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Saphannie Him

College Writing R1A, Section 005

7 November, 2018

Moonlight: Food in Relation to Masculinity

After water and air, food is the next basic necessity needed to sustain life. As important

as food is to everyone the need for nourishment is unmatched when it comes to adolescent boys.

Meals provide not only the biological needs of young boys, but provide a space for

communication and bonding that are also crucial to developing boys. Moreover, the film

Moonlight, demonstrates the importance of food to the development of adolescents boys as the

film follows the growth of Little from a child, to Chiron, a young man and finally Black, an

adult. Scenes involving food in the film not only contribute to the growth of Little physically,

but also reveal the different categories of perceived masculinity through age and emotional need.

Furthermore, the first occurence of food in the film is when Juan takes Little to a

restaurant to eat, following the introduction of the policing of Little’s masculinity in the film.

Little’s journey towards achieving his perceived idea of being a man is outlined in the academic

journal entry “Adolescent Boys’ Experiences With Policing of Masculinity: Forms, Functions

and Consequences” by Reigeluth and Addis. Moreover, it is not apparent why Little is being

chased until one of his terrorizers exclaims “Let’s get that faggot!” In accordance with Reigeluth

and Addis’ findings, the word “fag” is a tool used to police masculinity of boys who appear

“insufficiently masculine”(Reigeluth and Addis 75). It is a misconception of young boys that

homosexuality coincides with being feminine and that both are an attack on masculinity.

However, Juan being an adult man does not share in this view of Little. As the bullies exerted

their power over Little by chasing him and throwing rocks to show that they were more
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masculine than him, Juan exerts his power in an alternate way. Juan instead shows that he is a

man and has power by buying Little food, then jokingly taking it away. Although, these actions

are not to assert his dominance over Little, but to get Little to tell him where he lives. This meal

scene marks the beginning of Juan and Little’s relationship which is that of mentor and father

figure. In the time that Juan is alive, it should be noted that Juan takes time to teach Little things

such as how faggot is used as a word to make gay people feel bad, but that there is nothing

wrong with being gay. Juan’s action of rescuing Little from bullies and then feeding him are

nurturing acts, and to be nurturing especially towards someone of the same sex does not align

with the standards of masculinity set by adolescent boys. However, Juan is still a respected

figure in the community despite this.

Following this scene, Little is once more served food which is cooked by Teresa which

also marks the beginning of a lasting relationship between the two. Teresa speaks to Little in a

respectful, yet stern manner. She is the opposite of what his drug addict mother is. During this

scene, we are also given another instance of the soft masculine nature that Juan possesses. Teresa

makes the decision without Juan that Little may stay the night, but Juan does not respond in a

way that supports hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is the legitimization of man’s

dominant position in society and justification of the subordination of women. An example of a

hegemonic masculine response would be if Juan responded with something along the lines of “I

am the man of the house I make the decisions”. Instead, Juan respects the decision of Teresa

quietly instead of asserting his dominance or authority over her as an adolescent boy would see

fit to do. Though Juan and Teresa are not Little’s family, all three are still brought together by a

meal in which Little learns how to treat women by watching the interaction between Juan and

Teresa. Though not blatantly stated it can be inferred that Little learns how to treat women
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because children often imitate the behaviors of their parental figures, which later in the film

Black mirrors the image of masculinity that Juan had projected for him.

Once more, Juan is not practicing the masculinity that the adolescent boys in the film do.

The young boys in the film are often objectifying women and using insults that promote the idea

that women are the lesser gender, but this is something that Juan does not do. Juan does not even

treat Paula, Little’s drug addict mother in a disrespectful way. The form of masculinity that Juan

exhibits is one of nonviolence, nurturing, and respect towards women. However, young men in

the community still respect him in the form of masculinity that Juan takes on which is one that is

opposite of their own standards of masculinity for they reinforce beliefs and behaviors that Juan

himself does not such as homophobia and violence.

In act Chiron, the events of the film play out as a result of the cafeteria scene with Kevin

and Terrel. In this scene, Terrel is practicing one of the “less victimizing forms of POM, such as

challenges or dares…as a means to test one another’s masculinity, reinforce the boy code

(Pollack, 1998) and maintain a hierarchy” with Kevin (Reigeluth and Addis 77). Such as in the

scene with Juan and Little in the first act of the film, there is a demonstration of power.

