This is the question that the protagonist Theron in "Moonlight Boy" has been asked many times by different people. Understanding and knowing oneself is one of the most important topics that have been constantly explored in the history of film. In 2016, "Moonlight Boy" wanted to explore not only who the protagonist is, but also the understanding and transformation of black films about themselves.
"Moonlight Boy" and the Self-Knowledge of Black Films
Many people may no longer remember how they treated black movies at the beginning of 2016. No black actors or works about black people have been nominated for major awards at the world-wide Oscars. This has caused a lot of controversy in the politically correct Hollywood, and there have also been a lot of discussions about #OscarSoWhite (Oscars too white) on social networks. Even the black super star Will Smith has publicly boycotted Oscars, thinking that Oscars Of voting members discriminate against black film and television creators.
But if you look at the 2015 film works, especially those in the United States, objectively speaking, none of them has been treated unfairly because of race. Thinking about it carefully, can you list some particularly good 2015 black films and even TV works? You can’t mention "Selma" by the black female director Ava Dejolie, because it was a 2014 movie, not to mention that it was nominated at the 2015 Oscars; you can’t mention "Out of CommScope" "Ton", because although its box office is unexpectedly gratifying, it cannot be said to be a particularly brilliant movie; you cannot say "Quadi", because even if Ryan Kugler is so brilliant as a director and screenwriter, there is none. Obviously better than the five nominated people, and the same words can also be used to explain why Michael B. Jordan, who plays the male lead, was not nominated; you can’t say "Cool" and "Orange", because although they are It's so fresh, but it can't leave the identity of a niche independent film, and it's understandable that it can't enter the public's line of sight and thus cannot be nominated.
As a (amateur) film critic, although I can wholeheartedly recommend all the above-mentioned works to readers, I cannot overly sympathize with the so-called predicament of not being nominated for Oscars. If Will Smith is so concerned about Oscar's discrimination against black works, why, as one of Hollywood's best movie stars, does not accept or even make better black movies? Why is he supposed to be the leading figure of black filmmakers to pick up soulless Chongao works like "Concussion Effect" and "Attached Beauty", or purely bad movies like "Suicide Squad" for years?
And as a normal person, I don't like to be bluntly put on the hat of a racist. The evaluation of a work of art should be based solely on its pros and cons, and should not be forced to add (or subtract) points because of the sensitivity of the materials involved. This is why I never mention race or gender when evaluating movies or even things around me. The greatest respect we can give to sensitive topics such as race or gender is probably not to think about them rigidly before making an evaluation, but to put the things we want to examine on the same starting line as normal things, right?
In 2016, there are many black film masterpieces
While public opinion is still immersed in the racial discrimination of the Oscar nomination in January, the Sundance Film Festival at the end of January seems to have provided the initiators of these opinions with a long-awaited topic. Nate Parker took his self-written, directed and acted "The Birth of a Nation" to sweep the world's most famous independent film festival, and also received a $17.5 million copyright acquisition by Fox Searchlight. The major media have praised the film as if it has been hungry for a long time, thinking that it has locked in the 2017 Oscar nomination in advance, and even predicted that 2016 will become the new year of black films and counterattack the old Oscars.
What about the facts? Because of Nate Parker's own controversy, the big winner on the Sundance film was later criticized by various parties. Regardless of the author's past crimes, it is reasonable to think independently about the quality of the work, and it is precisely because of this that we can still accept his hand-held masterpiece "The Pianist" after Polanski's scandal. But my most pertinent evaluation of "The Birth of a Nation" is that it doesn’t have many highlights, and I am even baffled for its winning various awards at Sundance, especially when its opponent is the best candidate of the year "The Seaside". "Manchester" and "Swiss Army Knife Man" and so on.
The restless media was wrong. "The Birth of a Nation" will not be nominated for the 2017 Oscar due to its poor quality. But they are right on another point-2016 is indeed a big year for black films.
After "The Birth of a Nation", high-quality black films began to arrive as scheduled. "The Simpsons: Made in America" is a seven-and-a-half-hour documentary that has won everyone's praise for its amazing production quality. I even thought it was the first masterpiece of 2016 when I watched it for the first time; There is another "Thirteenth Amendment" produced by Ava Dejolie, which explains the slavery plight that still exists in American society today from a legal point of view. At the end of the year, the famous black actor Samuel • "I'm not your nigger" narrated by Jackson, although it was once again polarized by the audience because of the topic of race, it still won unanimous praise in the film critics; independent works include the one that was forgotten by the audience. The excellent work "You are in the South" by the Obamas on their first date; of course, there is also the short and exquisite "Tic Syndrome".
