The Florida Project Analysis Essay
I am a big fan of Sean Baker and love virtually all his movies. For a while, I couldn’t understand why. Afterall, I am a horror, thriller and suspense kind of girl. And I normally steer away from gritty drama or romance films. Then, I understood the reasons why I loved his movies so much. Movies, like Anora and the Florida Project have a great deal of horror elements in them. Let’s face it, there ain’t nothing scarier than being poor. Just look at the Magic Castle inn and Suits Motel, it was like a haunted house, equipped with bedbugs, criminals, and highways freaks. Worse, there was no real escape for the residents. Poverty worked very much like a plague. Where people from all walks of life were quarantine and forbidden from interacting with mainstream society. Many of us chose to ignore them, turning a blind eye. But Sean Baker rubs it all in our faces, reminding us that poverty is a communal disease, that will inevitably, affects us all. So, if you’re a big fan of Sean Baker. Or you just loved Anora and/or the Florida Project, this video is for you.
The Meaning behind the Florida Project and Anora
You ever wonder why poor people are such a mess? And yes, I am talking about the Anora’s Annie and the Florida Projects Halley. Both women seemed to be holding it together, at least at first, but slowly unravel as desperation seeps in. Halley is barely getting by as a dancer, when she gets fired, losing her job and food assistance in the process. Annie is on top of the world. She is in charge and knows exactly what she needs to do to get her money. That is until Ivan dangles a love carrot in her face. The reason for the ratchetness is that poverty isn’t just an economic status. It is a mindset. And sadly, it all starts when we are young. Much like six-year-old Moonie, we have colorful and vivid imaginations that don’t just keep us entertained, but also help us escape from the harsh realities of life. In fact, children can’t really handle trauma. So as a coping mechanism, they tap out, escaping into their own imaginary worlds where there is only pleasure and joy. The only problem is that trauma doesn’t really go away. Instead, it is stored in the subconscious mind for the child to deal with when they get older.
Anora v The Florida Project
But sadly, for many of these children, their environments don’t change as they age, and neither does their mindset. So, they grow up to be broken adults with a very child-like mentality. Halley was a single mom, who couldn’t get a real job because of her criminal record. Yet, she was incredibly irresponsible, allowing her six-year-old daughter to run wild. She actually sent her to the diner to get waffles and pancakes, unsupervised and doesn’t reprimand her for spitting on another resident’s car. Anne is also a little reckless. She has no remorse for dancing with Diamond’s boyfriend. And she visits Ivan alone, with no real back up plan. Both women are constantly putting themselves and their children in dangerous situations, without accessing the risk, or repercussions of their actions. As a result, they sink deeper into the pits of poverty and the child-like mindset.
Moonee and The Florida Project Explained
But adulting is hard, especially when you’re afraid to face deep rooted pain. And the more you use escapism as a coping mechanism, the harder it becomes to face cold hard truths about your life. Ivan sweeps Anne off her feet. He pays her a great deal of money to be his girlfriend for the week. He whisks her off to Las Vegas to dine at the best restaurants and lounge in luxury hotels. Moonie has a child-like innocence that all adults adore. But her sense of wonder, easily become dangerous, when she fiddles with the motel’s electric breaker, begs strangers for money at the nearby ice-cream shop, and rummages through a condemned building, ultimately setting it on fire. Anne thinks that the good times will never end, when her and Ivan’s night cap include a wedding and celebration on Freemont Street. She truly feels like her hustling days are over, as Ivan wraps her up in a fur coat, and slips a giant engagement ring on her finger. Moonie is also over the moon, as burned down dilipated houses become haunted ones, as a field of cows become an African safari, as a neglectful mother, becomes a dotting one.
The Florida Project Resounding Themes
But sadly, reality will hit you like a ton of picks. Because the world doesn’t give two fucks about your feelings, or your trauma for that matter. We see this when Garnik and Toro burst into Ivan’s home and shame him for marrying a sex worker. Anne is immediately on guard and in denial. Why? Because her child-like mentality, never prepared her for the consequences of her actions. Halley, struggling with bills takes to the streets to hustle, but she gets her own wakeup call, when a hotel security guard confiscates her goods. But the ratchetness doesn’t stop there, she invites over nine men into her hotel room, again, putting both her and her daughter in danger. And she does this, to make the motel rent, which is almost a thousand dollars a month. Anne just couldn’t take a hint. Especially when Ivan storms off, leaving her in the clutches of his father’s henchman. And unlike the Prince searching all over town to find Cinderella and her matching shoe. Anne scours the city looking for a man, who couldn’t care less about her.
Bobby and the Florida Project
Bobby the hotel manager makes a few piteous attempts to help Halley and Moonie. He spots her ten dollars to cover her stay at a neighboring motel and tries to give her some warm fatherly advice. But Bobby is also a victim of poverty. He too is a resident at the Magic Castle Inn and Suites. He is overworked, underpaid, and seems to be having a difficult time patching his own family together. Igor wants to shower Anne with brotherly love. He offers her a scarf, a drink, a blanket, and even a hug. But his efforts mean absolutely nothing to her. Why? Because she doesn’t see him as important and powerful. And thus, he can’t give her the kind of validation that she’s looking for. Halley seemed to have found a sense of belongingness amongst a tribe of criminals, crazies, and rejects. But sadly, Halley’s midnight rendezvous turn her into a leper, triggering her shame and causing her to lash out at old friends.
The Florida Project Ending Explained
Ashely wasn’t the only one who got a beat down. Anne got her own tongue lashing. First from Tora, then by Galina and finally from Ivan. Up until that point, Anne lived in a bubble. She had a child-like mindset and didn’t understand how people outside the club saw her. They judged her. Worse, they didn’t even see her as human. They saw her as a monster, or a beast, who was trying to infect their family with malady and disease. Halley makes one last attempt to save her daughter from child-services. Yet, she is helpless, because she understands that she couldn’t take care of her, even if she wanted to. So, Moonie runs off with Jancey, enjoying one last adventure, before the cruel world of foster-care and poverty turns her into a monster.