2019/08/27

Moonlight (2016 film)

Moonlight (2016 film)

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Moonlight
Moonlight (2016 film).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Jenkins
Produced by
Screenplay byBarry Jenkins
Story byTarell Alvin McCraney
Based onIn Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue
by Tarell Alvin McCraney[1]
Starring
Music byNicholas Britell
CinematographyJames Laxton
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed byA24
Release date
  • September 2, 2016(Telluride)
  • October 21, 2016(United States)
Running time
111 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5–4 million[3][4][5][6]
Box office$65.2 million[7]
Moonlight is a 2016 American coming-of-age drama filmwritten and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. It stars Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali.
The film presents three stages in the life of the main character; his youth, adolescence, and early adult life. It explores the difficulties he faces with his sexuality and identity, including the physical and emotional abuse he endures growing up.[8] Filmed in Miami, Florida, beginning in 2015, Moonlight premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2016. Distributed by A24, the film was released in the United States on October 21, 2016, and grossed over $65 million worldwide.
At the 74th Golden Globe Awards Moonlight won Best Motion Picture – Drama and was nominated in five other categories. The film subsequently won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 89th annual Academy Awards, along with Best Supporting Actor for Ali and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jenkins and McCraney, from a total of eight nominations. In 2017, The New York Times considered it the "twentieth-best film of the 21st century so far".[9]
Moonlight became the first film with an all-black cast, the first LGBTQ-related film, and the second-lowest-grossing film domestically (behind The Hurt Locker) to win the Oscar for Best Picture.[10][11][12] The film's editor, Joi McMillon, became the first black woman to be nominated for an editing Oscar (alongside co-editor Nat Sanders), and Ali became the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar.[13][14]

Plot[edit]

i. Little[edit]

In Liberty City, Miami, Cuban drug dealer Juan finds Chiron, a withdrawn child who goes by the nickname "Little," hiding from a group of bullies in a crackhouse. Juan lets Chiron spend the night with him and his girlfriend Teresa before returning Chiron to his mother Paula, who subsequently grounds him from watching TV for worrying her. Chiron continues to spend time with Juan, who teaches him how to swim and advises him to make his own path in life.
One night, Juan encounters Paula smoking crack with one of his customers. Juan berates her for her addiction and neglect of her son but she rebukes him for selling crack to her in the first place; all the while they argue over Chiron's upbringing. She implies that she knows why Chiron gets beaten up by his peers, alluding to "the way he walks," before going home and taking out frustrations on Chiron. The next day, Chiron admits to Juan and Teresa that he hates his mother and asks what a "faggot" means. Juan describes it as "a word used to make gaypeople feel bad." He tells Chiron it is okay to be gay and that he should not allow others to mock him. After asking Juan whether he sold drugs to Paula, Chiron leaves as Juan appears distraught and remorseful for his actions.

ii. Chiron[edit]

Now a teenager, Chiron juggles avoiding school bully Terrel and spending time with Teresa, who has lived alone since Juan's death. Paula lets her crack addiction with prostitution get the better of her and coerces Chiron into giving her money Teresa loans him. One night, Chiron has a dream in which his friend Kevin has sex with a girl in Teresa's backyard. On another night, Kevin visits Chiron at the beach near his house. While smoking a blunt, the two discuss their ambitions and the nickname Kevin gave Chiron when they were children. They kiss, and Kevin masturbatesChiron.
The next morning, Terrel manipulates Kevin into participating in a hazingritual. Kevin reluctantly punches Chiron until he is unable to stand before watching as Terrel and his goons beat him up. When a social worker urges him to reveal his attackers' identities, Chiron, not wanting to turn Kevin in, refuses, stating that reporting them will not solve anything. The next day, an enraged Chiron walks into class and smashes a chair over Terrel's head. The police arrive, arrest Chiron for assault, and send him to juvenile hall.

iii. Black[edit]

Now going by the nickname "Black," an adult Chiron is released from prison and deals drugs in Atlanta. He receives frequent calls from Paula, who asks him to visit her at the drug treatment center where she now lives. One day, he receives a call from Kevin, who invites him to visit him should he decide to come to Miami. The next day, he wakes up and realizes he has had a wet dream. While visiting Paula, he stands up to her, calling her out for her negligence. She proceeds to apologize for not loving him when he needed it most and tells him she loves him even if he does not love her back. Eventually, the two of them reconcile before Paula lets her son go.
Chiron travels to Miami and reunites with Kevin, who now works at a diner. When his attempts to probe Chiron about his life result in silence, Kevin tells him he's had a child with an ex-girlfriend and, although the relationship ended, he is fulfilled by his role as a father. Chiron reciprocates by talking about his unexpected drug dealing, proceeds to ask Kevin why he called, to which Kevin plays a song on the jukebox that made him think of Chiron. After Kevin serves Chiron dinner, the two of them go to his apartment. Kevin tells Chiron that he is happy despite the fact that his life didn't turn out as he had hoped, resulting in Chiron breaking down and admitting that he has not been intimate with anybody since their encounter years ago and since his arrest. Kevin comforts him and they embrace. In a flashback, Little stands on a beach in the moonlight.

