The film is told in three acts: Act. I Little, Act. II Chiron and Act. III Black; these acts are significant as they also cover the three key portions of the protagonist’s life: his childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. At the heart of it all, this is a coming-of-age film about how society demands a performance of hyper-masculinity, especially from black men.
Chiron, the protagonist, who doesn’t fit this stereotype at first, is forced to reckon with the fact that in order to survive in this world, he must become what others expect of him. The film is simple in a devastatingly human way; the scenes are not still as they breathe with the characters, silences between words are captured, moments of longing for acceptance are empathized, and the brutality of conformity screams at the viewers. Every frame, every moment, is intentional and well thought out.
We are introduced to Chiron as he is being chased and harassed by his peers, and we learn this is a common occurrence for him. He is bullied for being ‘soft’, and in my opinion, this is code for him not conforming to traditional masculine norms and for his, at the time, rumoured homosexuality. He is a quiet, sensitive, and deeply traumatized boy coming from a home where love was erratic and laced with cruelty.
In his childhood, he found fleeting moments of parental acceptance from Juan, a drug dealer who cares for him as a father would for his child. Juan himself is a complex, as he participates in the cycles that damage Chiron’s life by selling drugs to his mother, while also being the person to provide relief and solace. Juan advises young Chiron that “At some point, you gotta decide for yourself who you’re going to be. Can’t let nobody make that decision for you.” This advice, while well-meaning and true, makes me wonder if Juan listened to this himself. He is an Afro-Latino immigrant from Cuba residing in Miami who deals in drugs. Was this the life he wanted for himself, or was it forced upon him by others’ expectations?
Feminist icon, bell hooks, in her writings about masculinity, describes that “the first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence toward women. Instead, patriarchy demands of all males that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves.” We see this artfully visualized in Moonlight.
In adulthood, Chiron goes by “Black” and is physically sculpted into the image of a hegemonic man; however, he is emotionally stunted because to survive he had to suppress his emotions.
The film’s boldest moment, in my opinion, is his reunion with Kevin in the final act. Black (Chiron), now a hyper-masculine man, drives back into the sensitive soul he was as a child. He does this by reimagining masculinity not through domination or aggression, but through intimacy. In a diner, over soft music and quiet conversation, two men peel back the armour they’ve built around themselves. We see glimpses of the younger Chiron, anxious but eager for love. His whispered confession, “You’re the only man who’s ever touched me,” shows this even more. The confession is not just about sexuality. It’s about the desire to be seen in your truest form, to be loved without fear, without performance.
Moonlight doesn’t provide answers for all the questions it brings up. Instead, it allows us to see the raw pain that hyper-masculinity in a patriarchal society causes boys and men. It invites us to ask: What does it cost a boy to become a man under the weight of silence, homophobia, poverty and emotional repression? And more importantly, what could masculinity look like it if it allowed softness, connection and self-acceptance?
In line with bell hooks’ call to liberate men from the constraints of patriarchal masculinity, Moonlight becomes more than a film, it becomes an act of resistance. It dares to show that black boys cry. That they ache. That they need love. And that in the moonlight, when no one is looking, they must just find themselves.
Sources:
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
Woman, Race, Class by Angela Y. Davis
https://youtu.be/SP0ZbueIaks?si=zvZ4bVktoP2y4LJl
https://youtu.be/Ot9DX5S8aHk?si=aEDK-o5ezvN4Ljob
https://youtu.be/NOis3-phW8Q?si=6SDmtwYa5TE9euMk
Photograph: Scenes from the movie of Chiron and Kevin