Moonlight
Human beings tend to grow through different phases of life, facing different types of experiences. Barry Jenkins directs a film, “Moonlight,” that presents the need for knowing one’s identity in the course of growing up. The film revolves around the development of Chiron, a black boy growing up in Miami. Chiron is developed as a gay black boy growing under the challenges of racism. However, Jenkins does not pay significant attention to the issues of sexuality and racism, as most viewers would have thought. Jenkins uses characters such as Juan to show the viewers that the character of an individual should be three-dimensional and that the outward appearance of an individual should not be used to judge them. The presentation of “Moonlight” is done following film characteristics, and the viewers are left to have their reviews at the end of the film. The mise-en-scene presentation of “Moonlight” is the lifetime story around Chiron, and the director takes the viewers across all possible stages of Chiron’s life. Also, the use of Point-of-View shows both the director’s and the viewers’ perceptions of the various characters in the film. The film style in “Moonlight” is essential in bringing out the issues of gender, sexuality, and cultural identity in America. Documentaries are essential in challenging the perception of viewers towards the truth, or even ethics in the field of cinemas.
The presentation of “Moonlight” is done as a story of a black boy, Chiron growing up in Miami in present-day America. The mise-en-scene presentation of the experiences takes the viewers through all the possible stages of Chiron’s life. The first six minutes of the film introduces the viewer to not only the characters and the environment of the film but also the relationship between the characters (Copeland, 2018). The film introduces the viewer to the conflict between humanity and the environment through Little the character, who is later presented as Chiron. The transformation of Chiron is presented systematically from Little in his early years, to Chiron and eventually to Black in his later years. The three phases of Chiron’s life present his different levels of struggle as poor, black, and gay in a society that gives little or no allowance for individual choices on matters of morality. The initial portrayal of the story appears to be a specific story based on the sexuality of Chiron as well as the extent of racism. However, Jenkins uses a semi-biographical feature to present different social and individual hardships that are not clear in the initial stages. Moreover, Jenkins uses the presentation of scenes to explain the life of his protagonist throughout a period that viewers may judge to be less than a lifetime.
Mise-en-scene presentation is essential in the presentation of experiences that may not be easily noticeable by viewers. The presentation of a lifetime in a single film may be difficult, but Jenkins does not surrender to the difficulty of taking the viewers through the lifetime of Chiron (Crickmar, 2017). Generally, the presentation of Chiron’s lifetime from childhood to adulthood would be long and difficult. However, the mise-en-scene presentation takes the viewers through all the possible stages of Chiron’s lifetime. Most of the life transformation is brought forward in the third triptych of Chiron’s life as he approaches his twenties. Chiron starts as a poor black boy and eventually transforms into a drug dealer who has accepted his identity. Chiron has taken after Juan, who introduced him to drug dealing and was also the reason behind Chiron’s mother’s addiction to drugs. The instance at the time Chiron is in his twenties presents a check in the future, and the viewer is shown that Juan has died, probably due to his trade. Suspense is, however, left on whether the viewer is being prepared for the chance that Chiron’s life may be cut short owing to his trade. Generally, the question of the future of Chiron’s life is left open for the viewers to have their conclusions. Moreover, Jenkins uses point-of-view to present his position on the characters as well as challenge the viewers’ perceptions of the materials and characters used in the film.
The use of point-of-view presents an opportunity for producers and viewers to give their interpretation of the characters in a film. “Moonlight” revolves around a set of characters that are related. His mother and Juan impact the development of Chiron. Chiron’s mother is addicted to drugs, and Juan introduces Chiron to drug-dealing. However, the interpretation of the characters takes a different direction due to the point-of-view taken by Jenkins (Copeland, 2018). The characteristics of Chiron are different from what Jenkins leads the viewers into believing. For example, Chiron is presented as a gay man whom the society would judge for not leading a straightforward sexual life. Also, society expects that a black man should at least lead a straightforward life to avoid falling victim to the impacts of racism. However, Jenkins uniquely changes the attitude of the viewers towards Chiron. Instead, Jenkins presents Chiron as a man who has realized his identity and has accepted his sexual orientation. Also, the circumstances surrounding Chiron’s life could be the reason that viewers are treated into believing that they should not judge him as a lost soul. Besides, Jenkins has a positive attitude towards Chiron, and that moves the viewers into believing that Chiron has a positive way of life. Moreover, the cinematography in the film is essential in providing the viewers with an opportunity to access the inner selves of the characters.
One of the characteristics of viewers is the notion that characters should be judged according to their outward characteristics. However, the cinematography in the film presents a chance for the viewers to view the characters from inner beings. For example, Jenkins presents an instance of a screaming Chiron’s mother to show that she was not entirely comfortable with her addiction (Crickmar, 2017). The viewers are taken to believe that Chiron’s mother was struggling with addiction hence the reason for Chiron’s struggles. Also, Jenkins treats the viewers to a scene where Juan saves Chiron from the mistreatments of racism. Juan takes Chiron to the ocean to train him on how to swim. The treatment of Juan on Chiron is an indication that Juan had the humane part in him and that his involvement in drug-dealing should not be taken as the reason for having him judged. Besides, Jenkins proves that Juan was a complete human being who had a positive side and a negative side, like any other human being. Also, the interaction of Juan and Chiron presents a point-of-view that challenges the viewers on their attitude towards Chiron. Juan learns that Chiron can learn on his own and that he only needed space and the allowance to showcase his true self. Juan challenges the viewers into knowing that the outward appearance of an individual should not be viewed as the only reason to deny an individual the opportunity to live to their maximum potential. Moreover, the film style has been used extensively to express major themes affecting present-day societies.