Cast[edit]

Trevante Rhodes
André Holland
Naomie Harris
Janelle Monáe
Mahershala Ali

Crew[edit]

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

Tarell Alvin McCraney at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival
Tarell Alvin McCraney at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival
In 2003, Tarell Alvin McCraney wrote the semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue to cope with his mother's death from AIDS. The theater piece was shelved for about a decade before it served as the basis for Moonlight.[15]
After the release of his debut feature film Medicine for Melancholy in 2008, Barry Jenkins wrote various screenplays, none of which entered production.[16] In January 2013, producer Adele Romanski urged Jenkins to make a second film.[17] The two brainstormed a few times a month through video-chat, with the goal of producing a low-budget "cinematic and personal" film.[16] Jenkins was introduced to McCraney's play through the Borscht arts collective in Miami.[18] After discussions with McCraney, Jenkins wrote the first draft of the film in a month-long visit to Brussels.[16][18]
Although the original play contained three parts, they ran simultaneously so that the audience would experience a day in the life of Little, Chiron and Black concurrently.[19] In fact, it is not made clear that the characters are the same person until halfway through the play.[20]Jenkins instead chose to split the three parts of the original piece into distinct chapters and to focus on Chiron's story from the perspective of an ally.[18][21]
The result was a screenplay that reflected the similar upbringings of Jenkins and McCraney. The character Juan was based on the father of McCraney's brother, who was also a childhood "defender" of McCraney, as Juan was for Chiron.[22] Likewise, Paula was a depiction of Jenkins' and McCraney's mothers, who both struggled with drug addictions. McCraney and Jenkins also both grew up in Miami's Liberty Square, a primary location of the film.[17]
Jenkins looked for financing for the film during 2013, finding success after sharing the script with the executives of Plan B Entertainment at the year's Telluride Film Festival. Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B Entertainment became producers of the film,[16] while A24undertook to finance it and handle worldwide distribution, which marked the company's first production.[23]

Casting[edit]

A black and white photo of the director Barry Jenkins
Screenwriter and director, Barry Jenkins
Different actors portrayed Chiron and Kevin in each chapter of the film. Ashton Sanders was cast in the role of teen Chiron.[24] Alex Hibbert and Jaden Piner were cast for the roles of child Chiron and child Kevin, respectively, in an open casting call in Miami.[25][26] Trevante Rhodes originally auditioned for the role of Kevin, before he was cast as adult Chiron.[27]
André Holland had previously acted in McCraney's plays, and had read In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue a decade before the release of the film.[28] Holland was attracted to the role of adult Kevin when later reading the script of the film, stating, "[The script] was the best thing I've ever read".[29]
Naomie Harris was initially reluctant to portray Paula, stating that she did not want to play a stereotypical depiction of a black woman.[30]When addressing her concerns, Jenkins emphasized the character's representation of both his and McCraney's mothers.[28] Harris later commented that although she had previously vowed not to portray a crack addict, the film's script and director's tolerance appealed to her.[17]In preparation for her role, Harris watched interviews of those with addiction to crack cocaine, and met with addicted women. She related her experiences of bullying to the addicts' attempts of escaping trauma.[30][31]
Romanski proposed Juan be played by Mahershala Ali, who had a role in one of her previously produced films, Kicks. Jenkins was hesitant when casting Ali due to his role as Remy Danton in House of Cards; however, he was convinced after witnessing Ali's acting range and understanding of his character.[32] Ali considered the role an important opportunity to portray an African-American male mentor,[33] and drew on his experiences of "[growing] up with a Juan".[32] Janelle Monáe was sent the script and immediately connected to her role as Teresa, commenting that she too had family members with similar struggles relating to drugs and sexual identity.[16]

Filming[edit]

Part of the film was shot in the Liberty Square housing project
Filming began on October 14, 2015, in Miami, Florida.[25][34] After scouting for locations in Miami with Romanski,[21]Jenkins made an effort to film in locations where he previously lived. Liberty Square, a housing project located in the neighborhood of Liberty City, was chosen as one of the primary locations as both McCraney and Jenkins grew up in the area.[35][36] The film was shot undisturbed since Jenkins had relatives living in the area,[21] though the cast and crew had police escorts.[31] Naomie Harris later reflected:
During filming, Jenkins made sure that the three actors for Chiron did not meet each other until after filming to avoid any imitations of one another.[37] Consequently, Rhodes, Sanders, and Hibbert filmed in separate two-week periods.[36] Mahershala Ali frequently flew to Miami on consecutive weekends to film during the production of other projects.[38][39][40] Naomie Harris shot all of her scenes in three days without rehearsals,[30][31][40] while André Holland filmed the totality of his scenes in five.[40] The film was shot in a period of twenty-five days.[15]
Jenkins worked with cinematographer and longtime friend James Laxton, who previously shot Medicine for Melancholy.[41] The two chose to avoid the "documentary look" and thus shot the film using widescreen CinemaScope on an Arri Alexa digital camera, which better rendered skin tone.[38][41] With colorist Alex Bickel, they further achieved this by creating a color grade that increased the contrast and saturation while preserving the detail and color. As a result, the three chapters of the film were designed to imitate different film stocks. The first chapter emulated the Fuji film stock to intensify the cast's skin tones. The second chapter imitated the Agfa film stock, which added cyan to the images, while the third chapter used a modified Kodak film stock.[42]

