Barry Jenkins and Moonlight in Miami: Home Girls Respond

Abstract

Abstract:The genesis of this essay is the coincidence of geography. Director Barry Jenkins, co-screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney, and the author grew up, in different time periods, in the same segregated neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Moonlight, winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2016, is set mostly in this neighborhood. The author provides background—historical, personal, and social—that contextualizes characters and motivations, Jenkins's personal stake in the neighborhood and its citizens, and his ascendency in Hollywood.