Critical Investigation: Task #1

Section: 00.00.00 - 0.08.27

The beginning of the film introduces audience to the song choice of the song. The audience closes their eyes and hears only melody of the song, they would hear the soothing and calm rhyme if the words of song contains the derogatory term used for Black people which conveys the opposite. Once lyrics are sung, listeners will hear the vulgar language instead of the calming tones in the background, however, the lyrics state "Every n***a is a star" which is a juxtaposition of words with the negativity held in the derogatory word and the positive, powerful and heavenly ideas known for a star. This contrast in words in the lyrics represent how society has held beliefs and stereotypes  of Black people as unaccomplished and not beautiful, thus, this song subverts such images by stating that even in the negative imagery of Black people there is still positive and hold their own power. The films dominant audience would be young Black people (15-30) and such a phrase may resonate with this audience due to the issue of society representing Black people as under-performers, schools, works  etc. , and having a word that has become ambiguous in meaning and a colloquialism for Black people the phrase may resonate with such an audience. One minute into the film and Barry Jenkins has already represented one type of juxtaposition through his song choice and encapsulated his main demographic from the opening. 

The screen fades from the title of 'PASTEL' ,one of the production companies,to black then opening up to a medium shot of a blue car pulling up to the sidewalk of a vacant town street. In the car the audience is introduced to the character Juan, who plays high ranked drug dealer soon to be checking up on one of his sellers to see how business is going. For the second time, we are seeing the use of juxtaposition in the scene while not through sound but physically in the interior of Juan's car. The use of a mid-shot is useful as the audience is able to see Juan in addition to all his surroundings. On the font dashboard there is a crown and a cigarette at close proximity which he threw when pulling up the street, the two objects individually hold positive connotations and one negative.The crown and cigarettes being placed in close proximity in Juan's car symbolises the mixed role model Juan is for Chiron  The crown symbolises the power and respect Juan ultimately has within his neighbourhood, seen when he is the drug overseer for other and distribute to Chiron's mother, and throughout the film and the nicotine representing the dark side of his life. As we know Juan is a major role model throughout Chiron's childhood, even though he is flawed and misguided because of varying factors. Additionally, the colour of the car should be noted, the colour of the car is a light shade of blue, almost as if it presents water or purity, the exterior of the car is the only part of the car someone from the outside may view and so externally the blue seems calm and serene ,whereas, the interior shows his Juan's own internal conflict due to the crown and cigarettes. This shows the complexity of Juan's personality and how he is one character wearing a mask from the start. 

Juan exists the car leaving his own interior and putting on the calming and smooth mask of the exterior (car), the camera now follows him from the behind positioning the audience to follow his direction and the commotion between two men in front of him which he walks to. 

The cinematography used here is incredibly smooth and swift due to the use if a 360 camera angle. The camera slowly pans and revolves around the characters, the purpose for the style of shot is to establish Juan's characterisation as smooth, chill , well-known in both the neighbourhood and society. I believe, it also is used that way so the audience can get a glimpse of the sought neighbourhood they are in, when traditionally, a long shot would be used to establish setting, 'Moonlight' rather makes the film more immersive with the rotating camera movements. For me, the organised way the characters sell drugs are sold in the film is portrayed extremely realistically, the realism is conveyed thought the film earning it's acclaimed naming. 

Viewers are made to feel immersed in this scene as well as seeing the scene in every characters point on view (POV shot). This concept of a circular view connects to the theme of cycles , the 360 degree shot of this scene symbolises that cycles appear throughout the film, such as, Chiron having to break the cycle of doing drugs in his family or spending his childhood with Juan and eventually circling into the same path as Juan currently has. Additionally, the 360 degree view is always moving which provides a disorientating experience for the viewer, this  unsettling feeling illustrates the intensity of the situation between the drug dealer and the middle man. Lastly, in this moment we see two men one of young age and one of an older age staring into each others eyes as if they were each others mirror's, in the scene, one may imagine the addict was once a young man and the young is seen as a suture addict showing the concept of cycles and juxtaposition. 

 The composition of the scene shows a tableau of three men lined up in the order of social power in the community. The positioning of the three men shows Juan on the right, drug addict on the left and the distributor in the middle, in the article 'How to read a movie' the author writes "usually the person slightly  right to the centre" is shown as the most "dominant figure". These positioning choices made by Barry Jenkins symbolises the social status of these three men, in the middle we see the distributor of the drugs or the 'middle man' in this scene literally and figuratively the 'middle man' because he stands in the middle of the two characters showing him as the connector in their relationship.