Editing[edit]

The film was edited in Los Angeles[38] by Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, former university schoolmates of Jenkins.[41] Sanders was responsible for editing the first and second chapters.[43] McMillon was responsible for the third act which included the "diner scene", a favorite of the cinematographer Laxton.[44][45]

Music[edit]

The score of Moonlight was composed by Nicholas Britell. Britell applied the chopped and screwed technique from hip hop remixes to orchestral music, producing a "fluid, bass-heavy score". The soundtrack, released on October 21, 2016, consists of eighteen original songs by Britell along with others by Goodie Mob, Boris Gardiner, and Barbara Lewis.[46] A chopped and screwed version was released by OG Ron C and DJ Candlestick of The Chopstars.[47]
Moonlight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by 
Nicholas Britell
ReleasedOctober 21, 2016
GenreSoundtrack
Length38:04
LabelLakeshore Records LKS 348902
ProducerNicholas Britell

Track listing[edit]

Moonlight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack[48][49]
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Every N****r Is a Star"Boris Gardiner3:19
2."Little's Theme"Nicholas Britell0:59
3."Ride Home"Britell0:47
4."Vesperae solennes de confessore – Laudate dominum, K. 339 (Excerpt)" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)Britell1:42
5."The Middle of the World"Britell2:02
6."The Spot"Britell1:23
7."Interlude"Britell0:25
8."Chiron's Theme"Britell0:56
9."Metrorail Closing"Britell1:42
10."Chiron's Theme Chopped & Screwed (Knock Down Stay Down)"Britell2:08
11."You Don't Even Know"Britell2:20
12."Don't Look at Me"Britell0:36
13."Cell Therapy"Goodie Mob4:37
14."Atlanta Ain't but so Big"Britell0:55
15."Sweet Dreams"Britell0:58
16."Chef's Special"Britell1:10
17."Hello Stranger"Barbara Lewis2:43
18."Black's Theme"Britell0:56
19."Who Is You?"Britell0:53
20."End Credits Suite"Britell5:13
21."Bonus Track: The Culmination"Britell1:55

Themes[edit]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, lists "love, sex, survival, mothers and father figures" among its themes, particularly the lack of a nurturing father.[50] However, A. O. Scott of The New York Times cites the character Juan as an example of how the film "evokes clichés of African-American masculinity in order to shatter them."[51] In his review in Variety, Peter Debruge suggests that the film demonstrates that the African American identity is more complex than has been portrayed in films of the past.[52] For example, while Juan plays the role of Little's defender and protector, he is also part of the root cause of at least some of the hardship the young boy endures.[53]
A major theme of Moonlight is the black male identity and its interactions with sexual identity. The film takes a form similar to a triptych in order to explore the path of a man from a neglected childhood, through an angry adolescence, to self-realization and fulfillment in adulthood.[50]
This particular story of Chiron's sexuality is also seen as a story of race in a 'post-Obama' era. The film amalgamates art film with hood film in its portrayal of African-American characters on-screen. Many technical film techniques are employed to juxtapose the characters and action on scene, including the use of an orchestral score done in the melody of popular R&B and hip-hop motifs. This specifically deals with theme of recuperating identity, especially in terms of blackness. The characters operate in an urban working-class city in Florida but are portrayed through art house conventions to create a new space for black characters in cinema. This mirrors Chiron's own odyssey to learning who he is, as he constantly struggles with trying to find some essentialism to his identity, yet consistently fails in doing so. The triptych structure helps to reiterate the fragmented personality to the film and Chiron.[54]

Black masculinity[edit]

The film's co-writer, Tarell Alvin McCraney, speaks on the topic of black masculinity in the film, explaining why Chiron went to such lengths to alter his persona. He argues that communities without privilege or power seek to gain it in other ways. He says one way in which males in such communities do this is by trying to enhance their masculine identity, knowing that it often provides a means to more social control in a patriarchal society.[55]
In Moonlight, masculinity is portrayed as rigid and aggressive, amongst the behavior of young Black males in Chiron's teenage peer group.[56]The expression of hyper-masculinity among Black men has been associated with peer acceptance and community.[57] Being a homosexual within the Black community, on the other hand, has been associated with social alienation and homophobic judgement by peers because Black gay men are seen as weak or effeminate. In the film, Chiron is placed in this divide as a Black gay man and alters his presentation of masculinity as a strategy to avoid ridicule because homosexuality is viewed as incompatible with Black masculine expectations. As young kids, Kevin hides his sexuality in order to avoid being singled out like Chiron is. As Chiron grows older, he recognizes the need to conform to a heteronormative ideal of Black masculinity in order to avoid abuse and homophobia. As an adult, Chiron chooses to embrace the stereotypical Black male gender performance by becoming muscular and a drug-dealer.[56]
Moonlight explores the effects of this felt powerlessness in black males. As McCraney explains, coping with this feeling often coincides with attempts to overstate one's masculinity, in a way that can easily become toxic. He says one unfortunate side effect of leaning into masculinity too much is that men no longer want to be "caressed, or nurtured, or gentle," which is why a character like Juan may be puzzling to some audiences.[55] Chiron's choice to value masculinity over the desire to be loved or caressed becomes evident in scenes like his first sexual encounter with Kevin. These ideas are related to Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley's essay "Black Atlantic, Queer Atlantic," in which she claims that the slave ships of the middle passage may have allowed for the formulation queer identities and relationships amongst the black men and women below deck. She argues the formulation of queer relationships was a method of resistance, providing love and comfort to black people when there should have been none.[58] However, Chiron does not view the desire to form a homosexual bond as being compatible with his desire to claim his masculinity, and this false dichotomy is the source of much internal tension and strife in his character throughout the film.

