Little in the Water
One image that has dominated Moonlight's coverage in the press is that of Juan teaching Little to swim. Juan holds him in his arms and eventually lets him try to stay afloat on his own. We lose sight of Little and then find him again once he successfully stays abreast of the waves. These shots remain moving and potent for their beauty and symbolic quality, mirroring as they do Juan's complicated attempts to encourage Little to keep his head above water in a figurative sense, a narrative arc that outlines the film's themes of parenthood and masculinity. The way in which Juan holds Little, with one hand under his head, also calls to mind the ritual of Christian baptism, illuminating the film's themes of redemption and guilt. These themes are particularly central to Little and Juan's relationship, since Juan helps Chiron develop into a tenacious man, yet also unknowingly guides Chiron into a lifestyle of selling drugs, along with contributing to Paula's problems, which prevent her from being a good mother.
Paula Yelling
Paula's figure, illuminated by the surreal pink light of her room, is an image that repeats itself in Chiron's mind as he grows up. Given pink's proximity to red, a near universal symbol of love and passion, this image encapsulates Paula's frail, misaligned love for her son, playing into the film's existing themes of love and parenthood. Although Paula loves her son, reminding him once that she is "his only," she often uses that love to hold her son emotionally hostage to her addiction. In this shot, this twisted motherly love is embodied by the mixed signals between her fury and the intensity of the colors pink and red, which stand in for affection and passion. This sequence also supports the film's surreal, impressionistic style, since it plays out both with and without sound at various points in the film according to how Chiron perceives it, thereby grounding us in Chiron's point of view.
Waves
The sound of waves occurs at numerous points in the script, sometimes linked to visual representations of waves on the screen, and other times independent of them. When Chiron meets Kevin in the diner, for example, we briefly hear the sound of waves play in his mind as a reminder of his and Kevin's romantic night on the beach; soon after, the sound reappears linked to an image when Chiron follows Kevin to his beachside home. In these moments, we as viewers recall Chiron's conversation with Kevin as teenagers on the beach, when Kevin imagined his tears merging with the ocean. Owing to this aural and visual rhyme, we can imagine the imagery of waves as tying into the film's treatment of masculinity as performance, since waves and water seem to symbolize the boys' vulnerability and inner softness.
"Hello, Stranger"
Barbara Lewis' "Hello, Stranger" creates a sense of intimacy and classic 50s romance between Kevin and Chiron at the diner, both fitting and totally otherworldly in the context of their relationship. Of course, as the men have not seen each other in a decade, the song's title is totally appropriate. Even so, the rosy 50s style of the song recalls an era of music and culture that would not have understood or condoned their romance at all. "I'm so glad / You stopped by to say "hello" to me / Remember that's the way it used to be / Ooh, it seems like a mighty long time," the song croons, amplifying not only the scene's sexual tension, but also its sense of nostalgia. Insofar as the song speaks the words that the men cannot say to each other for fear of being vulnerable, it draws out the film's portrayal of memory, nostalgia, and Chiron's complex identity. Although it has indeed been "a mighty long time" since the men kissed on the beach, for example, that moment has informed Chiron's every move in life, from his relationships to his wardrobe.
