| Word Count: 1500
Moonlight (2016), Jenkins; a film that has captured many audiences around the world, primarily due to the message it has conveyed to people. Some argue the movie was made in response to the ‘#Hollywoodsowhite’ campaign, where people began to speak up about the dominance of white men in the film industry and, moreover, the lack of black, disabled or queer nominees for the Oscars. The film challenges traditional themes and publicly demonstrates the fight against white majority in film. During the 1980’s, when this film was set, America was in a drug epidemic, there was a rise in the use of cocaine in the United States and it was becoming a widespread problem. In Roger Eberts’ review, he explains how “It is a movie in which deep, complex themes are reflected through character first and foremost.”
Moonlight is a coming-of-age film that follows Chiron; a black, gay, teenage boy during the 1980’s who is growing up in a poor neighbourhood called Liberty City (Miami), where the influence of drugs is a prominent issue. Moonlight is cut into three separate acts, each representing a chapter in Chiron’s life – a significant change that made him the person he grows into; from Little, a boy who is bullied for not wanting to play rough with the others, to Chiron; tormented for his lack of masculinity, right up to Black; a man putting on a fake persona, hiding his homosexuality behind the masculinity he sought for through his life. Jenkins challenges the portrayal of black communities, removing the traditional features such as hip-hop, gun violence and a cast made up of cis straight men. He replaces them with an alternative view on the lives of society in a black neighbourhood, highlighting the issue of toxic masculinity – by doing this “Jenkins is disrupting the formula about how a story of a young, black man in a poor neighbourhood is told.”.
A key part of the movie is where Chiron is broken down by the bullies; Act 2, where he finally gives into the abuse and bullying he has been receiving for his entire school life. It is important to note that Chiron is a very quiet character; he barely speaks, shows emotion or does anything that would attract attention, and this is why I think the bullying scene in the movie is the point at which Chiron snaps and begins his descent into conforming for society’s ideal masculine state, even if it doesn’t correlate with his preferred identity.
In this scene, the camera tracks Terrel, keeping him centred as he moves in a circle around Kevin and Chiron. The setting of this scene is a school, students are gathered wearing school attire, watching the situation unfold. School signifies education and safety, but here school is presented as a dangerous fighting ground, where the children are expressing violence. This is significant because his life at home isn’t safe with his drug-addicted mother, and his life at school isn’t any safer, Chiron is tormented everywhere he goes,which can be seen as a cause for his character to break. The tracking shot shown here is a long take with no editing, the prolonging of the clip creates suspension and a sense of intimidation. The positioning of the camera and the movement emphasises a predatory behaviour, where we are in Chiron and Kevin’s position, as the ‘prey’. Placing us in the centre of the scene allows us to be part of the ‘in-crowd’, “The peer pressure of the in-crowd can be a terrifying, damaging force.” The director wants us to feel a sense of a cruel realism within the situation while still maintaining the feel of a film. Jenkins continues his alternative portrayal of black neighbourhoods by maintaining the orchestra he has used throughout the entire film. Even during an intense scene, where the indication of violence overshadows the characters, Jenkins plays classical music. This could be seen as a reference to Chirons’ personality; his inability to show emotion. The music is always suppressed in places where most people would show anger, fear or worry. Chiron always feels suppressed, he is unable to show his true self to others due to the lingering toxic masculinity in his life – another justifiable reason for him to give into the constant bullying.
Throughout the movie Chiron is tormented regularly, but Act 2 is arguably the clearest indication of him reaching his tipping point. During the fight between Kevin and Chiron, we are placed in the middle of the action; the camera is shaky and handheld which helps to reinforce the idea that we are witnessing the situation first hand, we are part of the action not just a spectator. When Kevin punches, the camera shakes as though we are hit, as though we are Chiron, feeling his pain first hand. As the camera sits between the two boys, the camera cuts from Kevin to Chiron, maintaining an eyeline match to indicate intensity. A close up shot is used to highlight detail, and this is what Jenkin does to emphasise the boys’ emotions. This shot holds a lot of value and information, if we were further from the boys faces we could miss slight facial expressions that could change the meaning of the scene. Kevin’s face is different to Chirons’, we can see from the close-up shot that Kevin is putting on a brave face, unphased by the situation he’s been put in when in reality he is reluctant to harm Chiron. This is further reinforced by the dialogue “Stay down Chiron!”. The way Kevin yells has undertones of pleading; he has no intention to bully Chiron, rather he does not want Chiron to get up because that would mean he would have to punch him again. Normally, we would expect Chiron to stay down, that his timid personality wouldn’t change, but the opposite happens.
The angle of the camera changes between the boys. Initially as Chiron is hit for the first time, there is a pan upwards towards Kevin. Significantly, this angle makes Kevin look stronger and we are below him as a weaker character, who could break under such intimidation. This changes when Chiron gets up, while he remains centred, the angle is positioned slightly downwards due to how Chiron holds his head. He is now looking down at Kevin, but not in power; rather in disappointment and the feeling of betrayal. This entire scene has a lingering green/blue colour effect, mixing natural light with colour enforces a cold, nostalgic feeling. We are looking at Chirons teenage years but not yearning for them, rather watching them in a cold light that highlights the isolation of his youth.
There is a different complexion between the two boys; Kevin demonstrates regret and unwillingness while Chiron is brave, previously unseen. The use of a close-up shot allows us to create a deeper understanding of how Chiron is feeling, he is breaking apart from the part of him that would let anyone hurt him. This is one of the most poignant shots that signifies Chiron is being pulled apart by bullying.
A common practice Jenkins pursues throughout the film is the positioning of the camera as he films Chiron. We are more often than not placed behind Chiron. He is constantly ahead of us and we watch the backside of him moving throughout his life. In this shot, the camera dollies behind Chiron as he marches through the building, the same orchestra slowly begins to build up in volume and texture, forming a crescendo. The music once again can be seen as a representation of Chirons’ feeling, his rage building up progressively up to a point it becomes mind numbing and entirely cuts out. The silence in this movie has a tendency to be asynchronous; where the audience might expect to hear noise, Jenkins cuts it out entirely. Here the cut off can be seen as a final indication of Chirons’ breakdown. As he hits Terrel with the chair, there is no music and instead Chiron is shouting, telling people to ‘get off’ as they hold him back. He shows his emotions through speech, no longer music, and has finally broken.
Overall, I believe this scene is an important shift towards the development of Chiron, the point where he is broken down by constant tormenting. Jenkins successfully portrays Chiron’s life as it is constantly influenced and forced into being something it is not. Even with his lack of communication, Chiron is still picked on – an overarching message for the issue of representation in black societies. Harassment in communities (like Chirons’) against queer members of society is dangerous; the usual representation of black communities does not portray the reality of many people who struggle with fitting into societal norms. The film assists watchers, adjusting their stereotypical views to appreciate a new portrayal of this genre. By removing typical aspects of violence and guns he emphasises the overlooked issue of homophobia, drug epidemics, and how they can affect families and individuals all over the world. |