However, Terrel demonstrates his power in order to reaffirm his position over Kevin whereas

Juan asserted his power over Little in hopes for a positive outcome. Terrel does this by swatting

Kevin’s food tray and by taking Kevin’s juice with the explanation that the “government juice”

will kill him. The taking of the juice and what Terrel says to justify it may seem that he is

“looking out” for Kevin, but in reality Terrel is just displaying his control and power over Kevin

who is subservient during these events. During this scene, Terrel also goads Kevin into playing a

game of knock-down stay-down. Kevin does not shy away from the challenge because to do so

would put his masculinity and position in school at risk. Even more so, the reminiscence of the
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violent game shows how the policing of masculinity serves as a form of bonding between males,

which is the feeling of friendship and camaraderie between boys through violence.

As a result of this scene, Kevin is forced to punch Chiron in the face repeatedly every

time Chiron gets back up instead of staying down. In this scene, Kevin is preserving his own

social status even though it means betraying Chiron. However, Chiron understands this and

instead takes out his built up aggression out on Terrel. To do so Chiron takes a wooden chair to

Terrel multiple times. This act of violence deems Chiron masculine by the standards set by the

boys in his community which is that in part to be a man you have to cause other harm. Chiron

does this to exert his own power and strength over Terrel once and for all. However, this leads to

Chiron going to prison where the standards of masculinity are even more harshly enforced for

the sole purpose of survival in a place where it seems that everyone is out to get you. Chiron is

no longer having to face a couple of bullies, but actual criminals who may harm him. Thus,

Chiron becomes Black, a hardened masculine figure in partial reflection of Juan.

The concluding scenes involving food involve Kevin and Black reunited as adult. It is

ironic that Kevin ends up as a cook because all throughout the film, he has always been the one

to cater to Chiron’s needs. Kevin was there for Little to show him how to not get picked on

during the wrestling scene. As a teenager, Kevin is there to partake in the fulfillment of Chiron’s

sexual needs as well as a lesson of betrayal. In regards to food, Kevin serves Black in order to

motivate Black to open up and talk about himself which is a recurring motive of those who serve

food to Little and Chiron. Juan, Teresa and Kevin all have served Black food in order to gain

information from him. The meal that Kevin and Black share together in the diner allowed there

to be trust gained between the two, resulting in the following scene where Black opens up to

Kevin about Kevin being the only person to have ever touched him. The significance of the
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sitting down together and sharing a meal is that it provided a space for Kevin and Black to garner

trust and allowed Black to then be vulnerable in the next scene. Kevin during the meal however,

polices Black’s masculinity, calling him out on his fronts. Kevin does this because he has left the

streets and now views being a man as being a father to his child while maintaining a positive

relationship with the child’s mother. As opposed to demeaning the mother of his child, the

audience sees that Kevin has grown from his adolescent ways of objectifying women. He could

easily talk badly of her now that the relationship has ended, but he instead respects her. On the

other hand, Black as an adult exemplifies the standards of masculinity that he had not met as an

adolescent, which as a boy Kevin achieved. Kevin is not buff nor is he big as an adult, but he is

content with what he has in life and is secure.

Above all, the act of sitting together surrounding food allows for relationships to form

and persist. Every scene involving food in the film has a lasting effect on Little. Food scenes

involving Juan and Teresa represent parent figures that he does not have, for the couple takes

care of him and actually respects him. The audience never sees Paula make a meal for Little or

share one with him, which reflects on the broken relationship they have. The cafeteria scene

then, leads to the adolescent standard masculine Black. However, there is Kevin who takes on a

form of masculinity of the male provider whereas Black is still stuck on achieving adolescent

masculinity. One may say Black reflects Juan as an adult in facade and profession, but Black got

there by being violent which is why he has met the adolescent standard of masculinity. It is not

clear how Juan came into the life of drugs, but from what we are shown Juan maintains a soft

masculinity. Black, however is alone and can only base his masculinity off of what he has known

up until then. As a result of being alone, it can be inferred that Black does not have the stability
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of the intimate meal that provides for growth and nourishment both emotionally and physically.

Therefore, his form of masculinity is unaltered for there is no one to influence any change of it.
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Works Cited

Jenkins, Barry, director. Moonlight. A24 And Plan B Entertainment Incorporated, 2016.

Reigeluth, Christopher S., and Michael E. Addis. “Adolescent Boys’ Experiences with

Policing of Masculinity: Forms, Functions, and Consequences.” Psychology of Men &

Masculinity, vol. 17, no. 1, 9 Apr. 2016, pp. 74–83., doi:10.1037/a0039342.