Intersection of blackness, masculinity, and vulnerability[edit]

Blackness, masculinity, and vulnerability are major focuses of this film.[59] In the beach scene with Chiron, Juan, his father figure in the film, emphasizes the importance of black identity. Juan says, "There are black people everywhere. Remember that, okay? No place you can go in the world ain’t got no black people. We was the first on this planet." As Juan speaks about the relevance and importance of the black experience, he also thinks about a time in his youth when a stranger told him "in moonlight, black boys look blue." This is an image that the audience gets to see as the director, Barry Jenkins, supplies numerous shots of Chiron in the moonlight. It seems that Juan seems to associate this image with vulnerability, given that he tells Chiron that he eventually shed the nickname "Blue" in order to foster his own identity. The scenes depicting Chiron in the moonlight are almost always the ones in which he's vulnerable, his intimate night on the beach with Kevin included. Throughout the film, this dichotomy between black and blue stands in for that between tough and vulnerable, with the black body often hovering between the two.[60] In Chiron's situation, the black body, which can be seen as inherently vulnerable in American society, must be tough in order to survive, as seen by Chiron's final, very masculine and dominant identity.

Water[edit]

Water is often seen as cleansing and transformative and this is apparent in the film as well. Whether it be him swimming in the ocean or simply splashing water on his face, Chiron is constantly interacting with water. However, it is most notable that water is most often seen in the film in times of immense transition for Chiron. Throughout his life, Chiron resorts to water to bring him comfort e.g. taking baths when his mother is not home or swimming in the ocean with Juan. In the scene where Juan taught Little to swim, he explained to him the duality of water in relation to Black existence, a concept addressed in Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley's Black Atlantic, Queer Atlantic. The ocean is like a crosscurrent as Tinsley says, that can simultaneously be a place of inequality and exploitation as well as beauty and resistance. Tinsley describes how, "black queerness itself becomes a crosscurrent through which to view hybrid, resistant subjectivities and perhaps, black queers really have no ancestry except the black water."[61] The water, is either an environment that can destroy Chiron or allow him to triumph and throughout the movie we see Chiron using the water to cope and find himself.

Release[edit]

Jenkins, Holland and Sanders exiting a limousine van
Jenkins, Holland, and Sanders in Toronto
The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2016.[62] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2016,[63][64] the New York Film Festival on October 2, 2016,[65][66] the BFI London Film Festival on October 6, 2016[67] and the Vancouver International Film Festival on October 7, 2016.[68] The film was released to select theaters on October 21, 2016,[69] before beginning a wide release on November 18, 2016.[70][71] The full UK cinema release was on February 17, 2017.[72]

Marketing[edit]

The film's poster reflects its triptych structure, combining the three actors portraying Chiron into a single face.[73] The producers employed no extra marketing for the film; interest in the film grew naturally up until the Academy Awards, induced by the critical reviews.[74] The trailer for the film was released on August 11, 2016 in time for festival season. Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times referred to it "as one of the most anticipated films for fall".[75]
On February 27, 2017, the day after the Academy Awards, Calvin Kleinreleased an underwear advertising campaign featuring four of the male actors in the film.[76] On March 7, 2017, Beijing-based streaming video service iQiyi announced that it has acquired the rights to stream the film in China.[77] The film is also available in home media format through iTunes and DVD.[74]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

Moonlight grossed $27.8 million in the United States and Canada and $37.5 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $65.3 million, against a production budget of $4 million.[7]
The film originally played in four theaters in its limited October 21, 2016 release, grossing $402,072 (a per-theater average $100,519).[78] The film's theater count peaked at 650 in its wide opening on November 18, 2016, before expanding to 1,014 theaters in February. After the Oscars ceremony, A24 announced that the film would be played at 1,564 theaters.[74] In the weekend following its Oscar wins the film grossed $2.5 million, up 260% from its previous week and marking the highest-grossing weekend of its entire theatrical release. It was also a higher gross than the previous two Best Picture winners, Spotlight ($1.8 million) and Birdman ($1.9 million), had in their first weekend following the Academy Awards.[79]