To add, the lighting is important in this scene, it is daytime due to the lightness of the colour although the connection between the men is drugs which is more of a negative and dark feeling. The fact it is bright outside and there is no shadows ,for them to be discreet, symbolises the comfort Juan has in his job  and shows he is not trying to hide parts of his life.  

We see a major shift in power dynamic as the circle circles back to Juan after the distributor take the money from the addict and goes on to tell another man from the back ground being told by him to chase after the distributor. The change in power dynamic is seen through the positioning of characters, the man man in the black shirt (distributor) was standing on the right hand side of the screen ,when talking to the addict, being the man in power, now within a few seconds we witness Juan standing to the right hand side of the scene controlling. In the previous scene the distributor has significantly more power than he does now because the addict was dependant on him, now that the addict is no longer in view, the 'middle man' no longer appears to have any power. This illustrates the theme of dependency in the film, whether it be addict's dependency on the drug distributor ,Chiron being dependant on Juan or Paula (Chiron's mother) being dependant on the drugs Juan supplies. The dialogue itself shifts from "empty the register on the weekend" to "How's your mom doin'", this sudden shift changes the whole mood of the scene, this fashion symbolises that characters do have more complex lives which aren't of those an audience may perceive a drug dealer would have. Jenkins further goes to break the stereotypes of Black men and just as he does with Chiron in the film. Black men in film which hold narratives of drugs, rap, sex etc. would be shown as tough uncaring such as Dough Boy in 'Boyz N The Hood' to anyone and would only be there to sell drugs and kill, having Juan mention his distributors mother and state that "She's in my prayers" subverts the negative stereotypes of Black men as uncaring and selfish in films. 

I should note the camera has stopped moving gin this scene, the stillness of the camera symbolises the stability of the conversation. When the camera was moving drugs were the conversation at hand, now that the conversation shifted to family the camera has become still and stable in movement, positioning the audience to catch their breath and provides a strong transition for the next scene where they speak of their families.

The use of body language from the actor also reinforces the loss of power, as the man bends his back standing low and rubbing his hands on pants while also making minimal eye contact with Juan as he moves his head rigorously around. The tone of the actor has become softer from the loud and demanding voice used against the addict who was not able to give the right amount of cash for his drugs. These physical movements shown from the distributor, shows both his lack of power and Juan's ability to make others feel small and inferior to him. The addition to the build of the actor Marhershalla Ali adds to the strong and mindful characterisation of Juan, the post colonial theory would reinforce the idea of large Black men as menacing, strong and scary from times of the slave trade which have trickled into ideologies shown in both film and media. This would be both a positive stereotype (Perkins) as those who do fit this image would be represented and are part of this image and shouldn't be considered less, however, subverting from such 'negative' images would be used in media to show another image of Back men one of which isn't that of the 'scary Black man' seen in media. 

Over the course of this scene, Barry Jenkins is not only setting up the plot but also introducing the audience or viewer to crucial themes which will play a major role throughout the film. 
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Section: 40.15-1.20.00 





In Act 2 we are introduced to Chiron's teenage years, at this time in his life we are aware he is still confused but not unaware of the fact that he can have feelings. At the beginning of this specific scene the audience is standing afar from Chiron seeing him within a medium shot of him gazing outside through the fence, the camera then is put at his shoulder in a medium close shot peering over his shoulder through a quick edit shot. I think the use of the camera being positioned at close proximity to Chiron is used as a tool to immerse the audience in while also positioning the audience in a place of 'knowing' as we follow Chiron through his home, his school . The lighting remains cool and dulled which represents Chiron's own insecurity of feeling powerful in the light but finding safety and comfort within the dark as in Act 1 we see him comforted in being held up by the bullies in an abandoned dark empty house.
The theme of blue becomes more vivid and evident in Chiron's teenage years as we see in this scene. We firs see the colour blue appear in his first interaction with teenage Kevin in this scene, when Kevin, somebody who clearly has his identity figured out more than Chiron comes out of the blue surrounding. 

As the two converse the camera is shakes slightly from panning from Kevin to Chiron further emphasises of Barry Jenkins wanting to fully immerse the audience by acting as if they themselves are in the movie by having the camera be handheld. Unlike, the beginning of the film's scene with the use of a 360 degree camera angle we see the two characters rather circling each other. This image of circling is an imitation of a power battle between males which can be shown in many animal behaviours, for example, when a male animal is sizing up another male they circle each other and to show their own power they put them selves higher or give a brutal attack. The scene shows Kevin circling Chiron as though he is prey and something to hunt for, this could be an indication of Kevin showing his dominance through his body language to Chiron, to try and asset overall dominance and power over him. This identity of Kevin which he has taken upon can be the conformity he has shown for such images of Black boys; he wears a gold chain and loose shirt and baggy pants, which Chiron was teased for by the bullies for being too tight. Kevin further conforms to the ideal of Black  boys by over sharing his sexual experience on the stairwell which ended getting him a detention for getting caught. The idea that Black boys should be sexual and are over sexualised and for them to be derogatory to women: "with this trick", which would of been an influence of the rap culture eaten up by young Black boys from society today. 

