What doesn't kill you makes you stronger?

Moonlight (2016)

It used to be that the offspring are just offshoots of adults, brought to the world to replace the labour force once the elders become unproductive, withering to the test of time and elements of  Nature. The juniors will learn using their God-given senses to develop themselves by the time their bodies show signs of going into adulthood. There was no need to spend any time to appreciate childhood, to learn and mould their later character and vocation. Life was simple. You just be grateful to your parents for helping you to survive through childhood and continue the family business. No need to think too hard. You just live for the family and the community you show your allegiance.

Somewhere along the way, things changed. One generation decided to play Mr Nice Guy to all sides. They kowtow to the demands of the elders and play dance monkey to their children. That just shook the balance.

An adolescent, in the present era, has to endure so many adversities at various levels as they saunter into adulthood. As a sound education is a pre-requisite in adult life, the pressure to acquire a sound paper qualification can be a daunting experience, especially if you are immersed in an underprivileged environment where many day-to-day events drag you down from your ambitions. Your peers do not motivate but instead become a stumbling block, always there to ridicule and bully at your attempts. If that is not enough, there are too many role models who give mixed signals on what is 'normal'. Then, there is pressure from the peers to conform to the herd. Many family units, these days, are just fractured units, nuclear or sometimes led by a single parent, with finances being a major stumbling block. We, being urban dwellers, a consumer society with a scarcity of food from the surroundings, have to fulfil our biological needs first before we look into the nitty gritty fine prints of life.

But still, against all these odds, some amongst us, like the lucky gamete that managed to fertilise that solitary ovum in an environment that is so cruel, have their inner eyes peeled opened to have an inner realisation of what need to be done to survive and come out smelling of roses. That itself is an enigma. It is just so easy to slip-slide into oblivion.

This award winning all black film with an Oscar to show is a coming-of-age story of a young boy as he grows without a father figure, living with a junkie mother and an equally hostile school environment teeming with bullies and name-calling peers. It is a heart-wrenching account of the journey of this boy who discovers himself, love, sexuality, friendship and the baggage of family. A good watch, from the play 'In Moonlight, Black Boys Look Blue'.