In 'Moonlight,' Growg Up Black, Gay And Poor In 1980s Miami : NPR

is juan gay in moonlight

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‘MOONLIGHT’ CAPTUR THE COMPLEXI OF GROWG UP GAY AND BLACK AMERI

Hibbert as Chiron, a young black man growg up gay an impoverished part of Miami Moonlight. It's an thentic, timate portra of a young, gay black man whose mother is a crack addict. He was not gay, and he played football.

IN 'MOONLIGHT,' GROWG UP BLACK, GAY AND POOR IN 1980S MIAMI

Juan, brought to life by actor Mahershala Ali, leav a lastg imprsn throughout the holds a young Chiron (Ltle) while they go for a swimWh betiful cematography and powerful actg, ’s no surprise that the movie Moonlight won Bt Picture at the ensemble performance of three actors three separate acts: Ltle, Chiron, and Black, shows the paful stggle of inty and homosexualy of one young black boy growg up Miami, Florida (si note: I’ll mostly be addrsg Chiron by his actual name stead of by his two nicknam; Ltle and Black) is the fol pot of the story, but there is another character who stood out to me more than anyone else the film:; The Unsung HeroJuan’s character is only the first act of the fds a young Chiron hidg om the other young boys the neighborhood after they chase him down for beg “different”, for appearg weak; for beg gay. Whether or not Chiron uld prehend if he may have been gay at the time, the other boys target him.

*(si note: explic language below)When the tougher neighborhood kids would ll young Chiron “gay” and a “faggot”, Chiron wasn’t yet aware that he did not have to accept those rogatory nicknam or personas. A younger Chiron asks Juan what a “faggot” is, to which Juan rponds:Young Chiron asks Juan an important qutn“A faggot is a word ed to make gay people feel bad. “You n be gay, but you a’t gotta let nobody ll you no faggot.

While he may not be livg an openly gay liftyle, he do not ny what he wants or who he wants to be, jt like Juan’s and Kev together agaThe movie ends wh Black Kev’s arms, beg ee, accepted, and loved their private moment ThoughtsThe film is vague about the full tails of Juan’s character, so gave me plenty of room to read between the ma me wonr if Juan held a fancy of another life his heart, but was unable to rry out to un. Chiron is a gay black boy who grows up a world that don’t re about gay black boys.

