The 89th annual Academy Awards were surely memorable. After the mix up, the winner of the Best Picture award was the film “Moonlight,” directed by Barry Jenkins. The film focuses on the life and struggles of a gay black boy in the housing projects near Miami. The most likely contender besides “Moonlight” for Best Picture was “La La Land”. While they are both undoubtedly excellent films, “La La Land” winning Best Picture would have been far less important.
“La La Land” focuses on a white, heterosexual couple trying to follow their dreams in Los Angeles. The director gave the Academy something it was sure to love in a movie with a $30 million budget about white people and Los Angeles.
“Moonlight” completely defies everything that these tropes represent. It is a masterpiece highlighting the struggles of the black LGBT community, which is extremely underrepresented in film. “Moonlight” is actually the first LGBT film in history to win Best Picture . The LGBT community has often been scorned when it comes to the Oscars, most notably in 2006 when the anticipated winner “Brokeback Mountain” lost the Best Picture title to “Crash.”
“Moonlight” had an all-black cast, which is another reason its win is monumental. “Moonlight’s” win is a huge step forward — not to mention the record-breaking seven actors of color nominated for awards this year. Not only does it provide representation for black people, specifically the black LGBT community in film, it has opened up the eyes and hearts of many who would otherwise never have to face or understand these struggles.
“Moonlight” was not the only Best Picture nominee this year to provide important stories and representation for people of color. “Hidden Figures,” directed by Theodore Melfi, was about the achievements of black women working as mathematicians at NASA. “Lion,” directed by Garth Davis, documents an Indian boy’s search for his family. Awards for any of these films would have been important, but “Moonlight’s” gorgeous cinematography and narrative make it well-deserving of the award.
Hopefully this win will pave the way for more diverse stories to make their way to the Hollywood main stage.
emmagetz@umail.iu.edu
