Moonlight meaning2/3/2024 Bullies now become an everyday part of Chiron’s life, often compelling him to participate in their shenanigans. As he was a child, Chiron remains introverted, sparsely interacting with the world around him with a sovereign intent. It is almost like the foundation for the edifice of life. Adolescence is the phase which really shapes our identities and makes us who we are. This is probably the most powerfully-charged and rawest segment of Chiron’s life, like it is for any other individual on earth. Juan hangs his head in shame as a heartbroken Chiron leaves in tears. In a heart-wrenching scene, just after they connect beyond the frivolities of social obligation, Chiron unsuspectingly asks whether Juan is the one who provides his mother with drugs. Juan assuages his fears and tells him that it is the word “people use to hurt gay people”. The next day, Chiron goes to visit Juan and asks him about the meaning of ‘faggot’, which he is often called by his peers. An upset Paula shouts out at an out-of-tune Chiron, who barely registers the whole episode. Instead, Paula turns the tables on him and accuses him of facilitating the whole process and saying that Juan is the biggest disappointment in Chiron’s life. He confronts her about her parenting style, leaning on her to change the ways of her life. When they reach his house, Juan is surprised and taken aback to find that Chiron’s mother is one of his customers. After taking him to his girlfriend, Juan is able to get Chiron to reveal his neighborhood, in the process forming a bond of friendship and trust with him. In one of his daily routines, he is spotted by a drug dealer, Juan, who goes to inspect and comfort him. He often becomes a prop in other children’s idea of recreation and descends into isolation. Little, the paltry designation Chiron is reduced to for his timid stature, habitually finds himself as a target for bullies. Different actors bring to life the character of Chiron in each stage, grounding the fantasization as close to reality and humanly as possible. The film is divided into three segments, each dealing with three different phases in Chiron’s life. The plot of the movie follows the life of Chiron, an introverted black kid who struggles with his place in life and society. This expert juxtaposition of the most basic elements of storytelling engulfs the viewer in a maelstrom of overbearing feelings that move us closer to Chiron’s own battle with the world. The visual representation of human emotions is the highlight of ‘Moonlight’, enabling Jenkins to accomplish a technical coup, a rare achievement in modern-day filmmaking. While ‘Boyhood’ greatly benefits from its champion cast and Linklater’s contemplative writing, ‘Moonlight’ derives its power from Jenkins’ understanding of the African-American community and his efficient recital of solitude, not to assert that the performances in ‘Moonlight’ are any less subliminal. The perspectives of characters and their socio-cultural shadows are different, hence making one more character-driven than the other in terms of its storytelling. The transition from boyhood to adulthood, though presented in both the films, differs starkly in the way it takes shape. Jenkin’s ‘Moonlight’ is similar in stature and spirit to Linklater’s ‘Boyhood’ which released some years prior. His introverted nature is mimicked to a certain extent by the narrative style of Jenkins, making expert use of immersive sound and breathtaking visuals. Chiron communicates with the viewer, not often through words, but using this intertextuality of body and mind. Jenkins uses body language and evocative camera movement to achieve a sense of exclusion and solitude in Chiron’s life. Regressive emotions are expressed akin to the romanticized words of a poet, or a gentle, confident stroke of an artist. The three parts are marked by a distinct perspective on Chiron’s life, while still retaining the underlying internal crisis that binds him in the overtly chaotic world. Jenkins paints Chiron’s character in presenting three complex stages of his life: fragility, mutability, and convolution. ‘Moonlight’ employs three different shades to Chiron’s personality to achieve this imperfection in our wholesome personalities. You can’t be the same person in two different moments of your life. One goes through numerable phases of changes throughout one’s life. By dividing his exuberant story into three fragments, Jenkins manages to narrate Chiron’s life in a way that is accessible for people. Barry Jenkins, the writer-director of ‘Moonlight’, explores the subtle transformation and changes in behavior Chiron goes through in the backdrop of changing cultures and the allusion of society. ‘Moonlight’ is spread over three distinct periods in Chiron’s life: early age, adolescence, and adulthood.
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