Moonlight - Exploring Masculinity and Black Masculinity 

RIP bell hooks. 💙

“In the moonlight black boys look blue” I love that

yea i'm 5 years late my bad

Uncle Iroh from (ATLA) is another example of positive masculinity

Moonlight is beautiful. I grew up with the pressure of "I'm not being a real black man" cause I'm not following the standard stereotype. It always felt so suffocating.

Being a black gay man, who still has to think about how I present myself, this movie means everything to me. And you talking the time talk about is just yet another reason why I love you and what you do man. Just, thank you for existing.

I really love men advocating for other men and a healthy concept of masculinity, thank you for this analysis ✨

As a black gay teen i’m often called “white washed” or “oreo” just because i don’t dress or conform to the norms that have been set for black guys and it honestly makes me sad. Even from other fellow black people it’s like once you come out as gay or non straight, you’re automatically excluded in a way

I didnt have a chance to learn how to be a man. I was thrown into the world. I had to get hard and stay hard. Then I met my wife and had kids. I learned I couldn't be hard anymore. The hard part has been finding the balance. I try to be tough enough to earn respect and be the authority figure. But also soft enough so that my kids know they can always come to me. It's hard. Really, really hard. Constantly balancing who you want to be, who you need to be, and what society thinks you should be.

My father gave me a actual hug that I haven’t had in years. We both cried.

When "Black" said he had to rebuild himself up strong. At the end of the movie, i remember crying because i felt that. Its tough as a black male to balance that idea of "masculinity" and humanity. I remember growing up and being taught if not straight up from words but through experience that you can NEVER let anyone try you. If you do you're soft. If a woman "disrespect" you you gotta "put her in her place". I don't wanna go on and on but this is how i was brought up too but i was lucky to have parents that taught me otherwise but even still theres this cognitive dissonance i have in my head at times if those actions and ideals are accurate to reality or if its just stupid logic that has tainted my upbring in conflict with what i was taught by my parents. I been a decent number of fights and i do believe if you let someone try you, you'll be subservient in the eyes of your people and yourself despite that being completely fucking stupid. We all have to play the social role expected of us and codeswitch when we can, but isnt that just deluding yourself? Idk. I suppose this will be one of those questions ill never find an answer to, but i appreciate you making this video and speaking on it. Moonlight was fucking awesome!

I see a lot of these similarities in the Latino/Chicano community. This idea that being a true man is holding your tears back and being hard, stern, and assertive, especially in economically disadvantaged communities. I wonder if this cycle of hypermasculinity is more present in marginalized communities as a survival mechanism. In order for men of color to provide for their own, they can't afford to be soft and vulnerable. Beautiful video, this is easily my favorite one you've made so far!! Absolutely love this film and your commentary is brilliant 💙 Also thanks for that Portrait snippet 🥺💕

Moonlight, her, and boyhood are my favorite character studys.

I found Moonlight to be ironically funny like The Boondocks when it first came out. The Boondocks, which tries to drive an underlying message home through satire (usually by cranking up a stereotype to 11) ends up being more popularizd for its "Watch these black folk wildin out" moments than what the moments serve to highlight. In that same vein, when Moonlight dropped and straight up pierced the armored facade of many people's perception of masculinity, I remember it being called "soft" or "sweet" by anyone in the hood that brought it up (I would have said it was their denial of their perception of masculinity being exposed, but many harshly critiqued it off of what he said-she said. "The main character and his homie both gay? Nah, bruh. You can take that sweet mess somewhere else." The presentation that was made to make the message more digestible ended up being swept aside like a side order of broccoli a kid didn't want. (Sage's Rain, you continue to impress.👏)

*You'll laugh at your fears one day when you find out who you truly are, " - Piccolo* 🕶️

Sage if you ever need someone to talk to we here for you bro, doesn’t have anything to do with the video but just letting you know. I hope you enjoy your day. 🤝

Mahershala Ali brings his A-game to every movie💯

As a black man I think every black man should create their own man inside and express it. Who cares what everybody want to see in a man because end of the day you still developing your own meaning of a man. If that makes sense

I think as men we are taught that love, emotion, innocence, fears, venerability are but frivolous tools and they should be discarded in exchange for logic, domination, strength and stoicism and we’re taught that this is what we should be. Violence is but a show of strength weather it be false or true that fighting shows who you are as a man no softness, just stone cold inside and out until it eats away at your very soul. Getting teased or bullied for showing vulnerable sides having true feelings or secrets passed around like a family heirloom that’s what leads to many destructive paths for others and yourself. As men we must allow ourselves to feel, express and be vulnerable no matter the end result because in the end at least we were able to show who we really are before it was too late.

