The Radical Representation
in "Moonlight"
Three gay black men reflect on sexuality and masculinity in light of a film acclaimed as
a groundbreaking portrayal of black identity and experience.
Olu Seye was born and raised in Nigeria. At the age of 16, Seye’s family decided to move to Canada to begin a new life. Now, at 30 years old, Seye works as an artist influenced by his culture and its intersectionality with masculinity, sexuality and identity.
“I guess through an intersectional exploration, I'm sort of trying to give a more wholesome comprehensive view of what black male identity is,” Seye says.
This comprehensive identity Seye speaks about is hard to find in film. Generations of misrepresented black males in Western film have skewed notions of what it means to be black and male.
And these stereotypical portrayals are not hard to ignore—a vast pool of academics and university programs exist to deconstruct these notions, for example, the absent father and single mom, thugs and violence and the incarceration of black males.
Dr. Rinaldo Walcott, director of the Women & Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto, says many of these Western portrayals are based on some empirical truth that then morph into stereotypes.
“That empirical truth became a totalizing narrative, making other narratives disappear. It’s not to say that across the black world, across the black diaspora that they are not communities where fathers are absent and so on. But it’s to say that that’s not how all black diaspora, all black masculinity is experienced and understood,” Walcott says.
So when is there accurate and fair representation? This question is hard to answer, though recently a film has been making a lot of noise.
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Seye never believed that he would see what he did when he went to a film called Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins.
The film is lauded as a groundbreaking depiction of black queerness, masculinity, abuse, friendship, coming-of-age and all the complexities that come with being a black male in the West.
“With this movie, you see completely different aspects of gay black male identity. People quite often don't think it exists because black men are so often expected to be super hard and that's the image that's presented that we are hard and aggressive and brute but then on the other extreme is when it's a gay black man, it suddenly has to be a very feminine man,” Seye says.
“It's almost like the media cannot reconcile that you can have a masculine black gay man so it always portrays the other side and usually over the top caricature (that) serves to foster laughter,” he says.
Moonlight follows the life of Chiron, a black male who falls for another black male, in three chapters (young boy, teenager and then an adult male). The film explores Chiron through black male identity, sexuality and masculinity. It’s something that is rarely represented on feature length films, especially with such a visceral approach.
"What’s interesting about the film is that, the film brings to the scene some images of black men that are not often seen on the screen,” Walcott says.
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Olu Seye flashes a smile.
Photo by Sadiah Rahman.
Rasheed Davis is a 20 year old gay male from Philadelphia who calls the film a revelation. After watching the film, his twitter feed filled up with comprehensive thoughts.
“(It’s) one of the most accurate representations that I’ve ever seen. Growing up in a urban area, I can relate to the different experiences. It wasn't like your average "gay" movie. The way it renders personal experiences, the way it renders black masculinity was amazing,” Davis says in a phone interview.
To Davis, seeing the film was an immensely unique experience. He says gay representation in film is mainly through a white character, and so when this movie shows a bond between two black males, it becomes incredibly powerful.
“Times are changing. Some see it as a good thing and some see it as a bad thing. I think with films like this, it means that we are moving forward,” Davis says.
Walcott, though, is hesitant about the praise the film has been receiving.
Walcott says the film should only be seen as a depiction of African-American masculinity since the scope of the black diaspora and masculinity is greater than just this film. He also notes that in celebrating the film, the lines can become more blurred.
“One of the reasons why the film is so loved, so many people, black people included, have come to believe that black masculinity is a hard masculinity and a harsh masculinity. Then you get a film that is so tender and apparent to offer an alternative way of being in the world, that that becomes celebrated. We have to be very careful and not actually use the stereotypes that frame our actual social life as a way to read artistic work. We are bringing all the stereotypes we have about black men to this film, and because this film, in some ways, counters that, then we are like ‘wow,’ this is groundbreaking,” Walcott says.
Nevertheless, the three men agree that the film is different and historical.
“I really think that's what made this movie amazing. It was nice to see a movie with an all-black cast, I'll be honest about that,” Seye says.
“It's good, it felt good to go and see this movie. It was nice to hear stories that represented my race, my community. It was nice to see myself relate to all the characters. I think it really took me to my childhood and to where I am in my life and had me thinking “where am I going to be in another 20 years, 30 years?”
Photo by Sadiah Rahman