THE LEGACY OF JUAN; MOONLIGHT’S UNSUNG HEROJUAN, BROUGHT TO LIFE BY ACTOR MAHERSHALA ALI, LEAV A LASTG IMPRSN THROUGHOUT THE FILM.LREN JACKSON·FOLLOW9 M READ·MAY 16, 2020--3LISTENSHAREJUAN HOLDS A YOUNG CHIRON (LTLE) WHILE THEY GO FOR A SWIMWH BETIFUL CEMATOGRAPHY AND POWERFUL ACTG, ’S NO SURPRISE THAT THE MOVIE MOONLIGHT WON BT PICTURE AT THE OSRS.THE ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE OF THREE ACTORS THREE SEPARATE ACTS: LTLE, CHIRON, AND BLACK, SHOWS THE PAFUL STGGLE OF INTY AND HOMOSEXUALY OF ONE YOUNG BLACK BOY GROWG UP MIAMI, FLORIDA (SI NOTE: I’LL MOSTLY BE ADDRSG CHIRON BY HIS ACTUAL NAME STEAD OF BY HIS TWO NICKNAM; LTLE AND BLACK).CHIRON IS THE FOL POT OF THE STORY, BUT THERE IS ANOTHER CHARACTER WHO STOOD OUT TO ME MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE THE FILM: JUAN.JUAN; THE UNSUNG HEROJUAN’S CHARACTER IS ONLY THE FIRST ACT OF THE FILM.JUAN FDS A YOUNG CHIRON HIDG OM THE OTHER YOUNG BOYS THE NEIGHBORHOOD AFTER THEY CHASE HIM DOWN FOR BEG “DIFFERENT”, FOR APPEARG WEAK; FOR BEG GAY.WHETHER OR NOT CHIRON ULD PREHEND IF HE MAY HAVE BEEN GAY AT THE TIME, THE OTHER BOYS TARGET HIM. EVEN CHIRON’S OWN MOTHER, PLA, NOTIC THE PECULIAR WAY HE RRI HIMSELF. SHE TELLS JUAN, “YOU EVER SEEN THE WAY HE WALKS, JUAN? YOU GON’ TELL HIM WHY THE OTHER BOYS KICK HIS ASS ALL THE TIME?”BUT THIS DO NOT CEASE JUAN OM TAKG LTLE CHIRON UNR HIS WG, HELPG THE YOUNG BOY FD HIMSELF AND GA NFINCE WHO HE WAS.WHILE JUAN’S APPEARANCE THE FILM IS VERY SHORT-LIVED PARED TO THE RT OF THE CHARACTERS, THE IMPACT JUAN HAS ON CHIRON IS PROFOUND.HERE ARE THE REASONS WHY:CHIRON’S BAPTISM THE MIAMI OCEANJUAN’S BIGGT IMPACT ON CHIRON WAS WHEN HE WAS, WELL, “LTLE”. JUAN TAK CHIRON TO ONE OF THEIR LOL MIAMI BEACH AND HOLDS HIM THE WATER. TEACHG HIM HOW TO SWIM AND HOW TO TST. CHIRON WAS ACCEPTED BY JUAN, PLETELY AND EFFORTLSLY, AS THE DIVE OCEAN EMBRACED THEM.JUAN AND CHIRON’S MOMENT OF TST.AFTER THAT MOMENT ON THE BEACH, CHIRON WOULD OFTENTIM SHOW UP AT JUAN’S ONT DOOR SEEKG REFUGE OM HIS NEGLECTFUL HOME LIFE AND DG-ADDICTED MOTHER, PLA.THE CCIFIXN OF JUANTHE LAST SCENE WE SEE OF JUAN IS WHEN A YOUNG CHIRON ASKS JUAN IF HE IS A DG ALER, TO WHICH JUAN RPONDS WH A PAFUL AND HONT:“…”.JUAN’S HEART-BREAKG GUILT FOR BEG THE REASON WHY CHIRON’S MOTHER NTUED DOWN HER NEVER-ENDG RABB HOLE OF ADDICTN BRGS JUAN TO TEARS.THIS WAS THE LAST TIME WE SEE JUAN ALIVE.LEFT: JUAN, MIDDLE: CHIRON (LTLE), RIGHT: JUAN’S GIRLIEND, TERATHROUGHOUT THE RT OF THE FILM, IS ONLY EXPLAED THROUGH DIALOGUE THAT JUAN HAS DIED. THE DIENCE IS LEFT TO ASSUME THAT JUAN HAS BEEN CCIFIED BY THE EVABLE, DOOMED LIFE OF ANY LONG TIME DG-ALER. EHER WAY, JUAN HAD GONE MUCH TOO SOON CHIRON’S STORY.WHETHER OR NOT WAS TENTNAL OM THE WRERS OR THE DIRECTOR OF THE FILM, THEY NEVER STATED EXACTLY HOW JUAN HAD PASSED. HE IS SIMPLY…GONE. BUT AS I WATCHED THE FILM, WAS CLEAR TO ME THAT JUAN NEVER LEFT.HIS PRENCE STAYED THROUGHOUT THE FILM. CHIRON NTU TO RRY JUAN WH HIM UNTIL THE VERY END.BLUE IS THE WARMT COLORAFTER THEIR MUNN ON THE MIAMI OCEAN, JUAN TELLS YOUNG CHIRON OF A STORY OM WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG BOY LIVG CUBA. JUAN SAYS:JUAN TELLS CHIRON A STORY.“I WAS A WILD LIL’ SHORTY, MAN, JT LIKE YOU. RUNNG AROUND WH NO SHO ON WHEN THE MOON WAS OUT. THIS ONE TIME, I N BY THIS OLD LADY. I WAS NN’, HOLLER’, CUTT’ A FOOL, BOY. THIS OLD LADY, SHE STOPPED ME. SHE SAID ‘NN’ AROUND TCH’ UP ALL THE LIGHT, MOONLIGHT, BLACK BOYS LOOK BLUE. THAT’S WHAT I’M GON’ LL YOU. BLUE.”WHEN CHIRON ASKS JUAN IF “BLUE” WAS HIS NAME, JUAN SAID:“ NO.”JUAN FOLLOWS THIS UP BY STATG:“AT SOME POT, YOU GOTTA CI FOR YOURSELF WHO YOU GON’ BE. CAN’T NOBODY MAKE THAT CISN FOR YOU.”WHILE JUAN DID NOT INTIFY WH BEG LLED “BLUE”, THE LOR BLUE IS SEEN EQUENTLY THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE. BLUE REPRENTS WHAT JUAN REPRENTS; EEDOM, SELF-ACCEPTANCE, AND THE HEART OF MIAMI.JUAN’S R WAS AN ICY BLUE. THE BLUE OF THE OCEAN. THE OL, FLORCENT BLUE HU ARE NSISTENT EVERYWHERE THE FILM.WHEN CHIRON MEETS BACK UP WH KEV (HIS CHILDHOOD IEND AND LOVER) THE LAST ACT OF THE FILM, WHAT LOR SHIRT DO KEV WEAR?THAT’S RIGHT, ’S BLUE.TOP: JUAN’S R, BOTTOM LEFT: CHIRON ON A MIAMI BEACH, BOTTOM RIGHT: KEV RETURNS CHIRON’S LIFETHE SUBLIME WORD OF JUANJUAN MAK KNOWN THAT HE DID NOT ACCEPT HIS NICKNAME OF “BLUE” AS HIS OWN, EVEN IF THAT WAS HOW THE OLR WOMAN OM CUBA HAD VIEWED HIM. JT BEE SOMEONE ELSE SAW JUAN AS ONE WAY, UNR ONE PARTICULAR LIGHT, DID NOT MEAN JUAN INTIFIED WH THE WAY OTHERS PERCEIVED HIM.THIS WAS PARAMOUNT TO CHIRON’S GROWTH.