"A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man." ~ Don Corleone.

N: "Is it better to be loved or feared? " MS: "Neither, " "I want people to fear how much they love me. "

Christmas came a whole year early. This guy never misses🤌🏿

As a white guy who grew up in the deep south you will be surprised by the similarities (hell I was myself) you grew up in some hyper religious house holds that expected you to act a certain way and to treat certain people different than others. You were taught to not associate with these groups or become like the people in these groups all the while never really being able to talk about how you feel in fear of making you look like you are apart of them and them hating you for it because you weren't "a man" This is all the while many families being broken by alcoholic parents that are absent from their lives and people that are living in houses that I wouldn't even let my dog stay in goes to show just how many similarities there is in life

This is one of the most important videos I have ever watched. Talking about Hard Masculinity and other ways a man can be a man is so extremely important. I go to a school in the hood, and every day I pass by Chirons, I see them everywhere, I see people having to revert into hard masculinity everywhere, and it is so painful to watch. I am a 6'3 giant with a beard, but I am also openly pansexual and am horrible at fighting. No one messes with me because I'm giant, but I see it all the time where small dudes get the shit kicked out of them, dudes having to revert to cavemen and gladiators because they showed a single sliver of emotion, and people desperately hiding in the closet for their entire lives because they know if their family knew they would get beaten to death. New ideas about masculinity, counters to hard masculinity, are just not concepts that are discussed often enough. Most of what we talk about when it comes to things such as that are in relation to femininity, about breaking the patriarchy to help women, but we need to do more for men too. We can't solve our gender equality problems by only addressing women's issues, as he said in the video, patriarchy hurts both men and women. We are in desperate need of more stories such as this, stories that prompt new ideas on how to be a man. I could probably talk for days on end about this issue, but I will end this comment here, it's becoming sort of ranty

I'm a straight black man and when I wathced moonlight it legit made me cry. Not because I can relate to the homosexual aspect of the film but because I can relate to the masculine and human aspect of it. This synopsis is beautiful and a work or art man. Much love!

To everybody interested if you liked/loved Moonlight I highly recommend Pelo Malo/Bad Hair! Deals with very similar themes of homophobia, masculinity and single mother-son relationships. Both are must watch films!!

I'm not even gonna lie when he was breaking down chiron it felt like he was breaking down me and how I felt. I even paused the video to cry because it just felt so true, especially when he was saying how with black masculinity you can't really express who you are. This video essay is amazing and really gives introspective look into the young black male community.

This video reminds me of an interesting way to read the themes of Naruto. Like how in the Land of Waves Zabuza grew up into a (not really) heartless killing machine and used Haku as a tool. Some of his last words were him talking about no matter how hard they try to escape their humanity, shinobi are human. Replace “shinobi” with “men” and you have a pretty good summarization of how society sees them. And not just there, but the last third ninja war had all sides throwing children at eachother, copying what happened in major conflicts throughout human history, especially the last couple centuries. Using people, especially boys and men, as meat shields and glorified attack dogs without letting them be real men at all. Then you have Gaara, whose story about being raised as a weapon without love is self-explanatory.

My mom always told me being emotional and senstive doesn't make me any less of a man.

Im technically an unmasculine black man, i was always happy, bubbly empathetic friendly, but also shy and reserved at times, and thats uncommon in the community, i grew up in a privileged middle-class lifestyle, surrounded by Whites, Latinos, South and East Asians and Middle-Easterners, i rarely encountered other black students until junior high, and i felt so out of place with them, because they came from rough backgrounds from the inner-city, didn't live in houses, and parents didn't have degrees. I was often told that i wasn't "black enough for them, becuase i was too friendly, happy, empathetic, and not cold, rude, aggressive". I attempted to be a stereotype but i failed. After 24 years, i've come to the realization that i'm not the most masculine black guy in the world and i should stop trying so hard to be "stereotypically masculine" and embrace myself. I know too many "Chirions" who grew up in privileged middle class lifestyles, around suburban kids of all culures and races, and they felt the need to prove their blackness to the hood, by distancing themselves from the non-blacks and started hanging out with the inner-city kids and their lives ended in a wrong way.

