Identity, Vulnerability, and Structure
By Dajee Provitt
Moonlight is a visually striking film that offers us nothing short of sheer cinematic genius. Director Barry Jenkins offers tenderness, precision, rich color, and uniqueness that stands apart from other coming-of-age Dramas. Rather than just telling us a story about a young person’s transition to maturity, Jenkins invites us into an artful and deeply personal conversation about masculinity, blackness, and sexuality. Film critics explain that too often cinematic naturalism is conflated with an authenticity effect on the story of being black in America (Zaman and Raploid, 2016). Jenkins instead gives an authentic portrayal of an African American males’ journey without the jarring severity of sex, drugs, money, and violence. Although aspects of the film use these themes, Moonlight disrupts the formula of the usual troubled young black man and instead implores a dreamlike narrative with a lens of sensitivity. Moonlight illustrates a complex relationship between temporality, vulnerability, and identity performance through an unfolding triptych: Little (young adolescence), Chiron (teenage years), and Black (adulthood).
Structurally, the three district chapters and actors encapsulate the various personas of Chiron. The protagonist chooses to change names in each phase of his life to highlight the character’s evolution and transformation (Zaman and Raploid, 2016). In Act I: Little, Chiron is depicted as a small elementary school child who is neglected by his crack-addicted mother and bullied heavily by neighborhood boys. Although Little is expressive through his silence, he is often withdrawn from those around him. A pivotal scene in Moonlight is when Little sits at the dinner table with Juan, the neighborhood drug dealer, and asks what a f*ggot is and if he is one. Juan responds to him without judgment and explains, “a faggot is a word to make gay people feel bad” and that Little can be gay but doesn’t have to let anyone call him a faggot. In Act II, we find out that Juan passed away, Chiron’s mother is more ill than before and he is still being bullied by the neighborhood boys who are much stronger now. In this act, Chiron chooses to go by his given name. He is depicted as a lanky and awkward teenager who feels more vulnerable than before as he grapples with his sexuality. During this act, he retreats into himself and feels pressure to hide who he is. By Act III, Chiron is going by the name Black, a hardened and bulky adult who embodies masculinity through a gangster façade. In and out of prison, Black is a response to the internal struggles of Little and Chiron. Although, Black has tried to physically erase his vulnerability and become someone else, we learn that he is incapable of escaping his authentic self and sexuality. As Black, Chiron is at his most vulnerable and for the first time, we see him cry. When his mother confronts him about his life choices, he turns the most emotionally vulnerable we seen in the entire film which was tactful by Jenkins. Moonlight uses the structure of the triptych to allude to the concept that no matter how much one’s exterior may change, the interior of one’s authentic self cannot be altered. As Chiron shapeshifts the expectations others hold of him, he loses sight of his authenticity, and it is not until he accepts his vulnerability that we are able to see the real Chiron.
Works Cited:
Jenkins, Barry, director. Moonlight, www.netflix.com/watch/80121348?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2C0a7fcc12db925152a013299d0cebdeb65dddef15%3A8996630c66e7526f6584c925532f9265a200177c%2C0a7fcc12db925152a013299d0cebdeb65dddef15%3A8996630c66e7526f6584c925532f9265a200177c%2Cunknown%2C.
Zaman, Farihah, and Nicolas Rapold. “Moonlight: Barry Jenkins Interview.” Film Comment, 22 Oct. 2016, www.filmcomment.com/article/moonlight-barry-jenkins-interview/.