Critical response[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 99% based on 360 reviews, with an average rating of 8.99/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Moonlight uses one man's story to offer a remarkable and brilliantly crafted look at lives too rarely seen in cinema."[80] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 99 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."[81] On both websites, it was the highest-scoring film released in 2016.[82][83]
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a positive review after Moonlight premiered at the 2016 Telluride Film Festival. He praised the actors' performances and described the cinematography of James Laxton as "fluid and seductive, deceptively mellow, and shot through with searing compassion." Rooney concluded that the film "will strike plangent chords for anyone who has ever struggled with identity, or to find connections in a lonely world."[84] In a uniformly positive review for Time Out New York, Joshua Rothkopf gave Moonlight five stars out of five and praised Barry Jenkins' direction.[85]
Brian Formo of Collider gave Moonlight an 'A−' grade rating, applauding the performances and direction but contending that the film "is more personal and important than it is great."[86] Similarly, Jake Cole of Slant Magazine praised the acting, but criticized the screenplay, and argued that "so much of the film feels old-hat."[87] In a review for The Verge, Tasha Robinson lamented the plot details omitted between the film's three acts, but wrote that "what does make it to the screen is unforgettable."[88]
While discussing the film after its screening at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Timesdescribed Moonlight as "achingly romantic and uncommonly wise," opining the film to be an early Oscar contender. Chang further wrote: "[Barry Jenkins] made a film that urges the viewer to look past Chiron's outward appearance and his superficial signifiers of identity, climbing inside familiar stereotypes in order to quietly dismantle them from within ... [Moonlight] doesn't say much. It says everything."[89]
Writing for The London Review of Books in February 2017, Michael Woodcharacterized the film as a study of an inherited intergenerational tragedy:
Camilla Long of The Times wrote that the film's "story has been told countless times, against countless backdrops", and that the film is not "relevant" to a predominantly "straight, white, middle class" audience.[91] Long was criticized by users on Twitter for the review, and was accused of being homophobic and racist in her writing.[92][93]Catherine Shoard defended her by pointing out that "critics' opinions are subjective, and are supposed to be."[94] However, David McAlmontreferred to Long's review as "not a review ... [but] a waspish response to other reviews."[95]

Top ten lists[edit]

Moonlight was listed on numerous critics' top ten lists for 2016.[96]

Accolades[edit]

Main article: List of accolades received by Moonlight (2016 film)
At the 74th Golden Globe Awards, Moonlight received six nominations, the second highest of all film nominees.[97] The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, with additional nominations for five more: Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (for Ali), Best Supporting Actress (for Harris), Best Screenplay (for Jenkins) and Best Original Score (for Britell).[98]
Moonlight received eight nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, the second highest of all nominees, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (for Ali), Best Supporting Actress (for Harris) and Best Adapted Screenplay.[100] The film won three awards: for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay.[101] At the ceremony, presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty read La La Landas the winner of Best Picture. Beatty later stated that he had mistakenly been given the duplicate Best Actress envelope, for which Emma Stonehad won for her role in La La Land several minutes prior.[102] When the mistake was realized, La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz came forward to announce Moonlight as the correct winner.[103]
Because the film's screenplay was based on a play that had not previously been produced or published, different awards have had different rules about whether it qualified in the original or adapted screenplay categories.[104] It was classified as an original screenplay by both the Writers Guild of America Awards and the BAFTAs, but was ruled as an adapted screenplay according to Academy Award rules.[104]
Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon were nominated for Best Film Editing, making McMillon the first black woman to earn an Academy Award nomination in film editing.[105] It is also the first LGBTQ film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.[106]

Cultural impact[edit]

The film is referenced in "Moonlight", a song from Jay-Z's studio album4:44.[107]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Moonlight Interview Barry Jenkins, accessed December 13, 2016.
  2. ^ "Moonlight". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved January 20,2017.
  3. ^ @BarryJenkins (January 23, 2018). "Barry Jenkins on Twitter" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ O'Falt, Chris (February 9, 2017). "The Craft of 'Moonlight': How a $1.5 Million Indie Landed Eight Oscar Nominations". Indiewire. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  5. ^ FilmL.A. (May 2017). "2016 Feature Film Study" (PDF). FilmL.A. Feature Film Study. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "Moonlight (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b "Moonlight (2016)". The Numbers. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  8. ^ Lee, Benjamin (September 3, 2016). "Moonlight review – devastating drama is vital portrait of black gay masculinity in America". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  9. ^ Dargis, Manohla; Scott, A.O. (June 9, 2017). "The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century ... So Far". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  10. ^ France, Lisa Respers (February 28, 2017). "Oscar mistake overshadows historic moment for 'Moonlight'". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  11. ^ Rose, Steve (February 27, 2017). "Don't let that Oscars blunder overshadow Moonlight's monumental achievement". The Guardian. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  12. ^ Lincoln, Kevin. "Don't Let the Best Picture Debacle Overshadow Moonlight's Great Win". Vulture. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  13. ^ Zak, Dan (February 26, 2017). "Joi McMillon, the first African American woman to be nominated for best editing". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  14. ^ Yan, Holly (February 27, 2017). "Mahershala Ali becomes first Muslim actor to win an Oscar". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  15. ^ Jump up to:a b Rodriguez, Rene (October 21, 2016). "Miami plays a starring role in the glorious 'Moonlight'". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  16. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Kohn, Eric (October 19, 2016). "Barry Jenkins' Moonlight Interview: Journey To Making a Classic". IndieWire. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b c Keegan, Rebecca. "To give birth to 'Moonlight,' writer-director Barry Jenkins dug deep into his past". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
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The Hidden Pleasures of Life: A New Way of Remembering the Past and Imagining the Future by Theodore Zeldin | Goodreads