The thumbnail is beautiful ngl. People always over-looked the beauty of black skin.

I think the lgbt community is best described not as a group of people, but a group of PEOPLES. Lives so diverse yet experiences so universal there’s no other option but to group together. I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand what this movie means to people, but I’m so glad it exists.

I'm not black, but I am a gay man that grew up in an impoverished place, in a dysfunctional home. For me, and I mean no disrespect to anyone else's experience, even though I am not black, this film meant more to me than any other in the last decade - the expectations of men in this film were the same I grew up in, and I too had to maneuver that catwalk all the while fighting off same-sex attraction in a home with a paucity of love and affection. I've watched Moonlight many times and will many more, each time alone because I don't want others to see how it affects me.

watched this beautiful film for the first time my senior year in film class... honestly changed my life... i watched it again recently now at 21. truly an amazing piece... as a black, queer, trans man, my connection to masculinity and my experiences growing up as a female rather than these experiences truly has reverted things... being on T strangely has assisted me in embracing my emotions, etc

@sagesrain I literally broke down into tears after watching this. Too many things that you said resonated with me. I'm black and 17 years old. But me crying just released so much and I felt like a weight had been taken off, thank you.

As a 33 year old man of color this is very true on how we grow up. I know a lot of guys that are undercover gay. But sacred to show it I can see it in the way they speak how they move and how they treat and talk to females. So when a female of color meets a man that treats her with love and care and respect she doesn't know how to handle it and calls him gay. I've had to play that taught guy role just to survive I'm not gay. But I just wanted to be left alone and people grown men saw that as weakness and took it upon themselves to bully me. But once that side of me took a backseat and I let that rage peak for just a heart beat I saw the true cowards that they were. But this also let me know how dangerous I can be when pushed. Now as I grown man I have no room or tolerance for those who prey on the young weak or unsuspecting. For I once was all of those things and I saw and felt how people treated me. So to see it happen to a child who just wants to be a child I can't nor will I stand for it.

Moonlight to me is a sort of tragic truth of life, but especially for those of color. Especially since it seems that most media shows these exaggerated masculine characters as the norm. And for one's whole life if all you've ever known is this image, how can you not be anything else. That is why representation is so important, it shatters that illusion. I'm glad you made a video on Moonlight, i didn't know such a powerful film existed.

Why does your voice make me cry?! T__T

As a young white man I grew up around many black children, many of whom were my very close friends, and now I see why some of them just weren't all that well off emotionally.

I didn’t know what the title card “Black” meant until watching this video, thank you so much for this it’s such an important topic ♥️

Great video! I do think the idea that black communities are seen as more homophobic, toxic and devoid of father figures deserves more scrutiny. Not only are these problems often exaggerated and used to explain away other issues in the black community, there's also a direct link with the history of white supremacy: mass incarceration, the presumed inadequacy of black masculinity, poverty, and misogyny and homophobia in American society more generally. To attribute these issues to black communities while ignoring the context would be a mistake, I believe.

I’m heterosexual however this was literally my life and I deal with trauma daily

You really don’t get enough credit for wisdom in these videos! Thank you from one black man to another ✊🏾

“You have to be vulnerable to be a man” Phenomenal

Moonlight is an absolute gem. I watched it yesterday and I absolutely broke down. I relate to Chiron so much. All we really want is love and acceptance, but when you have to hide parts of yourself in order for people to accept you, it’s suffocating. 💔

So many men today deal with this issue every day . thank you sage’s rain

i cannot believe this was only 17 minutes. it made me cry so much. amazing video.

Wow Sage's Rain... I even don't have the word, just thank you for your sensitivity. Moonlight is one of my favorite movie and I relate so much to Chiron even if I am not gay and black 😅 and what you say about protect yourself, being violent and angry to be a man is so relatable and I feel that to be a man we can be both vulnerable and angry, being and showing our complexity as men and also as human being and I am sure with video like that we will be allow to do that ! The scene with Juan and Chiron in the water always tears me and instead of having a Juan in my life I hope to be a Juan for the young boy in me and maybe for other young boy Sorry if my word are clumsy and thank you again

I know you hear this a thousand times a day but I really love, enjoy, and appreciate your videos. 👍

This was insanely POWERFUL. Thank you.

