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The Moonlight Film
The film industry in the United States is considered as one of the most developed film industries across the globe. The United States was the first country in the world where moving pictures were shown in theatres in late 19th century. Since then, the industry has grown tremendously. The United States produces close to eight hundred new Hollywood movies every year more than any other nation in the world. Film industry in the United States depicts the cultural practices of the people and the evolution of these cultural practices over the years. When the moving pictures were first shown in cinemas in 19th century, the common genre were comic plays but, that changed over the years and more genres including action and drama movies were introduced. Still, majority of the people who featured in these movies were white people. Film industry has grown in the United States shaping the cultural practices in the country over the years and many movies now feature the people of color as the lead characters.
Before late 20th century, black people at the time were going through the struggle of demanding for equal rights and observers intimate that there were more compelling issues that these people were more concerned about than just movies. However, it is critical to note that most of them were greatest fans of the moving pictures and most of the cinemas were actually in their neighborhood. This was because of the resistance from the white community who mentioned that the introduction of entertainment in their neighborhood would attract criminals and drug peddlers. The first African-American to make a movie in 1919 was Oscar Micheaux who resorted to establishing his own production company to make movies that would tell the African story. There were a lot of restriction imposed on the people of color and Micheaux took advantage of the popular motion pictures that were gaining moment in early 20th century. However, it is critical to note that few black people started acting in movies and the number progressively increased throughout the century (Balio).
Moonlight is a drama movie that features a young black boy living with his mother in a poor neighborhood. Chiron and his mother Paula live in Miami, a crime ridden neighborhood due to the drugs that is peddled in the area. The film starts by portraying Chiron as a young boy who struggles to find himself in a place where he is isolated and mistreated by his own mother. The mother is a crack addict who does not care about the welfare of his son. Chiron is bullied by other boys in school and the only friend he has is another black boy named Kelvin who stands with him despite being bullied by everyone else in school. Chiron finally meets Juan who takes him to his girlfriend Teresa and guides him through life and what is has to do to carve his own path. Although Juan was the drug dealer peddling drugs in Miami, this does not stop him from displaying the human side of him as a person. Moonlight has several distinct themes that are exhibited throughout the movie. These themes include masculinity, sexuality, love, race, family and identity.
The themes portrayed in the Moonlight Film tells the greater American story which makes it one of the most significant movies in 21st century. One of the notable themes in the movie is the struggle that the people of color go through in the neighborhood. Chiron who is a young black boy is abused by his colleagues in school because of the color of his skin. Chiron is too young to understand what is going on and he could not even run to his mother who was equally abusive. Finally, Chiron finds refuge in Juan’s house who guides him through the challenges he was going through. This is a story that many black people can relate to in the history if America. Historically, most of the black people have always lived in poor neighborhood that is characterized with drugs and crime. Therefore, it is not a surprise that Moonlight features black people as the main characters and portrays the kind of life that these people live in their neighborhood. Another notable theme in the movie is the act of masculinity that is displayed through the main characters. Chiron suffers abuses from his colleagues in school and even at home, he is abused by his own mother. One of the scenes where masculinity is depicted is when Kelvin tells Chiron to stop giving his abusers the pleasure to abuse him instead, he should fight and defend himself. The themes of love and family is also evident in the film. Although Chiron was neglected and abused by his own mother, he eventually finds love in Juan’s home. Teresa admits him in her house and takes care of him like his own son. This is a depiction of love. The theme of family is also depicted through Chiron’s family which is broken and the mother is a carnal drug abuser who does not care about the welfare of her son (Jordan and Brooms, 137).
In film industry there are rules and regulations that should be adhered to by the film makers to ensure that the film meets the standards and conveys the intended message. However, Moonlight disobeyed most the set rules and regulations and still managed to attract millions of viewers across the world. The movie also won a lot of academy awards. One of the rules that the movie defied is that it does not have a lot of inciting incidences that would attract viewers and leave them clued to their screens. Ideally, a drama movie should have compelling incidences that attracts viewers. Moonlight is also not a plot oriented movie. The movie concentrates more on character development before the plot is actually understood by viewers. Chiron is developed in three different scenarios where he goes through phases of growth and this takes the central part of the movie. When the movie starts, it does not explicitly telegraph the direction that the film would take and this leaves many viewers in suspense. It is also slow when it starts before gaining momentum as it progresses.
One of the central theme that causes a lot of controversy in the film is the queer identity that is depicted through Chiron and his friend Kelvin. In the United States, gays have often been associated with white people but the Moonlight movie draws a different approach and incorporates black people who are in love with each other. The director of the movie cleverly uses black actors to dismiss the stereotype that people have held for unusually long time regarding the queer family. Chiron struggles to find his identity because of the color of his skin and this act tells the American story where people of color who are part of the queer family have struggled to fit into the community partly because of the stereotype associated with gay and also because of the reception they receive from their fellow black people. According to Randolph (383), “It is always a strange sensation seeing oneself on the screen. If you are a straight white man, then this sensation is probably common and pedestrian. If you are a queer black man, then the sensation is arresting and reflective.” Despite the controversy surrounding one of the themes in the movie, the film was received positively around the world. It is a movie that depicts one’s innermost self and that one needs to rediscover and find themselves in life. The movie was also embraced by the queer family and taunted as one of the bravest films in 21st century. One of the misconception that people have had about the queer family is that it is predominantly white but this movie defuses that notion.
In conclusion, Moonlight film won several awards. One of the awards that moonlight won was the academy award for best pictures. It is evident that despite the movies departure from most of the conventional rules that guides a film’s pictures, Moonlight still won an award. Equally, the movie also won academy award for best writing. From the reception that the movie received, it is clear it had been written and executed well. The movie also won MTV Movie award for the best kiss. In the same year, the movie won several other accolades. Evidently, Moonlight is one of the best Movies in the 21st century that explains the pain of seeking to identify oneself amid racial discrimination and biases associated with one’s identity. According to Raunig “To be afforded a window into another consciousness is a gift that only art can give. To know Chiron is a privilege”
Work Cited
Balio, Tino, ed. The American film industry. Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1985.
Raunig, C. “Who is you?” on “Moonlight”, Chiron, and Identity
Jordan, Eric A., and Derrick R. Brooms. “Black and Blue: Analyzing and Queering Black Masculinities in Moonlight.” Living Racism: Through the Barrel of the Book 137 (2017).
Randolph, Robert. “Moonlight.” Queer Studies in Media & Pop Culture 2.3 (2017): 383-388.
