Why Isn’t “Moonlight” Getting The Same Attention As “Birth Of A Nation”?

When it comes to films about queer people of color, the sense of urgency is missing.
From: NewNowNext

 It’s not Madea money, but as far as box offices grosses go, Moonlight is off to a very solid start.

Based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, Barry Jenkins’ beautiful queer coming-of-age drama made $414,740 its opening weekend. Screening in just four theaters, that comes out to an impressive $103,675 per-location-average.

 As Forbes’ Scott Mendelson notes, it’s one of only 26 film to earn more than $100,000 per theater, and one of even fewer that wasn’t an early Disney release.

This weekend, Moonlight expanded to theaters in Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and Washington D.C., before, eventually, making its way across the country.

Of course, a strong showing in L.A. or New York does not guarantee a film will yield similar results nationwide.

So, a plea: go see it.

Help Moonlight make its $5 million budget back and then some. Prove that now, more than ever, there is a need—and an audience—for wider representation of LGBT people of color.

 Whenever there is a black-centered project on a mainstream platform—be it a film or TV show—there is a sense of urgency. Those of us that are black and aware know how quickly major studios and television networks can dispose of us. We know our visions are quickly relegated to the “niche” category should we dare include more than a speck of color.

The burden is even even greater when you’re black and not straight: So often we as gay people of color are told our stories don’t have wide appeal. Sadly, even some who purport to care about African-American narratives don’t share that same sense of urgency if the story focuses on something other than straight men.

 For months now, there’s been robust debate about how important it is for Nate Parker’s film The Birth of a Nation to perform well. A debate that’s been colored by Parker’s past and personal opinions.

There’s a certain irony here: After all, if Fox Searchlight invested in Nation, there can’t be too much of a complaint about the industry wanting it to succeed.

However, with Birth of a Nation not performing as strongly as some would hope, there have been some black straight men lashing out at feminists and black women in general, who have actually made up the majority of the film’s audience.

If the intent is to advocate for black art forms—and specifically those that offer a nuanced view of black manhood—Where is the advocacy for the far less problematic Moonlight?

It’s a smart, measured look at black life and the complexities of gender and sexuality. It reminds me a lot of 2011’s Pariah, another film focused on a black teenager tackling identity, heartbreak, family and sexual expression.

The reality is, even with the challenges racial minorities face when trying to tell our stories, it will always be easier for someone like Nate Parker to get a film made. Straight black men with messiah complexes tend to find a way. The challenge is harder for the rest of us.

That’s why it’s important to push for movies like Moonlight. There is just not a wide representation of gay black men on television or in film. Aspects of our culture can be found—insert obligatory “yaaas,” “shade,” or “fierce!” here—but not enough of our faces and lived experiences. Moonlight is worth supporting on merit alone, but there is a larger significance to what its success will mean.

See the film. Help send a message. And tell anyone advocating one black story and not another to shut the hell up.