sskaepniwt - Tumblr blog

[sskaepniwt]

So only 15 mins into this movie and it’s already crazy fucked up. Then this happens. And I really can’t explain all that has lead up to this scene… but this couple of seconds… The way he holds him hand to light his cig. The way he stares into his eyes while the other is trying to avoid his gaze.

Literally something inside me broke.

[sskaepniwt]

So I just finished “Moonlight” and I can confidently say that it’s the most moving and powerful movie I’ve seen in decades. A beautiful portrait on black masculinity and what it means in today’s world.

This is the movie that needed to happen.

[sskaepniwt]

like not only did a lot of black people win but a movie about a black boy finding out his sexuality and falling in love with another black boy won, which tells me I can do out there and make or write any movie I want to and it will get recognized and it will received the recognition it deserves bc black people are finally getting recognized for all the gorgeous and talented work that we put into the shit that we do

I really want to cry but I can’t. I am so silently happy. So silently satisfied that this movie exists and will continue to exist and won for the best award out there

[sskaepniwt]

Happy Together (1997)

[sskaepniwt]

A video showing Wong Kar-wai’s influence on Barry Jenkins, with side-by-side comparisons of Moonlight with In The Mood For Love, Days Of Being Wild, and Happy Together.

[sskaepniwt]

Happy Together is a Chinese film written and directed by Wong Kar Wai in 1997. It’s a story about the romance between Ho and Lai, who have had an on and off again relationship that consist of constant abuse. It follows their journey together but they end up breaking up with each other. Lai is the more committed one in the relationship, while Ho likes to go out and pick up other men because he craves that attention. Ho is the one that drives Lai to the edge of his insanity but even in the time of need Lai still takes in and cares for Ho after he gets beaten up one night. So there’s this emotional rollercoaster that is occurring between these two throughout the whole film. Though one reviewer on IMDB stated, “While the story may be more famous as a film about gay relationship, it is in fact, not so. The lead characters just happen to be gay, and loneliness, with all the jealousy and melancholy that comes with it, takes centrestage”. I wholeheartedly agree with this quote because while watching this film I really didn’t think too much of the fact that this was a gay relationship but what drew me  more in was the raw emotions that were being presented through the screen. From one our readings from this week “The Unbearable Lightness of Gay Movies”, Christopher Kelly stated, “What follows is an epic and tortured battle between two lovers who will never be”happy together”, as they separate and break apart, fall in and out of love. Are the feelings they experience on their journey (tenderness, alienation, loneliness, confusion, self hatred, and desperation) any different from the emotions that the characters in a heterosexual Hollywood divorce epic like Shoot the Moon go examples of everything American gay cinema can and should be doing to fix itself”.  This goes to show how powerful this film is that there’s this same reoccurring reaction that’s happening with the audience universally. It’s important though to still recognize that this is a queer film with asian men because representation is necessary and this is something that we don’t see a lot in films. This was also one of the main films that inspired Berry Jenkins on his work Moonlight. So sometimes I think about if we didn’t have Happy Together, what would have Moonlight have been like differently? 

[sskaepniwt]

Anything from the heart.

Happy Together(1997)

[sskaepniwt]

Cinematic parallels Happy Together (1997) dir. Wong Kar Wai Moonlight (2016) dir. Barry Jenkins

[sskaepniwt]

Happy Together (Chun gwong cha sit) 1997, dir. Wong Kar-Wai.

[sskaepniwt]

Happy Together (1997) dir. Wong Kar-wai

[sskaepniwt]

Tony Chiu-Wai Leung and  Leslie Cheung (Happy Together, 1997)

[sskaepniwt]

Moonlight is a coming of age film written and directed by Barry Jenkins. The story follows an African American boy from his early childhood into his adulthood. It explores the struggles that he faces of coming to terms with his own sexuality and identity and also living in a dysfunctional home. He endures abuse from his mother and his colleagues from school, both physically and emotionally. Though the one person that Chiron befriends from a young age is another young boy named Kevin. Eventually when we get to the second chapter of his teenage years, we found ourselves witnessing Chiron’s first sexual experience with Kevin. A day later after this event, at school a bully manipulates Kevin into assaulting Chiron. This made me think about the toxic masculinity that is displayed all over a society and that homophobia is the main factor to it. Gregory M. Herek states in his article “On Heterosexual Masculinity”, that “Conformity to social standards and defense against anxiety push heterosexual men to express homophobic attitudes and provide rewards in the form of social support and reduced anxiety, both of which increase self esteem. In other words, heterosexual men reaffirm their male identify by attacking gay men”. We see this happening not only with the bully Terrel, but with Kevin who is a closeted homosexual. In order to conform to the standards of being a straight male around his peers he had to assault the one person that he shared an intimate moment with.  Later on in the film we see the difference within Chiron once he reaches adulthood. Once again in Herek’s article he perfectly explains what Chiron was striving to be in order not to have an image of a gay male. The quote states, “As an identity, heterosexual masculinity is defined both positively and negativity. Heterosexual masculinity embodies personal characteristics such as success and status, toughness and independence, aggressiveness and dominance”. We see this through the way he presents himself by him having more muscles and wearing grills and chains. Also with his business of drug dealing and having a status of being tough on the streets. What makes this film so important as an LGBTQ film is the it showcases a story that it rarely is told, which is from a perspective of a person of color. Most coming of age stories are centered around a white character and not only that but we don’t see many dealing with the discovery of sexuality. 

[sskaepniwt]

I messed up. I fucked it all the way up. I know that. But yo’ heart ain’t gotta be black like mine, baby.

[sskaepniwt]

[…]

[…]

[…]

[…]

[sskaepniwt]

We here, Chiron.

Moonlight (2016) dir. Barry Jenkins

[sskaepniwt]

Moonlight (2016)

[sskaepniwt]

You’re the only man that’s ever touched me. You’re the only one. I haven’t really touched anyone since.

Moonlight (2016) dir. Barry Jenkins