However, despite these excellent works, the black film and television industry in 2016 still lacks a finalized work. Although "Simpsons: Made in America" is so perfect, it is a documentary, and it is still a bit difficult to get into the eyes of a wide audience; while "You Are in the South" and "Tic Syndrome" are delicate and wonderful, they still lack the hand-crafted ones. The depth required for a masterpiece.
At this time, "Moonlight Boy" appeared.
The creative team of "Moonlight Boy", including director and screenwriter Barry Jenkins (second from left)
"Moonlight Boy" is the first comeback of the black director Barry Jenkins after eight years of his debut film "The Antidote to Melancholy." As a non-homosexual, he chose the most narrow and niche setting that is similar to his background but not the same—slums, blacks, and homosexuals. However, the movie relies on these most niche settings to explore the deepest and most extensive themes of mankind-self-knowledge, external influences, and growth.
And to help Jenkins explore these themes perfectly, it is the excellent script that bears the brunt. This script adapted from the stage play "The Black Boy Under the Moonlight Is Blue" comes from Tarrell McCartney, who has never collaborated with Jenkins but has a very similar background with him. As the winner of the McCarthy genius award, McCartney created this deep story, but unfortunately it has not been able to make it to the stage because of its complicated structure. But the complexity on the stage, in the eyes of Jenkins, means the potential to become a movie. These two black creators who grew up in the hot and humid Miami, lived only a few blocks away but never met when they were young, joined forces to bring the audience the most highly rated work of the 2016 film critics.
We usually ask what the movie is about when discussing a movie. What does "Moonlight Boy" say? The protagonist Theron lives in a slum in South Florida, he is a gay, and then he grows up. The End. Audiences who have seen this work believe that they will not object to the above overview, because this is indeed what the film says.
But attentive audiences will also know that this is not actually what the movie says.
"Moonlight Boy" tells the story of a moment, but also the story of a lifetime
When "Moonlight Boy" presented us with the most concise story structure for the only three short periods of time in Theron's life, we were able to feel the purest character demonstration that Jenkins brought us. We were able to observe Theron from close, and we were able to look directly into his eyes. It is said that the eyes are the window of the soul, which is why Jenkins mentioned that he only paid attention to the eyes of the actors when casting roles. He believes that as long as the eyes of the three actors are similar enough, their understanding and expression of the role will be credible enough. In "Moonlight Boy", we were able to spend more than an hour with Theron, looking directly into his heart through his eyes. And this seemingly simple movie is also the movie that needs deep contemplation the most in 2016.
This is why if you are asked what this movie "says", the attentive audience may not know how to answer it. For this movie, paying attention to its "what it says" is like missing the theme it wants to express.
"What is said" for this movie is like trying to list a person's past events to understand him. This is probably feasible, right? Where was he born, where did he study, when did he get married and have children. But can these questions really help us understand his life better? It should be impossible, because everyone's life is deeper and more meaningful than the sum of these events listed. Although these events always have milestone significance, isn't our understanding of the world created by the seemingly meaningless days between these milestones?
Like Theron, there is no so-called plot in your and my lives, and it doesn't matter what you say. All is just how we feel the world and how to react to what is happening around us. And this is the most elegant and beautiful place in "Moonlight Boy". We followed Theron, cared for him, sympathized with him, shouted for him, worried for him, and wept for him. We are sad because of the plight of his life, we are angry because of the discriminatory gaze of the society towards him, and we understand and regret because he responded to the gaze of the society with his strong muscles as armor. We can empathize, because like Theron, there is always a moment of anxiety in our lives.
Pay attention to more mundane and pity-prone stories-the self-knowledge of new black films
Regarding movies, the famous American film critic Ebert once said: “For me, a movie is like a sympathetic machine. It makes you feel a little bit more responsive to different hopes, ambitions, dreams, and fears. More understanding. It helps us get to know these people who are on the road like us."
"Moonlight Boy" is just such a movie. As a black film, it has drugs, slums, and homosexuality, but these are not the focus of its attention. The only thing it hopes to do is to make us have an understanding and sympathy for Theron, and it has done so successfully at this point that when we walk out of the cinema, we can show more to the people around us. People express understanding and sympathy.
And when black films finally gave up calling for so-called racism and political correctness, and when black creators finally focused on more mundane and pitiful stories, we finally saw the progress of black films. . We saw this kind of progress in "Moonlight Boy", and we also saw this kind of progress in the new American drama "Atlanta" in 2016. These black works with their own unique souls give the audience the opportunity to observe other stories outside of themselves, and allow the audience to have a deeper and new understanding of the world.
And this, maybe it is the self-knowledge of the new black film?
"Who is you?"
"I'm "Moonlight Boy", I'm a new-born black movie."
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