Gender Roles In Moonlight

In a long history of disenfranchised communities in film, the LGBTQ community is one of the most underrepresented in a realistic manner. However, Barry Jenkin’s Moonlight offers an unflinching look at the struggles of a young gay man named Chiron, and through two key scenes it demonstrates how society forces those who do not fit into standard gender roles to conform to hegemonic and heteronormative behavior, even at the expense of their own individuality.
A key theme in Moonlight is how hegemonic masculinity uses ideological and repressive means to break down opposing ideals, leading Chiron to succumb to his oppressors and conform. Chiron is bullied because of his sexuality, with his manhood especially attacked, claiming that he is more like
This point in the film takes place a few years into the future where Chiron is an adult, taking part in drug dealing and enforcing the hegemonic masculine ISA (Althusser). However, the cracks begin to show when Kevin calls, inviting Chiron to return to his hometown to meet up. This leads to a key scene that demonstrates how the ISA and RSA have affected Chiron’s personality (1hr 22m 7s). As Chiron and Kevin meet in Kevin’s diner, Kevin remarks on how Chiron has changed and how society has forced him into the mold after Chiron tells him that he’s gotten into the drug dealing business. He calls it “bullshit” and remarks that “That ain’t you Chiron”. In another use of mise en scene, Kevin picks out the detail of the grill he wears on his teeth, asking “why you got them damn fronts, man?” (Belton). In this case, the costuming detail of the grill acts as a metaphor, representing the literal and figurative “front” that Chiron now wears, one that is so steeped in the insecurity that he gained in his time in school that he hides who he really is under the guise of a manly gangster. Chiron even gets defensive, responding that Kevin doesn’t know him, even though Kevin is the only person aware of his true sexual identity. Together, all of these details add to the idea that
By showing why Chiron falls into the hegemonic ideal of a man and concealing his sexual identity and then showing his eventual realization of this, the audience is painted a picture of a man whose personality is severely corrupted by the dominant view of masculinity. As a result, Barry Jenkins succeeds in presenting a heartbreaking yet important argument advocating for changing the status quo of gender and sexuality