Moonlight: In The Ghetto and Gay

Last updated on: February 28, 2017 at 3:33 pm by Gerard A. Murphy

Moonlight: In The Ghetto and Gay 2017-02-28T15:33:47-04:00 Gerard A. Murphy

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Scrambling to define your sexual orientation can be terrifying at the best of times. Being a withdrawn, African-American boy growing up in a 1980’s Miami “hood,” doesn’t exactly help.

Set in a ghetto of poverty, gang violence, and a pervasive drug culture, director Barry Jenkins could have saturated this indie flick with proverbial scenes of violence, sleaze and machismo blah. But he doesn’t.

Instead we’re treated to a tender, meditative and compassionate coming-of-age LGBT story, portrayed through the harrowing life of young Chiron as he navigates a fatherless childhood, turbulent adolescence and burgeoning manhood.

His emerging sense of self and sexuality as a young man of color, are delicately interwoven into the harsh and caustic “hood” culture he is born into. In an almost survival-of-the-fittest environment where weakness of any kind are suppressed and disdained, he somehow survives through blood, tears and loss to emerge as a singularly sensitive and self-aware adult.

The Lotus

Chiron’s story reminds me of the journey of the Lotus . .

From the depths of a muddy, murky pool, the Lotus slowly ascends to the surface, erupting from the water as a beautiful blossom. During the night the lotus closes and submerges (like an inner cleansing), only to reemerge with the sunlight of a new day (a renewal).

The lotus seeds, consciously “know” what they are destined to 7acmusyrzpu-jay-castor become — elegant blossoms symbolizing beauty, awareness and enlightenment.

Its flexible stem symbolizes resilience. Its continual reemergence symbolizes never giving up, never quitting no matter how much others stereotype or try to silence us.

It’s Chiron’s oppressors who are cowardly and spineless — not him.

According to legend, the muddier and more opaque the water, the more radiant the Lotus flower when it emerges.

No Agenda

This tender flick has a refined sensibility that belies its machismo undertones. It does not burden the viewer with a turgid, partisan agenda.

To my mind, it is a very deftly woven tapestry of contemporary African-American culture, fraught as every lifestyle is with the pain, passion, ecstasies and pitfalls of growing up in a world that may love or hate you. Receive or reject you for who you are.

You can stream it on Netflix.com.

Enjoy!

Image Insert: Unsplash.com

Previous Post

January 21, 2017

Inaugural Prayers Heavily Partisan

Next Post

February 9, 2017 Are You Walking the Grace Trail?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2018 May 2018 April 2018 January 2018 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz