Moonlight Extra Credit Reflection

Having seen the film Moonlight, it is obvious to me that the film is extremely connected to our key words of the week, especially ideologyand the relationship between the self and the social.

Moonlight details a coming of age story, depicting a portrait of black, gay masculinity. It examines and delves into the core beliefs indoctrinated in American culture surrounding the concepts of what it means to be a man, what it means to be gay, and what it means to be an African American.

Separately, each of these aforementioned meanings are incredibly complicated, and within Chiron’s character in Moonlight these storylines are combined into the journey of one young man.

Chiron’s journey as a young, black, gay man growing up in America exposes the ideologies present and pervasive in American culture, especially evident in his fear of coming out, being judged, being deemed an outsider. It exposes the American beliefs of what is “normal” or what would force a person to become an outlier.

As for the relationship between the self and the social, Chiron’s journey exposes the reality of the fact that many people maintain a very skewed relationship between themselves and the social realm in which they inhabit. Chiron, afraid to expose himself for fear of losing his image of masculinity, presents as heterosexual in his social realm, not his true self. Therefore, his relationship between self and social is extremely imbalanced and broken. His social presentation and interior presentation do not match.

Overall, Moonlight is an important film for people of our current generation to watch. It sheds light on hardships faced by many, and paints an honest portrait of a young man, struggling to find himself in a world that tells him not to.