*(SI NOTE: EXPLIC LANGUAGE BELOW)WHEN THE TOUGHER NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS WOULD LL YOUNG CHIRON “GAY” AND A “FAGGOT”, CHIRON WASN’T YET AWARE THAT HE DID NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT THOSE ROGATORY NICKNAM OR PERSONAS. IT WAS UP TO ONLY CHIRON HIMSELF TO CI WHO HE WAS GOG TO BE.A YOUNGER CHIRON ASKS JUAN WHAT A “FAGGOT” IS, TO WHICH JUAN RPONDS:YOUNG CHIRON ASKS JUAN AN IMPORTANT QUTN“A FAGGOT IS A WORD ED TO MAKE GAY PEOPLE FEEL BAD.”“AM I A FAGGOT?”, ASKS CHIRON.“NO.”, SAYS JUAN. “YOU N BE GAY, BUT YOU A’T GOTTA LET NOBODY LL YOU NO FAGGOT.”CHIRON RECEIV THE CHANCE OM JUAN TO KNOW THAT HE HAS A CHOICE.THE FILM IS BROKEN UP TO THREE PARTS: LTLE, CHIRON, AND BLACK. “LTLE” WAS A NICKNAME GIVEN TO A YOUNG CHIRON BY HIS PEERS. IN THE SEND PART OF THE FILM, AFTER MEETG JUAN, A TEENAGED CHIRON NO LONGER WANTS TO BE LLED “LTLE”. CHIRON WAS ORIGALLY LLED “LTLE” BEE HE WAS SMALLER THAN THE OTHER BOYS, WAS VERY QUIET, AND APPEARED POWERLS.SIAR TO WHEN JUAN HAD REJECTED HIS NICKNAME OF “BLUE”, CHIRON MA THE CISN TO FULLY EMBRACE AND INTIFY WH HIS ACTUAL NAME.THE ONLY IEND CHIRON HAD GROWG UP WAS HIS CHILDHOOD IEND AND FIRST LOVE, KEV.TOP LEFT: YOUNG CHIRON AND KEV, BOTTOM LEFT: TEENAGED KEV, RIGHT: ADULT KEVKEV GIV CHIRON THE NICKNAME “BLACK” (SI NOTE: THE LOR NICKNAME IS VERY SIAR TO JUAN’S OLD NICKNAME OF “BLUE”). ALTHOUGH CHIRON IS LEERY OF THE FACT THAT ANOTHER BOY GAVE HIM A NICKNAME, TO AVOID ANY IMPLITNS OF HIS SEXUALY, CHIRON NEVER DID STOP KEV OM LLG HIM “BLACK”. THIS IMPLI TO THE DIENCE THAT CHIRON CHOOS TO ACCEPT HIS NICKNAME “BLACK”.KEV AND CHIRON AS TEENAGERS ON THEIR MIAMI BEACHJUAN’S SAT-LIKE WORDS OF WISDOM NTUE TO GIVE CHIRON ASSURANCE EVEN AFTER HE WAS LONG GONE.THE RURRECTN OF JUANCHIRON AND KEV’S TIMATE MOMENTKEV WAS CHIRON’S FIRST AND ONLY SEXUAL EXPERIENCE WH A BOY. KEV MA CHIRON FEEL LOVED AND TSTED; LIKE HOW JUAN HAD ALWAYS TREATED CHIRON OM THE MOMENT HE FOUND THE VULNERABLE LTLE BOY HIDG AWAY OM THE WORLD. THERE IS A SENSE OF SAFETY AND SECURY OM BOTH JUAN AND KEV, AND EACH TIME, THOSE BETIFUL MOMENTS WERE SHARED BI THE WATERS OF THE MIAMI BEACH.IN THE THIRD AND FAL ACT OF THE MOVIE, CHIRON IS GROWN AND OUT OF JAIL. HE WAS LIVG ATLANTA, GEIA NEAR HIS MOTHER, WHO IS NOW SOBER AND LIVG A HALFWAY HOME. CHIRON EMBODI JUAN FOR THE FIRST TIME AN OMO WAY; HE IS NOW A DG ALER, NNG THE STREETS WH THORY AND SMARTS JT AS JUAN ONCE HAD.TOP: JUAN, BOTTOM: ADULT CHIRON LIVG THE HARD LIFECHIRON DRIV A SIAR SLICKED OUT R, BUT THE LOR OF BLACK, LIKE HIS NICKNAME. THERE IS A CROWN ON CHIRON’S DASHBOARD, JT LIKE JUAN’S R HAD.THE CROWNS ON JUAN AND CHIRON’S DASHBOARDCHIRON’S R HAS THE LICENSE PLATE: BLACK305, CHIRON’S NICKNAME WH THE MIAMI AREA . JUAN’S LICENSE PLATE EXHIBED THE SAME MSAGE.JUAN AND CHIRON’S LICENSE PLATADULT CHIRON TELLS THAT HE DID WHAT HE HAD TO DO TO SURVIVE JAIL. HE HAD TO REBUILD HIMSELF OM THE GROUND UP, BUT THE BACK OF HIS MD, HE KNEW THERE WAS MORE TO LIFE THAN HOW HE WAS LIVG. HE SAW JUAN.JUAN SUPERVIS HIS RNERJUAN WAS A DG ALER, BUT HE WASN’T YOUR TYPIL “THUG” HTLG THEIR MIAMI STREETS. JUAN WAS THE ONLY PERSON TO EVER “SEE” CHIRON AS A YOUNG BOY, TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE, TO TAKE THE TIME TO SHOW HIM A LIFE WORTH LIVG.WE DON’T GET TOO MUCH BACKSTORY ON JUAN OR HOW HE ME TO BE THE WAY HE WAS, BUT WE DO NOTICE THAT JUAN WAS A LOVG, RG, AND WISE MAN SPE HIS CHOSEN PROFSN. JUAN IS STREET-SMART AND HARD WHEN HE NEEDS TO BE, BUT HE ALSO HAS THE HEART AND URAGE TO VENTURE OUTSI OF A CULTURAL NORM.WHEN KEV REAPPEARS CHIRON’S LIFE TOWARDS THE END OF THE FILM, SYMBOLIZ THAT KEV IS A PLACE NOW WHERE HE HAS BROKEN EE OM THE HARD LIFTYLE:CHIRON AND KEV RNE AT A DER MIAMI“NOW I GOT LIL’ KEV, GOT THIS JOB, ANOTHER 18 MONTHS PROBATN. IT’S A LIFE, YOU KNOW? I A’T NEVER HAD THAT BEFORE. LIKE, I’M TIRED AS HELL RIGHT NOW, MAN, AND I A’T MAKG NO MORE THAN SHOE MONEY, BUT I A’T GOT NO WORRI MAN. NOT THEM KD WHAT I HAD BEFORE. THAT’S THE REAL SH.”KEV’S NEWLY CHRISTENED PERSPECTIVE AFFIRMS TO CHIRON THAT THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN THE TROUBLED, POVERTY-STRICKEN WORLD WHERE THEY GREW UP. WHEN KEV LLS UP CHIRON OUT OF THE BLUE (NO PUN TEND) TO VE HIM BACK DOWN TO MIAMI TO RENNECT, WE N ASSUME THAT KEV IS NO LONGER IGNORG HIS FEELGS ABOUT CHIRON.HE DO NOT FEEL ASHAMED ANYMORE. WHILE HE MAY NOT BE LIVG AN OPENLY GAY LIFTYLE, HE DO NOT NY WHAT HE WANTS OR WHO HE WANTS TO BE, JT LIKE JUAN’S TTIMONY.CHIRON AND KEV TOGETHER AGATHE MOVIE ENDS WH BLACK KEV’S ARMS, BEG EE, ACCEPTED, AND LOVED THEIR PRIVATE MOMENT TOGETHER.FAL THOUGHTS

