Barry Jenkins' Moonlight: Reimagining the Coming-Of-Age Genre in Film

The coming-of-age genre in film was established during the 1950s, a postwar period defined by rebellious and confused teenagers. Within the film genre, the young protagonist experiences physical or emotional struggle throughout their expedition, resulting in organic identity discovery. One subdivision of the genre that emerged during the 1990s was black coming-of-age stories. However, it was not until Barry Jenkins’ 2016 film Moonlight that the genre was completely reimagined in a new light. Jenkins’ film does not follow the recurrent coming-of-age plotline that has been exemplified in previous films of the genre, which display youthful growth by the end. Instead, Jenkins illustrates the harsh realities of many young African Americans that grow up in impoverished environments with little guidance. The protagonist, Chiron, is unable to psychologically grow throughout the film due to the grim environment that he is forced to live in, along with the lack of parental figures in his life. These factors limit his own sexual expression and identity, resulting in a tragic lack of growth by the end of the film. I researched many scholarly writings that gave insight into Moonlight and other coming-of-age film’s structures, as well as exploring the background of Liberty City, Miami, the film’s setting. Furthermore, I analyzed scenes in Moonlight that revealed Chiron’s stunted psychological growth, differing from other narratives in the genre. This exploration is significant because Moonlight broke the traditional coming-of-age norms when it was released, allowing for more creative and transgressive ways to tell stories in the genre.