Quite possibly the most profound commentary I’ve ever come across on RU-vid. Breathtaking.

I was deeply moved by this film. I really appreciate you for highlighting it with your essay, and I hope you know that you've made a difference in using your platform to discuss it. Thank you (:

probably not a hot take but all the same: Moonlight is the greatest film of all time. i have seen plenty of good movies but not one that moves like actual poetry on the screen, no less with subject matter that needs to be addressed. just hearing you talk about it even though i haven't watched it in a while made me want to cry again, i was that moved. so grateful for this film existing. i hope that Black men see it and know that it's okay to be in touch with their feelings. you have been demonized by the world around you for too long.

We are living in a time when people have to live in the idea that they are supposed to be instead of being the persons they truly are.

wow. just came up on my recommend and just wow. this is was an amazing video i’m glad you were able to help spread the message of this beautiful movie, continue doing what you’re doing!

Yea I’ve never had it broken down like that I really appreciate that you’ve made this

I didn’t realize how powerful of a movie this was until I watched this video. Thank you sage

Ughh, beautiful analysis🥺🙌🏾 Really love this and great voice too😍😍

I have yet to watch this movie bc from what I heard it feels like I'm just going to relive the trauma I experienced ( and pain I still feel) as a young black gay man. Growing up with a single mother who was also a Muslim woman people constantly reinforced the notion that I needed a male role model and that me being feminine was a flaw. I later learmed that it wasn't me who was flawed but the ideas of hypermasculinity young black boys are expected to live up to. Hopefully this video could at least give me insight on what I missed.

I'm always blown away by your videos. I am not the best at explaining (with words) how I feel about you and your videos. But please know that your videos make me feel multiple things, and make me strive for personal fulfillment.

This was beautiful. Thank you for the time you put into this. For all of the reasons you've described, Moonlight is one of my favorite films.

This is why i love this movie i am from Africa and i know what he live at school, home and my life. This is why i realize i was like Chiron and it hurts me so much. Nice video Sage i am proud of you

Damn, this made me cry. Excellent analysis of an excellent film. Thanks for making it 🤝

@Sage's Rain you are the only youtuber to make me cry.Thank you.

This is one of the reasons I love this channel

All we want, as people, is to be understood. The lengths we go to in doing so, however, is what seems to separate us.

You were already one of my favorite Content Creators so for you to do a video on Bell Hooks AND Moonlight 🤯 Bravo sir, bravo 👏

Juan is the perfect example of why black boys need a father figure. Whether they grew up gay, or straight. Having a father figure to guide them for life is necessary. Especially when, one doesn't have anyone to turn to.

Something I also noticed just by watching this video is that while Chiron's perceptions of being a man, of conforming to toxic masculinity is enforced by the men around him, it is also stressed by his mother too. It is not just men that pressure men to conform to an unreal, dangerous standards. Women are just as capable of spreading toxic masculinity and expecting it of men.

I have never seen one of your videos and not thought, what an amazing person you are. I love listening to your voice and your breakdown of any subject. Please keep doing what you’re doing; you have a fan for life. Thanks

Be strong enough to be gentle

That's beautiful. Thank you for sharing this !! LOVE

This is beautiful 😭

Perfect for this month! Love it

Sages Rain, you have been the most comforting presence on RU-vid I've ever found. Just wanted you to know man, thank you.