She asks if Juan plans on tellg Ltle why he walks differently or why the boys at school beat him up, implyg that he's gay. Juan and Tera answer that is a cel word to ll gay people, and that he don't have to know if he's gay yet.

Chiron asks Juan what a faggot is, and Juan f as "a word to make gay people feel bad.

'MOONLIGHT' REVIEW: GAY TRIPTYCH FEATUR GREAT PERFORMANC

Did any gay man who me of age, as I did, the era of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and AIDS, thk he’d survive to see a versn of his life told onscreen wh such knowledge, unpredictabily, and grace? Based on a story by the gay black playwright Tarell Alv McCraney—Jenks himself is not gay—the film is virtuosic part bee of Jenks’s eye and part bee of the tale tells, which begs neteen-eighti whe Miami-Da police officers have beaten a young black man to ath and been acquted of manslghter, settg off rts the cy’s black enclav—Liberty Cy, Overtown, and elsewhere. Directors such as Marlon Riggs and Isaac Julien explored gay black masculy the neti, but they did so say-films, which allowed the dience a kd of built- distance.

Of urse, no one the neti wanted to fance films about gay black men.

He is young, black, gay, poor, and largely iendls—the kd of person who feels like he uld lerally vanish om beg so unseen by the world. In the first act of the film, we learn that the other boys bully Chiron bee they thk he is gay. Chiron himself do ask Juan about beg gay, but only bee of a slur the other boys ll him, however Juan tells him 's okay to be gay — jt to not let them ll him slurs.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* IS JUAN GAY IN MOONLIGHT

