes with a young Chiron staring into the camera.
Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight shows how hard it is to realize one’s self in an environment that rejects individuality. It chronicles Chiron’s maturation and his fight against harassment, showing how environment impacts growth, and that not everyone has the privilege of self-realization from a young age.
Works Cited
Jenkins, Barry, director. Moonlight. Elevation Pictures, 2017.