Moonlight Scene Analysis Anonymous 11th Grade

Barry Jenkins's 2016 drama Moonlight depicts a young African-American boy, Chiron, struggling with his sexuality through three stages in his life, early childhood, his teenage period and finally in his adult life, showing how he develops as a person. In this middle, high school period, he begins a secret relationship with another Boy, Kevin. However, a school bully instructs Kevin to beat-up Chiron, possibly assuming something is going on between them, and this is the altercation we see. In this scene multiple production elements are used to reveal things about all the characters, in particular, the two main teenagers, Kevin and Chiron. The use of camera angles and techniques, sound mixing and finally acting all culminate to reveal to the audience the important details about all the characters in the film.

Firstly, through the use of camera techniques, director Barry Jenkins reveals many things about the characters in his film. This is shown by the first frame of the scene, with Chiron being shot extremely close, and as the only object in focus for the first 6 seconds, as he walks around the school. This aims to reveal a key aspect of his character. The use of focus on just him shows how disconnected he is with the rest of the...