Moonlight barry jenkins1/1/2023 ![]() ![]() His upbringing, surrounded by drug dealing and impoverishment, has led him to his current self. Chiron moves to Atlanta and becomes the only thing he knows, a drug dealer. He has transformed into a reincarnation of Juan, he picks up his demeanor and physique and drops his “soft” characteristics. In the third act of Moonlight, Chiron transforms into what the black men from his neighborhood look and behave like. All the torment and abuse he faces makes him assault his bully and he lands himself in prison. ![]() His low-class neighborhood forms his identity, as young boy and teen because of his differences he is persecuted for not behaving masculine. Chiron is neglected and forced to take care of himself at a very young age, which is the reality for many kids who grow in low income. He surrounded by poverty and experience drugs and its effects first hand through his mother. #MOONLIGHT BARRY JENKINS CRACK#Chiron takes on this hyper masculine persona to divert from his sexuality as well as to protect himself in a homophobic society.Ĭhiron grows up in Liberty City, low income neighborhood in Miami during crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980’s. He has adapted into the heteronormative idea of what black men should be and look like. His experiences of imprisonment has changed him from a gentle nature to hyper masculine. In the third stage of the film, we see Chiron follow in the footsteps of Juan and has adopted his demeanor. From a young age, he understands black masculinity from surroundings and knows he is not that. Chiron struggles with how he should act and behave in hyper masculine space. #MOONLIGHT BARRY JENKINS HOW TO#He has to learn how to build his identity along the margins of sexuality and race in a non-accepting environment. He is easily influenced by people and allows people to define him. Chiron in his youth is marginalized for not being as masculine as his peers. Juan, Chiron’s surrogate father, performs masculinity defiantly as he shows Chiron kindness and empathy but he presents certain traits that allow him to be considered masculine such as his muscularity and that he is a drug dealer. Chiron’s impactful relationships with these black males help him accept his intersectional identity Kevin is Chiron’s childhood friend who teaches him to stick up for himself and who also becomes his first love. Juan, a local drug dealer, runs into Chiron when he’s hiding from some bullies and takes him in and ultimately becomes his father figure. Although Chiron experiences in his community is destructive he has positive relationships with Juan and Kevin that help him embrace himself and accept his sexuality. The negative, abusive, and homophobic space Chiron grows up in affects his identity and forces him to repress himself and his sexuality as he develops into adulthood. His intersectionality creates different systems of oppression (Valentine, 2007). Society has dictated that who he is as a person is not welcome or accepted. As a child, he fully doesn’t understand his identity but is put into a box and considered “soft” because he doesn’t fit the standards of masculinity. Chiron has difficulty fitting in with his peers and is beaten up because he is perceived gay and does not perform black masculinity normally. During the first stage of Moonlight, young Chiron is portrayed as a quiet and reserved child due to the emotional and physical abuse he experiences from his community and his mother. Moonlight captures Chiron’s experience as a gay black male from a young age to an adult. I will argue Chiron’s intersectional identity is shaped by his surroundings this includes his mother, his peers, and his neighborhood. Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight examines how Chiron a poor gay black man navigates through heteronormative spaces in different stages of his life. A constant theme in Moonlight is the black male identity and its intersections with sexuality and class through the character Chiron. that creates experiences of discrimination (Valentine, 2007). Intersectionality is the relationship between different categories such as race, gender, sexuality, class, disability, etc. The film portrays a different perspective to the LGBTQ community as they are often marginalized and silenced in film. The success of the film is due to the new perspective of a black gay men rather than the white heteronormative perspective that dominates the media. The film provides light to the struggles of being Black and gay in today’s society. ‘Moonlight’ by Barry Jenkins, is the first Black film with an all-Black cast to win in the 2017 Oscars. ![]()
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