The whole scene, Chiron moves from the colourless scene to the blue setting by the end of the scene conversing to us that he is now comfortable being in that way Kevin is.

As the whole scene progresses, Chiron is told to leave his house due to his mother  having company over another negative representation of the lack of parenthood in Black communities from thr films own representation of Paula's mistreatment of Chiron. As Chiron meets Kevin at the beach, who having realised is Chiron's crush at this point, it is hear we witness Chiron opening up to Kevin next to the water which is a follow up scene to the initial beach scene with young Chiron and Juan, considering how much more open Chiron remains in this beach setting compared to the first especially when he looks up to the moonlight. This contrasts Chiron's character and the effect of Juan being a father figure, he was able to talk more and open up about himself with Juan as he was never given that emotional vulnerability with Paula  while talking to Kevin at the beach left him more silent and speaking less words . This maybe due to the subject they talk about as they speak openly about crying, Chiron recalls how he felt he cried "so much I just turn to drops" and Kevin replies with "You jsut role out into the water right?". The ability for two Black boys to openly their feelings especislly about crying subverts violent images of Black boys created in movies (Bad Boys, Kidulthood) and masculinity in Black men and how they are presented.

The socialisation of African American males to separate themselves, if not totally mute, from the natural range of human emotions begins at a rather young age. During adolescence when scores of us faced physical and verbal reprimand  as a consequence for misbehaviour, we heard the rhetorical cliches from a parent or guardian “stop crying ” ,” man up”, or “be a man”.

The alluded to socialisation continues throughout secondary  school many of us with the age old admonishment of “men don’t cry” is hurled at young African-American males. Subsequently  many young Black men  who audibly or visibly express feelings of pain will be denigrated by not only peers, but also family members, including parents.The alluded to images are also perpetuated  through the mass media,  namely through Rap Music.  Music from artists like Snoop Dogg, Chief Keef, Young Jeezy, and others  has  reinforced the notion that masculinity is synonymous with hyper-sexuality, anger, criminality, and violence. These images combine with highly questionable lyrics to create a poisonous socialisation cocktail that inevitably leads African-American males to believe that the only emotional expression available to them is one that can only be characterised as anger and unbridled rage. The alluded to socialisation inevitably forges a Manhood construct that makes the absence of emotion as a core principle of what it means to be a man.There is a parallel in medium shots between the two actors staring up at the camera in awe and another of the just the moon in the sky. For me, I think the shot represents the moon looking down at two carefree boys that are stripped of all false identity that was previously placed upon them.

To add, the dialogue is able to show the type of charterers they are, while Chiron admits he cries Kevin passively tries to dismiss the notion he cries and when Chiron tries to conform it Kevin states:"That's some sh** you would say", saying he was piggybacking of his point and that it is something that Chiron would want to do. This shows us that Chiron was always the one that would try and stay true to himself regardless of the crowd using him in a certain way for his honesty. Kevin The two speak of the "ocean breeze" which they talk about represents a state of peace and tranquillity where they can cut the facade and just have their freedom to be who they really are without receiving judgement from anybody. Relating to what the moonlight says, if it wasn't for the moon they wouldn't the receiving that peaceful ocean breeze by the waves is an example of someone who is more concerned about what other people think rather than stay true to his identity, he is not truly honest the way Chiron is. Chiron says "I want to do a lot of things that don't make sense " from this Kevin becomes more engaged and curious, he playfully pushes him which moves into him caressing his neck Coincidentally, after this shot, Kevin and Chiron share what is Chiron's first kiss and the realisation of who he is become clear in himself from the facial changes from the actor Ashton Sanders. Chrion has not only confirmed with himself who he is but he has found somebody that he can trust. The ability to show subtle imagery of what happened between two was done well but I think it may be due to censorship and the ignorance to show a scene between two men not being allowed, The film goes at a certificate 15 which is only restricted to "portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence", this could argue they have shown the act but because they went against it many have complimented the scene for being subtle as many queer movies misinterpret homosexual sex as extremely sexual and promiscuous. 
The scene continues where both end up in Kevin's car as he drives Chiron to his house, the car has taken on a tinted yellow due to the lampposts illuminating their faces in the car. As stated the night is dark and could possible be that Chiron is really from adolescents to his teenage years he finds comfort and confidence