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iRsSlw"><a class="RubricLk-gRWSOU fgWnkQ bric__lk" href="/magaze/a-cric-at-large"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">A Cric at Large</span></a></div></div></div><h1 data-ttid="ContentHearHed" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContentHearHed-NCyCC iUEiRd NbxED hpJvIc">“Moonlight” Undo Our Expectatns</h1></div><div class="ContentHearAccredatn-lfctVB enhwXT ntent-hear__accredatn" data-ttid="ContentHearAccredatn"><div class="ContentHearDek-bIqFFZ Mtme">By avoidg the overblown clichés so often ed to reprent black Amerin life film, Barry Jenks has created somethg achgly alive.</div><div class="ContentHearByle-kmPyCa gvUmxJ"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW jvZaPI rponsive-asset ContentHearContributorImage-cvjZXn jKACOU"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa ContentHearContributorImage-cvjZXn jKACOU rponsive-image"><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="66px"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="66px"/><img alt="" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></picture></span><div class="ContentHearByleContent-dpPmNn DRFq"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl ContentHearByl-cZqgyJ bqbBYQ"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH ivtvgj byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd jslZfG gnILss byle__preamble">By </span><a class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM ByleLk-gEnFiw iUEiRd ggMZaT cXqSTL eErqIx byle__name-lk button" href="/ntributors/hilton-als">Hilton Als</a></span></span></p></div><time data-ttid="ContentHearPublishDate" dateTime="2016-10-17T00:00:00-04:00" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContentHearPublishDate-eIBicG iUEiRd kYZrFA kEBrdf">October 17, 2016</time></div></div></div></div></div></hear></div><div data-attribute-verso-pattern="article-body" class="ArticlePageContentBackGround-cNiFNN kbAoLA article-body__ntent"><div class="ActnBarWrapperContent-lasBkU cAHp"><div class="ActnBarWrapperComponent-cjwxLS bEeSLb"><div data-attr-viewport-monor="" class="ActnBarWrapper-dhxmQh kNjTbQ viewport-monor-anchor"><button id="bookmark" aria-label="Save this story" class="ActnBarButton-dyFOZU hQrwCF bookmark large-screen"><span class="ActnBarSendaryButtonPrimaryIn-isbvyN cAwccV bookmark-button-in"><svg class="in in-bookmark" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" xmlns="><tle>Save this story</tle><path class="in-bookmark-fill" d="M20 23.9508L12.5 19.7312L5 23.9508V2.95081H14V3.93211H6V22.1845L12.5 18.5536L19 22.1845V8.83866H20V23.9508Z"></path><path class="in-bookmark-fill" d="M23 3H20V0H19V3H16V4H19V7H20V4H23V3Z"></path></svg></span><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ActnBarButtonText-bYXYuh iUEiRd bkefvo gkccfO">Save this story</span></button></div><div data-attr-viewport-monor="" class="ActnBarWrapper-dhxmQh kAEsuD viewport-monor-anchor"><button id="bookmark" aria-label="Save this story" class="ActnBarButton-dyFOZU cjjxgx bookmark mobile"><span class="ActnBarSendaryButtonPrimaryIn-isbvyN cAwccV bookmark-button-in"><svg class="in in-bookmark" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" xmlns="><tle>Save this story</tle><path class="in-bookmark-fill" d="M20 23.9508L12.5 19.7312L5 23.9508V2.95081H14V3.93211H6V22.1845L12.5 18.5536L19 22.1845V8.83866H20V23.9508Z"></path><path class="in-bookmark-fill" d="M23 3H20V0H19V3H16V4H19V7H20V4H23V3Z"></path></svg></span><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ActnBarButtonText-bYXYuh iUEiRd bkefvo gkccfO">Save this story</span></button></div></div></div><div class="LightboxWrapper-dxsWBV hhylRt"><div class="ArticlePageChunksContent-etcMtP bwyLBj"><div data-ttid="ArticlePageChunks" class="ArticlePageChunks-fLyCVG gBDqlf"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bjczjj grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa bDyAMU body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><div class="GenericCalloutWrapper-tojWn iHBnEl llout--has-top-borr set-embedd-le" data-ttid="GenericCallout"><figure class="AssetEmbedWrapper-eVDQiB byBkf asset-embed"><div class="AssetEmbedAssetContaer-eJxoAx dBHGoQ asset-embed__asset-ntaer"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO KhjZz AssetEmbedRponsiveAsset-cXBNxi eCxVQK asset-embed__rponsive-asset rponsive-image rponsive-image--expandable"><noscript><img alt="Ashton Sanrs as the teenage Chiron has a njurers gifts and an tuive unrstandg of how the mera works." class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src=" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w, 1920w, 2240w" siz="100vw"/></noscript></picture></span></div><div class="CaptnWrapper-jSZdqE iTuhkZ ptn AssetEmbedCaptn-fNQBPI fmQnYP asset-embed__ptn"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ CaptnText-bHjzlu iUEiRd hWyo iXWezO ptn__text">Ashton Sanrs, as the teen-age Chiron, has a njurer’s gifts, and an tuive unrstandg of how the mera works.</span><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ CaptnCred-ejegDm iUEiRd iicloT jbIJNS ptn__cred">Photograph by Gabriele Stabile for The New Yorker</span></div></figure></div><p class="has-dropp has-dropp__lead-standard-headg">Did I ever image, durg my anx, closeted childhood, that I’d live long enough to see a movie like “Moonlight,” Barry Jenks’s brilliant, achgly alive new work about black queerns? Did any gay man who me of age, as I did, the era of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and <em class="small">AIDS</em>, thk he’d survive to see a versn of his life told onscreen wh such knowledge, unpredictabily, and grace? Based on a story by the gay black playwright Tarell Alv McCraney—Jenks himself is not gay—the film is virtuosic part bee of Jenks’s eye and part bee of the tale tells, which begs neteen-eighti Miami.