The Hidden Pleasures of Life: A New Way of Remembering the Past and Imagining the Future by Theodore Zeldin | Goodreads


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The Hidden Pleasures of Life: A New Way of Remembering the Past and Imagining the Future

by
Theodore Zeldin
4.09 · Rating details · 242 ratings · 35 reviews


The story of a search for a new art of living. How can one escape from work colleagues who are bores and from organisations that thrive on stress? What new priorities can people give to their private lives? When the romantic ideal is disappointing, how else can affections be cultivated? If only a few can become rich, what substitute is there for dropping out? If religions and nations disagree, what other outcomes are possible beyond strife or doubt? Where there is too little freedom, what is the alternative to rebellion? When so much is unpredictable, what can replace ambition?

Questions include: What is the great adventure of our time? What is a wasted life? How can people lose their illusions about themselves? What alternatives are there to being a rebel? What can the poor tell the rich? What could the rich tell the poor? How many ways of committing suicide are there? How can an unbeliever understand a believer? How can a religion change? How can prejudices be overcome? How can one think about the future, without trying to predict it or worrying about it? Is ridicule the most effective form of non-violent protest? How does one acquire a sense of humour? What stops people feeling completely at home in their own country? How many nations can one love at the same time? Why do so many people feel unappreciated, unloved and not fully alive? How else might women and men treat one another? What can replace the shortage of soul-mates? Is another kind of sexual revolution achievable? What can artists aim for beyond self-expression? What is more interesting than becoming a leader? What is the point of working so hard? Are there more amusing ways of earning a living? What else can one do in a hotel? What more can the young ask of their elders? Is remaining young at heart enough to avoid becoming old? What is worth knowing? What does it mean to be alive? Where can one find nourishment for the mind?(less)

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Kindle Edition, 432 pages
Published May 21st 2015 by MacLehose Press (first published October 8th 2014)
Original Title
The Hidden Pleasures of Life: A New Way of Remembering the Past and Imagining the Future
ASIN
B00T6CUWC4
Edition Language
English


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Mar 30, 2016Suha Hallab rated it liked it
To me, reading this book was like having a long long conversation with someone you love in the middle of the night about all the crazy curious questions you might have… a deep rich conversation…
So, this book represents 28 essays each titled by a question about a certain thing of which I’ll mention the ones I liked: what is a wasted life? How can a religion change? Why do so many people feel unappreciated, unloved and only half alive? What is the point of working so hard? What is worth knowing? and the best of the questions was, what does it mean to be alive?
Briefing about the author, he is a Russian-Jewish scholar at Oxford, born in 1933 in جبل الكرمل in Palestine. He and his parents moved to the UK where he pursued his studies in philosophy, history and latin. His best work was a 2000 pages book “The French” that was divided into 5 volumes: Ambition & Love, Intellect & Pride, Taste & Corruption, Politics & Anger and Anxiety & Hypocricy. He also wrote a replica of Orwell 1984 of how would the world look like if all desires are achieved under the title of “Happiness”.
This book is published in May 2015, and the author was 81 years and discusses with us the 28 different topics as if he s thinking out loud and talking to you as a friend however, as an 81 year old friend with expertise in life and writing based on huge array of sources and cultures.
For example, in his chapter titled what is worth knowing, I loved how he described that we should be nourished by knowledge and not bloated; nowadays many of us are just obese with knowledge it makes us sick. What use of information if there is no wisdom? He spoke about history as fiction, since past can never be told unless it’s from the perception of the historian… what matters is not how much knowledge we have but what we do with our knowledge, it is more like painting a picture which gradually takes shape.
And in the question of How can a religion change, he speaks about different religions, even the ones you wouldn’t expect to hear about like Zoroastrianism, he also quotes Islamic and Christian shcolars and Chinese and indian religions. He laments the hostility created by religions and that most of hostility is due to people telling each other how to behave. In india, there are 2.5 million places of worship and only 75000 hospitals.
Mainly, the writer would want a better world where people interact more in a meaningful way. He wants the hotels to become a hub for learning about each other whether we’re guests, having dinner or simply work there. In his world, Nobel prizes would be given to humorists instead of economists and the insurance companies would create opportunities for the young instead of creating fear of the old.
Regarding the style, the writing style is pretty simple, the book is fancy and the cover design is nice too. I also liked the notes on the side of each page, the ideas that should be remembered for example: “A family of the mind” , “Einstein and God”, competition “an awful kind of salvery”.
Personally, this book did not add anything to me. However it made me feel like I am sitting with an old friend at midnight with a glass of wine, and just talking y. It also made me think of my own answers and my own understanding of these topics as I also discussed them with my own friends. On the other hand, there are big parts of the book that feels like he just saying things to say, like a friend who is happy sharing what’s on his mind. What I also disagree with, is him stressing on interaction as nourishment, hence the people who prefer to spend time alone and not engage in any sort of conversation are less alive. In my opinion it is the opposite.
I do recommend as a light read, don’t expect to learn but to have a conversation through this book.
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Nov 13, 2016Virditas rated it it was amazing
This is a fantastic book. Zeldin is an engineer of optimism, change, and openness. If this book were required reading for everyone, we would live in a very different world. This is a human book about human scaled possibilities. Please read this.
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Mar 25, 2018nedim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: perfect, favorites
one of the most impressive books I've read lately.
the book says "try to see all the colors in the world"
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Jul 02, 2016Neglectedbooks rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Building on his 1998 book, Conversation: How Talk Can Change Our Livesand his Conversation Menu project, Zeldin offers 29 essays in which he discusses questions ranging from "What is the great adventure of our time?" and "What is a wasted life?" to "What is the point of working so hard?" and "What is worth knowing?"

