Black History Month is a time to celebrate the achievements and cultural impact made by the Black community, conveniently coinciding with awards season. Black artists continue to break new ground and make award winning history every year, the most notable example being the 2016 record breaking Oscar winner, “Moonlight”. “Moonlight” is the first and only film with an all-Black cast and the first and only LGBTQ-themed film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The film follows Chiron, a young Black man growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood who struggles to fit in and is bullied for his sexuality. The three chapters of the film represent three different versions of Chiron. The first chapter is where we first meet Juan, who is a drug dealer and a father figure to Chiron, played by Mahershala Ali.
Ali became the first Muslim actor to win an Academy Award in 2016 for his performance. His character’s limited time on screen manages to produce an impact that is felt throughout the rest of the film, telling Chiron, “at some point you got to decide for yourself who you’re going to be.”
We watch Chiron move through high school in the second chapter, where he’s forced to learn that sometimes the people who accept you for who you are will turn on you for their own survival. The world has chewed him up and spit him out by the time the third chapter begins. Chiron is nearly unrecognizable in adulthood. The man that Chiron has decided to become is one that society often molds young Black men into being. In order to live his life authentically, he would have to live in a constant state of active resistance.
“Moonlight” doesn’t merely attempt to tackle the themes of identity, Black masculinity and sexuality. Barry Jenkin’s cinematography and storytelling invokes a sense of intimacy that offers the audience a chance to explore the themes represented by the film’s beautifully complex set of characters. The audience is not meant to spend the film being sad for Chiron and mad at those who abuse him. They’re meant to question how young Black men are shaped by their environment and what masks they have to wear to survive.
The intersection of being gay and being Black is not often explored in Hollywood. “Moonlight” broke new ground with its original storytelling and disruption of cultural norms, highlighting Black queer history as rich with perspectives on resilience and artistry.
