The Representation

We watch Chiron struggle from a young age with his sexuality. In an early scene, when most of his friends call him "Little," a couple named Juan and Teresa (played by Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monáe) take him under their wing after he is neglected by his mom, and he asks them about homosexuality and they have a conversation about it.

Not only that, most of the cast is of color. A film representing both of these things is actually huge. The fact that it was Oscar nominated and won best picture is also so huge.

Chiron's Identity Struggle

A big theme I was able to notice is Chiron's identity struggle. He grows up in an area where gay slurs are thrown around like its nothing, and it's quite obvious he isn't able to be who he truly wants to be. The film throughout asks the question of, "is identity something you are in control of or is it something developed based on what has happened to you in your life?"

We see Chiron at three different stages in his life

i. is titled "little,"

ii. is titled "chiron."

iii. is titled "black."

Through each of these stages in his life, we see Chiron struggle to find himself. At his oldest stage, we see him adapt to the lifestyle that Juan, the man that helped raise him, had when Chiron was young. A drug dealer, the way he dresses, the car he drives, etc. all are themes we saw in Juan early in the film.

This leaves us asking, did Chiron truly choose the way he is living his life, or did he simply take over an identity that was fated for him in the beginning?

Family Struggle

In Moonlight, we see Chiron struggle with his family life. He lives in a home with no father and a mother with a drug addiction, leaving him to his surrogate parents Juan and Teresa, who take him in and somewhat nurture him. However, we learn that Juan sells drugs to Chiron's mother. Trapping him in a cycle with important figures in his life involved with drugs. Ultimately shaping him to be the person he becomes at the end of the film.

Masculinity

Finally, in this A24 film we watch Chiron struggle with trying to appear masculine. This is a key theme throughout, as a young kid he is forced to wrestle with a friend to prove he isn't "soft." We can see however, that Chiron appears less masculine than most of the boys he is surrounded by. When he is a teenager, also, to prove that he is "a man," he is forced to beat up one of his closest friends, Kevin, and he does show just to prove himself.