edit: my apologies for this being so long of a comment but thanks to the few who read this fully. few things, this is one great birthday gift, never knew this movie existed. And this really helps me now understand somewhat or get an idea of the reason for my black peers to be nowhere as close to like me. I myself am black, but the thing is I didn't grow up in the hood or anything of sorts, my mother is wealthy enough for me and her to afford to live in a house she bought and not rent. I didn't know what the hood was until recent years, I've only had my stepbrother that I live with that I can learn from of what that lifestyle was like. Comparison from me to him is largely different, I'm pansexual (other terms bi & personality based), I love drawing and have been swimming ever since I was really young, I'm a really open guy and try to be a genuinely nice guy, I hardly result to violence when I do they come in large outbursts, and I just feel like compared to all the black people I know (other than my mother) they're nothing like me, I'll be honest they all suck at swimming and say they don't care to learn, their drawing is eh but they don't really care much bout art, and their sexuality is all the same, straight. And they result in bullying and picking on other kids. My stepbrother is no different, when I first met the first thing he asked is if we could fight. Moving topics, it's passed my birthday, didn't get much I liked, and neither did I appreciate it as much as I should've, reflecting on how I felt on my birthday I refer to myself as spoiled. I see what my brother gets for his and thinks I need that, when no I don't. This video made me realize how much of an idiot I was, not to realize where my brother came from, being in abusive relations with his father, getting bullied and picked on by his peers, hardly being able to afford anywhere to live that didn't have insects everywhere. So I'm glad for him, I'm glad me and my mother helped him out and ditched his father. Overall what I'm trying to say is that I now understand the reason why my black peers behave as such, I understand now that yeah I'm a small majority, I realize now that my brother could've had it way worse if he hadn't found us. And also some other things before I end this, I didn't get this video the first time I watched it because I was only thinking about myself and how it compared "I'm not like that, I don't do result only with violence" is what I was saying in my head but took a few rewatches to get it. I also would like to commentate that I'm not really that strong, I mean I'm fit for a swimmer, but I'm hella skinny, I don't like showing off and see no reason for it. And in summary, this is the reason why I didn't get it at first, and I thank you for helping me better understand my brother. Though my relations with him aren't the best for many reasons I can at least now understand why he's like the way he is. Thank You. (also yes I do acknowledge my grammar sucks, so I'm hoping that sounded together and well through. Not the best with grammar and spelling tbh)

You have an amazing voice. I could listen to you reading numbers from the phone book like it’s the best story ever written

I couldn’t have been more shocked when Juan died : ( Chiron needed him

I’ve watched this movie a total of 4 times now, and it took the 4th time for me to understand why I keep coming back to it. I broke all over again. My inner child is still angry and isolating himself. I’m just now learning how to process my past, and how to not shut people out, how to be vulnerable without worrying about the consequences. I’m still trying to forgive my father. I’m still bitter over him. How can someone be there, and still not be there? What am I here for, then? Acting clueless pertaining to the hurt I got dealt by him, feeling like my experience is just overly dramatized, because he seems to have no idea why I’m completely void in his presence... It’s a process.

This is so beautiful. Your analysis was just as poetic as the film.

what a beautiful thoughtful video about such a rich, emotional film. thank you for sharing your analysis and your very calming low voice

The commentary here is impeccable!!!!

Beautiful. I need to rewatch it now

Great video sage! I always look forward to hearing different aspects from an alternative perspective that I hadn't thought about before.

This was beautifully done. Thank you for sharing this with us 🙏🏾

as a black guy this movie really resonates with me, it exactly how i feel. so much pain and vulnerability. living with abusive family is not something anyone should have to live with,. in western society, the expectations and stereotypes on black men it makes it feel like i have enemies from every direction in this world. A man has to ignore his surrounding and keep working on himself, work and escape the matrix.

thank you so much for this video man. i’ve truly learned a lot from it and i just wish you all the best. your content is amazing, keep up the awesome work.

Omg, never heard of this movie. Thank you for sharing this video and tell us that this movie existed. Thank you.

This was beautiful man.

This was an amazing video sage rain I was really bout to cry at my job watching this

I'm doing research for an assignment on Moonlight and came across this video, I just had to say this was a very profound and insightful video you created. You captured the movie's motives eloquently and this video was very helpful in continuing my own discourse. Wanted to say thanks for your content and your personal interpretations of such a beautiful and thought provoking film. Have a great day if you see this, thanks again :)

Man that was a beautiful take on this movie. ❤

This was incredible. Powerful. And necessary.

Well done! Im really impressed how much I agreed with you its always nice to hear someone echo thoughts that you are thinking as well!

Was in the mood to cry, so I watched Moonlight again today and then came to this video after. Beautiful analysis ❤

You are loved. You ate valid. And above all you as a man are allowed to be vulnerable and yourself ❤

Great job, I loved this so much.

This was an amazing video keep grinding man 🔥🔥🔥🔥

A story like this is long over due. Definitely planning on watching this with the family.

Just got around to watching this. Absolutely beautiful friend, thank you so much for your words