</p><p class="paywall">Four whe Miami-Da police officers have beaten a young black man to ath and been acquted of manslghter, settg off rts the cy’s black enclav—Liberty Cy, Overtown, and elsewhere. It’s hard for a man of lor walkg those sun-bleached streets not to watch his back or feel that his days are numbered. That’s how Juan (the betiful Mahershala Ali) rri himself—fensively, warily. He’s a dope aler, so there’s that, too. He may be a boss on the streets—his black do-rag is his crown—but he’s telligent enough to know that he’s expendable, that real power don’t belong to men like him. Crack is spreadg through the cy like a fever. Steppg out of his r, Juan asks a cranky dg nner what’s up. (Jenks and his arnt cematographer, Jam Laxton, film the r as if were a kd of enclosed throne.) Juan, his mouth fixed a pout—sometim he sucks on his tongue, as if were a pacifier—don’t take his ey off the street. He n’t afford to; this suatn, any suatn, uld be changed an stant by a gun or a knife.</p><p class="paywall">In this world, which is amed by the vlence to e—bee will e—Juan se a skny kid nng, his backpack flappg behd him. He’s beg pursued by a group of boys, and he ducks to a nmned buildg to pe. Juan follows, enterg through a blasted-out wdow, a symbol, perhaps, of the left by the rts. Insi, a dark, silent space, the kid star at Juan, and Juan star at the kid. There’s a kd of mirrorg gog on. Maybe Juan is lookg at his past while the boy looks up at a future he didn’t know he uld have. It’s a disorientg scene, not so much bee of what happens as bee of what don’t happen. Throughout the movie, Jenks avoids what I ll Negro hyperbole—the overblown clichés that are so often ed to reprent black Amerin life. For stance, Juan don’t take that naway kid unr his wg orr to pimp him out and turn him to a dg nner; stead, he brgs him home to feed him, nourish him.</p><p class="paywall">Juan liv a small, unassumg hoe wh his soft-spoken but nfint partner, Tera (played by the sger Janelle Monáe). The uple look on as the kid eats and eats; ’s clear, though, that he’s hungry for more than food. The boy don’t even say his name, Chiron, until Juan nudg him: “You don’t talk much but you damn sure n eat.” The affectnate sldg mak Chiron (Alex Hibbert, a first-time actor, who uldn’t be better) s up and take notice; tells him that he unts. And he knows he unts even more when Juan lls him by his nickname—Ltle—as a way of claimg him.</p><p class="has-dropp has-dropp__lead-standard-headg paywall">“Faggot” is another name, and ’s one that Chiron hears often as he grows up. He’s an outsir at school, and at home, too. He liv public hog wh his sgle mother, Pla (Naomie Harris), who go on dg bg, ls to alleviate her sadns than to exprs her wrath—agast the world and, pecially, agast her son, who she thks keeps her om the world. Chiron liv for the moments when he n get away om his mother’s untls recrimatns and needs, and swim the unfaiar waters of love wh Juan and Tera. One lible scene shows Juan holdg Chiron his arms a ripplg blue ocean, teachg him to float—which is another way of teachg him the lettg go that wh tst, wh love.</p><p class="paywall">But, at the end of every outg, Tera and Juan show their rpect by returng Chiron home. No matter how awful Pla is, she is still Chiron’s mother. This gture is one of many that Jenks, who, like McCraney, was raised Liberty Cy, unrstands om the si out. Growg up this muny, Juan and Pla were tght to re for children, their own and others’. (There are no whe characters the film, and this is a radil move on Jenks’s part. Wh would have troduced a different dynamic to “Moonlight.” Jenks’s story is about a self-erng black society, no matter how actured.) But dgs have ma a ms of fay, or the ia of fay, and Pla gets Juan’s face when he tri to stop her om g. She has a child, sure, but how n he talk when he’s the one sellg dgs? It’s a vic cycle, which the characters are opprsed by everythg but hope. Still, Juan do hope, if only for Chiron. That he is able to pluck that feelg out of the darkns of those Miami nights mak him a classilly heroic figure: he knows his limatns, he knows that life is tragic, but he is still willg to dream.</p><div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--article-mid-ntent" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--article-mid-ntent nsumer-marketg-un__slot---ntent"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><p class="paywall">About thirty mut to the film, Chiron, stg at Juan and Tera’s orrly table, asks what a faggot is. At the screeng I attend, the entire dience oze, as did the figur onscreen. Then Chiron asks if he himself is a faggot. There’s no mic this scene; no one cri; Juan don’t grab a gun and try to blow the slanrg universe away. Instead, he tak the word apart, and don’t take Chiron apart wh . He knows that Chiron is marked for misery, and how will Juan’s heart bear , let alone Chiron’s?</p><p class="has-dropp has-dropp__lead-standard-headg paywall">“Moonlight” undo our expectatns as viewers, and as human begs, too. As we watch, another movie plays our mds, real-life footage of the many forms of damage done to black men, which n sometim lead them to turn that hateful madns on their own kd, passg on the poison that was their herance. As Juan squir his fatherls iend about, we n’t help thkg, Will he abe him? Will happen now? Jenks keeps the fear but not the melodrama his film. He builds his scen slowly, whout tre dialogue or explosns. He rpects our telligence enough to let jt s still and watch the glor fac of his characters as they move through time. Scene follows scene wh the kd of purposefulns you fd fairy tal, or those Dickens novels about boys ma and unma by fate.</p><div class="Contaer-bkChBi byNLHx"></div><p class="paywall">Jenks has fluenc—I would gus that Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Terrence Malick, and Charl Burt are high on the list, along wh Michael Roemer’s 1964 film “Nothg But a Man,” one of the first morn black love stori to avoid buffoonery and improbabily—but what really gets him gog here is filmmakg self, and the story he’s tellg. Directors such as Marlon Riggs and Isaac Julien explored gay black masculy the neti, but they did so say-films, which allowed the dience a kd of built- distance. Of urse, no one the neti wanted to fance films about gay black men. Twenty years later, I still don’t know how Jenks got this flick ma. But he did. And chang everythg.