In most, he starts by introducing a person-- sometimes someone famous from the past (the painter Lucian Freud, the poet and novelist Rabindranath Tagore), sometimes someone from the present (Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad), sometimes someone relatively obscure (the Indian memoirist Haimabati Sen)--and describing some aspect of his life and the choices he made. He then considers the larger questions that one might draw from each specific example and the choices they might inspire in us as individuals or as a society.

This is not a book to read if you're looking for simple answers, or even answers at all. Zeldin is really simply interested in opening doors and windows, in stimulating us to ask our own questions. A historian by training, Zeldin is very attuned to the importance of our pasts on our futures: "Humans have never yet created something out of nothing": "No-one lives only in the present"; "Knowledge is never raw."

Some reader may find this book extremely frustrating, as Zeldin often leaves one with more questions than answers. This is, however, his intent:


I hope that eavesdropping on my conversations will make my readers want to interrupt and disagree, and feel impelled to start their own book, from their own perspective, evoking the past that is most meaningful to them, and imagining a future that would give more hope to the present.

File Under: Mind Opener (less)
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May 27, 2017Lisa rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Some wonderful ideas, things to contemplate, especially about being more open to other people's ideas, disagreements, contradictions. I am even more inclined to get out and meet new people, talk to them about what they've experienced, what they've learnt....
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Jun 14, 2019Sebastian Beltrán rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: history, philosophy
This book is a collection of 28 essays, each posing a question that "most of us leave half-answered in the back of our minds", such as "What is a wasted life?","How many ways of committing suicide are there?" or "What else can one do in a hotel?". Theodore Zeldin uses these themes as a vantage point from which he starts an argument. He manages to write a book that doesn't feel like a lecture and monologue but more like an intimate and lengthy conversation with a good friend over the dinner table.

A central theme of his and also his patent recipe for many of our problems are conversations. He discusses our lack of them, how our environment whether in our jobs or family hinders them and thinks about alternative ways in which we could increase the quality of our social interactions. In my favorite chapter Nr. 24 "What else can one do in a Hotel" he relates the life of the Russian Author Fjodor Dostojewski and how his four years in Siberia changed the way the thought of the poor and criminals because he got to know them and changed his way of talking with them. Dostojewski felt initially isolated, surrounded by strangers but after talking to them noticed that he had much to learn. From there on Zeldin draws a parallel to the way modern hotels are also quite isolated island. They may offer accommodation but seldom do they offer connection. How else might we relate to the chambermaids instead of ignoring them on the way out ? Isn't there a more exciting way of getting to know a foreign country instead of only looking at monuments of old but never speaking to an inhabitant of now?

What I've really liked is the way in which Zeldin uses history. He doesn't just see history as a collection of events in succession, or a series of stages but rather as a toolbox. He poses a question and then goes on to look at how people from other periods and lands have dealt with this problem. But this isn't to say that he draws on positive examples on how you should live, much rather he intends to show what the possibilites are.

Although Zeldin has said in interviews that he doesn't want to be called philosopher or historian, in my eyes he outshines many members of both professions. This book brings to light the good aspect of philosophy that I so like to read. Not at all theoretical, splitting hairs about the use of this or that technical term but focused on the practical aspects. Not on how you shouldthink differently, but on how you could.

What I wouldn't give to be even half as fluid in thought, open to new ways of thinking and humble with 81 years of age as Zeldin appears to be. He is what I would call in the discordian fashion a Catmatist, the opposite of a dogmatist. Instead of holding to a certain belief, no matter what evidence presents itself, he stresses the importance of the ambiguity of facts, how belief and religion changed. On p. 378 he describes his way of thinking as:
"Every time i encounter an object, a person or an experience, I do not see only it, but also how else it could be. I am always asking Myself: How could it be otherwise? This is the question that has made humans what they are today, for without it we would still be living in the tree-tops."

