Chiron And Culture

Discuss how culture is portrayed in this film? Consider the time that the film was made, what was the context? What is different now and what is similar now?
The culture present in the film is one of violence, intolerance and hatred. The film takes a modern look at the violence, drug usage and homophobia present in low income areas. Chiron constantly struggles to both find and be himself yet the culture that surrounds him prevents this. The struggle to find one’s identity in a society that lacks acceptance is an important theme in the movie. In today’s modern era, most places accept homosexuality. However, the area that Chiron lives in is not so accepting. The film shows that homophobia is still present and that it can negatively affect people’s
The biological family present in the film consists of Chiron and his mother Paula. While they are biologically related, it would be hard to consider them a “family” for much of the film. They are a one parent, African-American family with a single mother. Chiron doesn’t know his father and his mother is employed but barely functional. She is incredibly irresponsible and neglectful towards her son and as a result, the two are not close. On the other hand, there is Juan and Teresa whose relationship with Chiron differs greatly from Paula’s. Juan and Teresa can be seen as representations of the current definition of family. This definition states that family is an intimate group of two or more people who live together in a committed relationship, care for one another and any children, and share activities and close emotional ties(Benokraitis, 2012, p. 3). This definition cannot be applied to Paula as she neither cares for nor shares an emotional bond with her son. From what the film shows, Juan and Teresa were Chiron’s true family as they were the ones who truly raised
Juan and Theresa support and accept Chiron in a way that most don’t. They took him in when he had nothing and became parent figures to him. Chiron’s family with his biological mother, is one that has many challenges. Paula is one of the main antagonists in the movie and challenges Chiron constantly. She is a drug addict, a neglectful mother and bully. She harrasses her son in order the get more drugs and doesn’t give him the love and acceptance he needs. This adversarial relationship that Paula and Chiron have leads him to find strength and support in the family he has with Teresa and Juan.
What are some the greatest concerns?
Chiron struggles with bullying, his sexual identity and his home life in the movie. He is constantly being harassed and bullied by others. His sexual identity he is unsure of and he has a desire to learn more about himself. He knows that he might be gay however in an area that is incredibly homophobic, it is hard for him to express himself. Chiron feels a strong connection with Kevin however their relationship becomes strained and corrupted. In addition, Chiron’s home life is absolutely deplorable and puts added stress on him. He cannot escape the bullying of school life as his mother harasses him at home.
Which on the theories reviewed best fit how the family in you movie related to the larger