</p><p class="paywall">The film is divid to three parts, tled “Ltle,” “Chiron,” and “Black.” In the send part, Chiron (played now by Ashton Sanrs) is a teen-ager, th and walkg wh the ph, rolve, and lonels of a character for whom Billie Holiday would have given her all a song. Like any young person, Chiron wants to be claimed bodily but is not entirely <em></em> his body. He’s growg up whout much rercement outsi Juan and Tera’s home. Pla’s dg addictn has lated and so has her anger. She’s a rotten baby, flailg around, as full of bile as Terrel (Patrick DeCile, an credible characterizatn), who bulli Chiron at school. So when a classmate, Kev (Jharrel Jerome), shows Chiron somethg other than hostily, feels like a kd of fantasy. Ined, after Kev jok wh Chiron about a girl, he dreams about Kev havg sex wh her. And ’s like a dream one night when Chiron, tstg ltle but wantg to tst more, approach Kev at the beach where Juan tght him to swim.</p><p class="paywall">The light-skned Kev has nicknamed Chiron Black, and he asks why, wonrg if ’s a put-down. Kev, who is more fortable his own body, says that ’s bee Chiron is black; to him, ’s not an sult. This moment of nfn—about ternalized self-hatred and the affectn of namg—is unlike anythg that’s been put onscreen before; shows what eedom and pa n look like, all one ame. When the boys kiss, Chiron apologiz for , and we wce, bee who among hasn’t wanted to apologize for his prence? Intimacy mak the world, the body, feel strange. How do make a boy who’s been rejected bee of his sk lor, his sexual terts, and his sensivy feel? Kev says, “What have you got to be sorry for?” As he works his hand down Chiron’s shorts, the mera pulls back; this is the only moment of physil timacy the film, and Jenks knows that this study of black male closens the pot isn’t to show fuckg; ’s to show the stops and starts, the hatn, and the sh that when one black male body fds pleasure and somethg like liberatn another.</p><p class="paywall">Watchg Sanrs play Chiron at this stage of his life is rather like seeg Montgomery Clift act for the first time, or Gloria Foster “Nothg But a Man.” There’s no acuntg for talent like this. Sanrs has a njurer’s gifts, and an tuive unrstandg of how the mera works—how n ph to an actor’s face and nscns, and how the actor n ph back agast the tsn by habg the realy of the moment.</p><p class="paywall">But the moment of love don’t last. When Terrel challeng Kev about his attachment to Chiron, Kev beats Chiron up, and then Terrel jumps on him, too. It’s “The Lord of the Fli” all over aga: whale on sensivy before n get to you. In a bid to protect his dream of love, Chiron shows up at school one day and, wordlsly, breaks a chair over Terrel’s back. It’s every queer kid’s revenge fantasy, but what follows is every queer kid’s realy: fight back, and you’ll pay for ; the power do not belong to you.</p><p class="has-dropp has-dropp__lead-standard-headg paywall">In the third part of the film, Chiron (geoly played by Trevante Rhos) is an adult, but still lookg after his mother. She’s rehab Atlanta, and he has fulfilled his sty by example: like Juan, he’s a dg aler a do-rag. But he don’t have a Tera, don’t have anyone. He wears his sensivy like a shroud around his now mcular body, which looks very black the moonlight as he li bed, startled to have received a phone ll om Kev after many years. Rhos’s portrayal of the grownup Chiron feels like a natural evolutn om the earlier performanc. The gold onts that his Chiron wears are jt another form of armor agast longg, a mouth that yearns to taste Kev’s once aga, to relive that forbidn love, for which black men sometim punish one another. Rarely has the world tght them not to. But at tim, when no one’s lookg, love happens, jt the same. ♦</p></div></div></div><div class="GridItem-buujkM fVLMby grid--em grid-layout__asi"><asi class="PersistentAsiWrapper-VGrR daRVRt persistent-asi" style="posn:absolute;top:to;height:to" data-ttid="PersistentAsiWrapper"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB jxBcTH sticky-box ArticlePageSplAdRail-OyjwD jikppc"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="ArticlePageSplAdRailContent-jsltpq iZDmmY spl-ad-rail-ntent"><div class="ArticlePageSplAdRailTop-jUrrVY jzzFg"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB jxBcTH sticky-box"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--rail"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--rail" data-no-id="bhfkyk"></div></div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--display-rail" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--display-rail"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><div class="StickyBoxPlaceholr-grPmrg dxAvXx"></div></div></div><div class="ArticlePageSplAdRailMiddle-tiRvu hiZeZX spl-ad-rail-middle"></div><div class="ArticlePageSplAdRailBottom-dBKMGQ jmCMsn spl-ad-rail-bottom"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB jxBcTH sticky-box"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--rail"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--rail" data-no-id="l6qtme"></div></div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--display-rail" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--display-rail"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><div class="StickyBoxPlaceholr-grPmrg dxAvXx"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="StickyBoxPlaceholr-grPmrg dxAvXx"></div></div></asi></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 PaywallInleBarrierWhWrapperGrid-fyrGfS kLQIUk grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="body body__le-barrier article__body"><div class="ntaer ntaer--body"><div class="ntaer--body-ner"><asi class="PaywallInleBarrierWrapper-iBnuqk lfXXa-D" data-ttid="PaywallInleBarrierWrapper"><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--paywall-le-barrier" role="prentatn" aria-live="pole" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--paywall-le-barrier"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></asi></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 ContentWrapperGrid-fvkmBv brYtrA grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="body body__ntaer"><div class="ntaer ntaer--body"><div class="ntaer--body-ner"></div></div></div></div></div></div></article><div class="ContentFooterWrapper-jVNdRG dTJkpP ArticlePageContentFooterGrid-ccsXYy eMZRHU article-body__footer"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><footer class="ContentFooterMagazeDisclaimer-gzKAqo iZIuUU" data-ttid="MagazeDisclaimerWrapper">Published the prt edn of the <a href="/magaze/2016/10/24" data-reactroot="">October 24, 2016</a>, issue, wh the headle “Black Power.”