My biggest issue with this book is that although I really liked reading it, I found it quite challenging to think his questions through for myself and putting my thoughts and his suggestions into practice. Maybe it is because his discussion of the question that he puts forth is filled with a lifetime of learning, thinking and wisdom, making any answer that I come up with seem mostly inadequate in my mind. Maybe this will change with time as my thoughts mature. Maybe the nature of these sorts of questions is that your response will always fall short. (less)
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Jul 12, 2017Venky rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: bibliocase
The 81 year old historian and philosopher Theodore Zeldin in a series of conversational essays, tackles head on the vicissitudes and woes faced by mankind during the course of living. This he does in an unconventional manner. Every Chapter in his book "The Hidden Pleasures of Life" begins with a probing and provocative question. Oscillating between the arcane and the obvious, it is as though Zeldin conceives each question after being racked by a bout of epiphany. One may also forgive the reader for harbouring a perception that Zeldin throughout the course of the book is zealously embarking on a quest to discover eternal serendipity and egging the reader on for company.

Some of the questions for which Zeldin tries to wean out introspective answers are:

What is a wasted life?
What can the poor tell the rich?
Is another kind of sexual revolution achievable? What is worth knowing?
What does it mean to be alive?
What can the rich teach the poor?
What is the point of working as hard as one is currently working?
What else can one do in a hotel?

In answering each of the questions, Zeldin takes inspiration from an eclectic mix of personalities, past, present and future. For example in a Chapter where Zeldin attempts to understand the intricacies surrounding stereotypical prejudices, he resorts to the life and works of the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore who aimed to destroy class conventions and caste hierarchies by establishing a non-conventional educational institution and naming it “Shantiniketan” or “The Abode of Peace”. The philosopher poet also spawned a cultural and social revolution through his works which had at its core bridging the schism of perception that separated the ways of the East from the Western style of living.

Similarly in a Chapter concentrating on the perils of ignorance, Zeldin quotes the example of the great and inveterate Iranian traveler of the 19th Century Hajj Sayyah who with a view to escaping a forced marriage, left home and explored myriad realms, kingdoms, Caliphates and countries, both accumulating and imparting wisdom during the course of his extraordinary circumlocution of the world. “The Hidden Pleasures of Life” spans cultures, seeks inspiration from sources both renowned and remote, and seeks to engage the reader in a honest quest for truth. A truth that would facilitate an escape from the mundane and the monotony that has almost come to represent the modern way of life. Zeldin’s “Hidden Pleasures” is more a plea to introspect than a run-of-the mill self-help manual that promises access to the Holy Grail in 21 easy to follow, practical to implement steps. More than proving solutions, Zeldin teaches exhorts us to pose the right questions. Questions which shape the very manner in which should live as opposed to how we desire and continue to live at present.

Zeldin has been termed the modern day Balzac. It is not surprising to understand why especially after grasping the unique mix of curiosity, concern, and clairvoyance permeating the pages in “The Hidden Pleasures of Life”
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May 29, 2017Asma rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Zeldin's tone in The Hidden Pleasures is very soothing. There is a certain meticulousness in the questions he asks and explores. He weaves in stories and statistics that are both relevant and enjoyable. It is deeply philosophical that I agreed with what he said, and disagreed with others. The one thing I found lacking while reading the book though, is a definitive stance from Zeldin on these questions. He kind of left it for the readers to decide, and while that's not bad, I was curious to know how he, the writer, would answer these very questions that he posed to us.

This is only a minor frustration though. I enjoyed reading the book, and dwelling on what he put forth.

For more reviews, check out my blog, A Reading Kabocha. (less)
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Jan 09, 2018LWoods rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: 2018, fastinating
Truly a profound book. Found myself noting whole sentences and paragraphs.
It introduced me to fascinating characters in history who I'd never heard which resulted in me sourcing more information on them.

I loved this book! Granted I sort of idolise Theodore Zeldin, as his books always make me think differently, he certainly won't be to everyone's taste.

I'd liken the book to a 'chef's dining experience'; you don't know what you're being served up at each chapter....that you'd never thought of a topic that way...that you're not sure you're going to like it...but when you think on it, it's actually quite interesting. The ideas are just tasters that leave you wanting to discuss more!

Ultimately this book left me wanting to engage with other people differently.(less)
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May 15, 2017Suzanne rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Reading this book is an enriching experience. Zeldin draws on his exploration of cultures and texts, many from the Orient and ancient, to distill knowledge and wisdom, frequently providing new perspectives on items as diverse as IKEA and American hotels. Particularly interesting to me were his reflections on knowledge, rendered vivid by his analogy with food:"knowledge, like food, tastes and looks different depending on who cooks it and how it is served and what meals the diner has eaten before." This is a book to be indulged in in small sips, leaving time for reflection on the points raised in order to discover and fully appreciate those hidden pleasures. (less)
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Dec 29, 2018Laura Schlosberg rated it really liked it · review of another edition
This is a provocative book to read in spurts. In invites reflection and challenges you to think and live differently, and engage with strangers and those you know with more integrity, courage, and curiosity. “Being alive is not simply a matter of having a heart that beats, it is also being aware of how other hearts beat and other minds think in response to one another.” My only wish for this book was a bibliography listing all the sources fir the quotes.
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