The main idea behind the development of films is to have the society involved in the development of themes. Some of the most common themes are gender, sexual, and cultural identity. The expression of gender, sexual, and cultural identity is a sensitive issue that requires clever presentation to avoid unnecessary conflicts with viewers (Randolph, 2017). For example, members of a particular gender may feel targeted if the producers use sensitive filming techniques. For example, the presentation of a weaker gender in the film may cause a conflict between genders. Some frequent victims of gender discrimination are trans-genders, and females as males are mostly presented as being superior. On the other hand, sexual identity is a sensitive matter that needs to be treated with decency to avoid improper friction on the victims. For example, members of same-gender sexual orientation may be victims of discrimination by the general society. In the film, “Moonlight,” Jenkins uses mise-en-scene to change the perspective of the viewers towards the gay character, Chiron. Cultural identity is also expressed through film styles to avoid discriminatory content that may harm both the viewers and the film industry. Moreover, the use of various film styles acts either positively or negatively expresses gender, sexual, and cultural orientation.
The expression of gender in films has been criticized for a long time for promoting discrimination. Although most filming industries have been putting measures to curb the deviation between genders in the film representation, a challenge has existed due to viewers’ expectations. Most films have been seen to have more male characters compared to their female counterparts (Rich, 2017). Also, the transgender characters have been overlooked in most of the films leading to a question on the implementation of gender equality in the film industry. Also, the presentation of female characters has been done in a manner that despises the ability of the female characters. For example, female characters have been presented as younger, weaker, and slim compared to their male counterparts who have always been presented as strong characters. Generally, gender portrayals have been an avenue for promoting abusive masculinity in the film industry, with most viewers being comfortable with the case. Additionally, the portrayal of marginalized cultural and sexual groups has not been well developed in the film industry.
Marginalized cultures and sexual groups have remained on the receiving end of discriminative film styles for a long time. However, some films have been developed to change the perspective of viewers on such groups. Generally, the greatest challenge on the move to consider the marginalized groups in the film industry lies with the viewers. The judgment that viewers pass to the characters can impact the success of a film. For example, a large portion of viewers may have a negative perception of the LGBTQ society. Producers, therefore, are responsible for coming up with film styles that will change the perception of the viewers. For example, POV has been used in “Moonlight” to change the perception that the viewers were expected to have on the gay character as well as the drug-dealer and addict. Jenkins presents the positive sides of the characters and leaves the viewers with a decision to make instead of giving them a chance to judge the characters right on the screens. Moreover, documentaries have a way of challenging the viewers’ thinking about truth, and the ethics in cinemas play a crucial role in the truth behind films.
Most viewers depend on the information provided in a documentary, and mistakenly believe that that is the only available information. One of the most common drawbacks of documentaries is that they have a way of insisting on the truth that does not have a concrete back-up. Documentaries are developed with an intense input of the directors while other stakeholders do less significant work in changing the direction of the stories (Krasilovsky, 2017). Viewers always believe that documentaries contain the truth that should be believed in and fail to understand the position of a director’s point of view. The director generally chooses a point of view within with they develop their story. In the “Moonlight” film, the point of view of the director ends up changing the perception of the viewers towards behaviors that have initially been termed as irresponsible in society. The viewers would have shown negative judgments on Chiron for being gay, but Jenkins holds a different point of view that eventually changes the perspective of the viewers. Also, Jenkins pays more attention to the positive humanity of Juan after he saved Chiron, and the viewers cannot agree more that the human character should be viewed on more than one dimension. Moreover, ethics in cinema are essential in maintaining the reputation associated with the film industry.
The film industry is associated with a high reputation that is maintained by a set of ethical standards. Documentaries have played a crucial role in impacting the thinking of viewers concerning the ethics involved in cinema (Krasilovsky, 2017). The pressure behind the creation of films puts filmmakers under pressure, and the maintenance of ethics remains for the determined filmmakers. Besides, most documentaries are made by individuals, and a lot of pressure accompanies efforts. For example, a filmmaker may be forced to inflate drama in a documentary if it does not involve natural drama. The “Moonlight” film, for example, may have exaggerated the perception of blacks as blue under the moon. Also, the screams made by Chiron’s mother could have been exaggerated during the shooting of the film. Generally, the running of the film industry relies on the ability to maintain ethical standards in the industry.
In sum, “Moonlight” is presented following film characteristics, and the viewers are left to have their reviews at the end of the film. The mise-en-scene presentation of “Moonlight” shows the life story of Chiron, and the director takes the viewers across all possible stages of Chiron’s life. The use of Point-of-View shows the director’s perceptions of the various characters in the film and changes the perception of the viewers and judgment passed on the characters. The film style in “Moonlight” is essential in bringing out the issues of gender, sexuality, and cultural identity in America. Generally, documentaries are essential in challenging the perception of viewers towards the truth, or even ethics in the field of cinemas.
References
Copeland, K. J. (2018). MOONLIGHT, directed by Barry Jenkins. Journal of homosexuality, 65(5), 687-689.
Crickmar, R. B. (2017). Critics are Not Afraid of Rotterdam, Critics are Afraid of Rotterdam’s Ghosts. Mise-en-scène| The Journal of Film & Visual Narration, 2(1).
Krasilovsky, A. (2017). The Ethics and Aesthetics of Adaptation. In Great Adaptations: Screenwriting and Global Storytelling (pp. 63-70). Focal Press.
Randolph, R. (2017). Moonlight. Queer Studies in Media & Pop Culture, 2(3), 383-388.
Rich, B. R. (2017). When History Makes the Cut. FILM QUART, 70(3), 5-9.