Blue is, traditionally, a calming color. It is usually associated with emotions that mollify or content, and is used as a quintessence of wisdom. In his film Moonlight (Jenkins, 2016), Barry Jenkins uses waves of blue and red to influence the emotional valence of its characters and in turn, the audience. Through his editing and use of sound, Jenkins artfully creates a masterpiece depicting the variable hues that layer black America, apart from a singular story of poverty and crime. The film follows Chiron (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes) as he grows through adversity in Miami, Florida.
As Chiron navigates through a maze of neglect, longing and desire, he is bathed in a moon-like hue of blue light. The blue light’s appearance is a stabilizing motif that gives Chiron confidence, certainty, interiority, and peace. This is the foundation of the film’ s origin – it was originally based on the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney.
Chiron’s blue surroundings are often interrupted by conflicting characters and tones of orange and red. Red is anger, passion, danger. Orange is caution, stimulation. Orange is also associated with encouragement. His mother’s (Naomie Harris) anger is amplified by fluorescent pink light. A bully’s red hat. The orange glow of the streetlight above a dealer’s corner, a glow from a crackpipe. Whatever causes Chiron turmoil seems is paired with warmer tones.
Jenkins’ use of sound amplifies each instance of blatant colored lighting. It surrounds Chiron as he learns to swim, drowning out his anxieties with the sound of ocean waves and classical music. It ricochets off of the walls around one of many standoffs between Chiron and his mother, the pink light illuminating the background. One can feel their blood quicken, thicken, and stop with each instance, connecting the viewer to Chiron in his experiences, as a black (and perhaps gay) man.
At times, Jenkins blurs together cool, warm, calming and alarming sounds to discomfort the viewer, as Chiron is bewildered as well. In a dream sequence, Chiron is confronted with a sexual revelation that is stimulating and shocking for him and the viewer. Hazily hued waves of blue and orange wash back and forth in time with ocean waves and juvenile grunting to intrigue, arouse, and mystify Chiron and the audience.
Jenkins’ ability to create a bridge between audience and character solely through color and musical motifs is astonishing. Outside the lines of auteurism he is bringing variability and visibility to black folks in cinema. He intertwines sexuality and race, using sensational detail to resonate emotion with the audience. Moonlight is an ethereal experience, yet still most human.
Philip Runia 