</footer></div></div><div data-ttid="RowWrapper" class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"></div></div></div><div data-ttid="RowWrapper" class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="ContributorsWrapper-eNpWFu GWFsc ntributors" data-ttid="Contributors"><div class="ContributorBWrapper-bnVHbt gMon"><div class="ContributorBAvatar-bIGTqf eMWbvj"><a href="/ntributors/hilton-als"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW jvZaPI rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa rponsive-image"><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></picture></span></a></div><div class="ContributorBContent-ubQdr jZTSSi"><div class="ContributorBHear-ledood XOIEx"></div><div class="ContributorBB-fBolsO giFhKz"><a href="/ntributors/hilton-als">Hilton Als</a>, a staff wrer at The New Yorker, won the 2017 Pulzer Prize for cricism. 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siz="100vw"/><img alt="New York Film Ftival’s Breakout Films" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></picture></div></div></span></a></div><div class="SummaryItemContent-eiDYMl ldWYvC summary-em__ntent"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX kImuKS bric bric--disvery SummaryItemRubric-dguGKN fYiFyD summary-em__bric"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Movi</span></div><a class="SummaryItemHedLk-civM cZPaWG summary-em-trackg__hed-lk summary-em__hed-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-hed-2" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href="/magaze/2016/10/03/new-york-film-ftivals-breakout-films" target="_self"><div class="SummaryItemHedBase-hiFYpQ iIjKeM summary-em__hed" data-ttid="SummaryItemHed">New York Film Ftival’s Breakout Films</div></a><div class="SummaryItemAssetContaer-gwhFFH VOyg summary-em__asset-ntaer"><a class="SummaryItemImageLk-dshqxb USLvL summary-em__image-lk summary-em-trackg__image-lk" href="/magaze/2016/10/03/new-york-film-ftivals-breakout-films" aria-hidn="te" tabx="-1" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-2" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" target="_self"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg egpoQR summary-em__image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz jMoLpX"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg egpoQR summary-em__image rponsive-image"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="New York Film Ftival’s Breakout Films" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></picture></div></div></span></a></div><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ SummaryItemDek-CRfsi iUEiRd jxOIpm cPtisA summary-em__k">At Lln Center, tablished filmmakers try out bold new ias and produce works that offer high artistic qualy and probg social perspectiv.</div><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi hYsZi summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY cgDBtc summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH dSEWiO byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd jslZfG gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Richard Brody</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="SummaryItemWrapper-iwvBff hlYhBH summary-em summary-em--article summary-em--no-in summary-em--text-align-left summary-em--layout-placement-text-below-sktop-only summary-em--layout-posn-image-right 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siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="“The Birth of a Natn” Isn’t Worth Defendg" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></picture></div></div></span></a></div><div class="SummaryItemContent-eiDYMl ldWYvC summary-em__ntent"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX kImuKS bric bric--disvery SummaryItemRubric-dguGKN fYiFyD summary-em__bric"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Dept. of Disputatn</span></div><a class="SummaryItemHedLk-civM cZPaWG summary-em-trackg__hed-lk summary-em__hed-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-hed-3" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href="/magaze/2016/10/10/the-birth-of-a-natn-isnt-worth-fendg" target="_self"><div class="SummaryItemHedBase-hiFYpQ iIjKeM summary-em__hed" data-ttid="SummaryItemHed">“The Birth of a Natn” Isn’t Worth Defendg</div></a><div class="SummaryItemAssetContaer-gwhFFH VOyg summary-em__asset-ntaer"><a 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BaseText-ewhhUZ SummaryItemDek-CRfsi iUEiRd jxOIpm cPtisA summary-em__k">Nate Parker’s retellg of Nat Turner’s rebelln do not succeed as art or as propaganda.</div><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi hYsZi summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY cgDBtc summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH dSEWiO byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd jslZfG gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Vson Cunngham</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="SummaryItemWrapper-iwvBff hlYhBH summary-em summary-em--ARTICLE summary-em--no-in summary-em--text-align-left summary-em--layout-placement-text-below-sktop-only 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