ABSTRACT
Moonlight’s form and its aesthetics have drawn particular critical attention, notably its narrative structure, setting, cinematography and music and colour symbolism. It is also worth considering how Moonlight can be categorized in cinematic terms, particularly its position between arthouse and mainstream cinema, the product of an independent production company, A24, and a winner at the Oscars. The film’s narrative structures also speak to multiple traditions, combining the teleology of the coming-of-age narrative with less linear forms and that speak to the traditions of New Black Realism and what Manthia Diawara calls the ‘Black expressive style’ of storytelling in independent Black cinema. The representation of the setting of Liberty City in Moonlight also captures this dualism in that it both draws on other ‘hood’ films about deprived predominantly African American neighbourhoods and disrupts these images with its focus on beauty. Moonlight also uses thematic symbolism using colour and music, which also lend structure and patterns to the film, combining attention to form and content.
