Art is inherently political. Even trying to make a film that has nothing to do with politics is, in and of itself, a political act.
Interpretation
Art reflects societal values and political dynamics, regardless of its intended message.
Barry Jenkins suggests that all art, including films, is influenced by the political landscape of its time. Even when an artist aims to create something apolitical, the very choice to create in a specific context engages with the political sphere, making it a political act in itself. This implies that all forms of artistic expression resonate with broader societal issues and power structures.
In practice
In a speech at an arts conference discussing social change.
'Moonlight' is a story that hasn't been told. Whether placed as queer black cinema or urban male cinema, the lack of coming-of-age films featuring people like Chiron and set in places like inner-city Miami is pronounced and unfortunate.
It's interesting because I think class is a heavy, heavy part of 'Moonlight,' and I think, in a certain way, through the sum of all these parts, it's become a commentary on the black experience in America.
I have friends who I consider my peers, who have done amazing work, particularly in the film and television space, who came up as independent artists and who have been - to be brutally honest - much more prolific than I was able to be.
As a writer, a blank page will humble the hell out of you. It always does, and it always will.
Cinema is a little over 100 years old, and a lot of what we do is built around film emulsion. Those things were calibrated for white skin. We've always placed powder on skin to dull the light. But my memory of growing up in Miami is this moist, beautiful black skin.
'Moonlight' changed me. To see people so moved by this movie inspires me to find something else to offer. And maybe the next one touches only five people or maybe just one person. To me, you know, that would still be worth it.
Everything we see in the world is the creative work of women.
Dancing is bigger than the physical body. Think bigger than that. When you extend your arm, it doesn't stop at the end of your fingers, because you're dancing bigger than that. You're dancing spirit.
Where there is no style, there is in effect no point of view. There is, essentially, no anger, no conviction, no self. Style is opinion, hung washing, the caliber of a bullet, teething beads.
To me, music is a river. I have lived my life beside the river. Every day, I get up and look at the river. I watch it and notice when it rises and falls.
When you use film, you use accidents, but there aren't any accidents with digital photography. I don't mind that it's easy. But I do mind that there is a sort of consensus with the camera and the subject and the light, and you look at something, and you photograph it, and you get what you see.
You can't perish because of your own feelings; you have to embrace those things as an actor because it's part of your palette.
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