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Moonlight Film Analysis

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Barry Jenkins's dramatic feature film, Moonlight, starts off centered around a young boy nicknamed “Little” growing up in Liberty City, Miami. He is assigned different names and different expectations while he struggles to solve who he is for himself. The audience watches this boy grow up through key moments depicted from his childhood, teenage years, and young adulthood. Quickly, it becomes apparent that love, or lack thereof, serves as a major theme in the narrative of the boy’s life. Unable to find solace in his drug-addicted mother, he turns to a local drug dealer and his girlfriend as interim parents. The dealer, Juan, becomes his role-model and mentor as he offers the young boy advice and life lessons. Unfortunately, this relationship is short lived due to Juan’s death. Thus, feeding into the film’s second major theme: growth through change. Ultimately, this film captures these two themes through authentic, emotional dialogue between characters, loaded camera shots, and careful editing techniques. Two scenes where these tools are best utilized both have Kevin and Little, or rather Chiron, conversing. One is captured during their teenage years, the second is captured when they are adults. Both scenes portray Chiron as vulnerable and hiding from his identity. Meanwhile, Kevin serves as a catalyst for change in such character; because of his feelings toward Kevin, Chiron convinces himself to open up and be honest with another human being despite the risks that come with

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