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Black or Blue: An Analysis of Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight “In moonlight, black boys look blue,” Juan relays to Little in one of the early scenes of Moonlight, the Oscar winning screenplay by Barry Jenkins. Moonlight, and its ocean setting is a significant motif in this film that illustrates the coming of age of a young black man in Miami. Little/Chiron/Black’s story is told through three snapshots, one as a kid (Little), one as a teenager (Chiron), and one as an adult (Black). In each these three acts there is a significant moment that takes place on the beach in the moonlight. Through these three scenes Jenkins develops metaphoric significance for the ocean and moonlight such that by the film’s conclusion he is able to capitalize on them to answer the film’s central question. This paper will examine how Jenkins constructs the ocean and moonlight as a metaphor through four major scenes in the film. Moonlight deals with a young man’s journey as he grapples with his homosexuality in a community where it is unwelcome. Little/Chiron suffers at the hands of his peers and is coerced into changing who he is in order to be accepted (although it is never enough). However, there is a significant scene in each act of the film where Little/Chiron/Black is fully allowed to be himself. In act one, Juan, who acts as a surrogate father to Little, takes him to the beach to teach him how to swim. In act two, Chiron has his first sexual experience on the beach with his childhood friend Kevin. Finally, in the third act of the film Black and Kevin return briefly to the Melanie Thompson 11/8/ Engl. 296 Prof. Cole Bucciaglia
ocean, and then in the final scene of the film Little appears as a boy again, standing looking out at the ocean, bathed in moonlight. The ocean is a powerful force in the film. In scene 52, when Kevin discovers Chiron on the beach, he remarks that “sometimes, round the way where we live, you catch this same breeze. It come through the hood and it’s like everything stops for a second ‘cause everybody just wanna feel it” and Chiron responds “And it’s like all you can hear is your own heartbeat, right?” This exchange suggests that the ocean, even just the breeze coming off it, has the power to reduce people to their true selves. No matter how hard life in the hood may be, everyone will stop to appreciate something as small as the breeze. For Chiron the ocean is even more powerful. In the first act of the film Juan takes Little to the beach to teach him how to swim. There is intimacy in this scene between them out on the water, as Juan’s hands hold Little afloat and guide him as he learns to swim. Little’s defenses are taken down by the immediate danger of the water, he has to trust Juan and Juan honors this trust. In a culture where men are discouraged from being “soft” especially with each other, Juan’s gentleness and support shows Little a different way, offering him hope that a relationship could exist between two men. In the scene between Kevin and Chiron in act two, the ocean becomes more obviously linked with Chiron’s sexuality. The way Jenkins describes the ocean here, “it’s wild out, the wind whipping the reeds, ocean waves running upon the shore with verve” suggests chaos and vitality which builds anticipation for something to come. Indeed the waves seem to draw Chiron and Kevin towards each other in this scene, while they are talking “a huge wave hits the shore, demanding their attention
decided to call him “Blue.” It can hardly be a coincidence that Juan is nicknamed blue and Chiron is nicknamed Black, the two colors mentioned in the old woman’s remark. No, this connection by the phrase, and moonlight between Juan and Chiron suggests the significance of the scenes lit by moonlight, particularly the final scene of the film. By the ocean, and particularly by moonlight, Black looks different; he is different. In these settings he is able to be himself, to trust others, and to express his feelings. The moonlight softens him, and recalls his relationship with Juan, the man he comes to emulate greatly over the course of the film. We see Chiron dress like Juan, become a drug dealer like Juan, drive a car like Juan, but in the moonlight, he can be gentle, and warm, and understanding, like Juan. By the ocean Chiron/Black is able to express his sexuality, but in the moonlight, he is also able to express every facet of his identity that has been repressed. When, in the final scene of the film Little stands glistening in the moonlight, it’s clear that Black has been returned to his true nature, he is allowed to be a shy and tender boy once more.
