The following line from The Florida Project best sums up the film: “You know why this is my favourite tree? Cause it’s tipped over and it’s still growing.” Spoken by Moonee while eating jelly sandwiches with Jancey on the trunk of a lush, collapsed tree, the line draws a perfect similarity between the fallen tree’s continued growth and the motel residents’ efforts to trudge through poverty despite their representations in society. Sean Baker’s The Florida Project depicts Moonee, a six-year old living at the Magic Castle (a dilapidated motel just outside Walt Disney World) with her unemployed mother Halley. It takes place during the summer, where Moonee spends her time causing mischief with her friends Scooty and Jancey. Baker’s intention with the film was to illustrate the juxtaposition of poor families living on a weekly basis in motels near Walt Disney World, the supposed happiest place on Earth where tourists enjoy their vacation. This essay will examine Baker’s depiction of the hidden homeless, along with the representations of race and …show more content…
Also, after the DCF pays Halley a visit due to an anonymous call about her prostitution, she starts to clean up her act by getting rid of her weed and making sure the room is presentable. It is clear that although these two women may fit profile of poor, careless young adults in the eyes of some, they still fiercely treasure their children and are very much in touch with their maternal feelings. Rather than the lazy, welfare dependent representation set by society, Ashley and Halley are shown to be making an effort to provide for themselves and their children as Ashley actually has a job and Halley resorts to selling perfume to tourists and prostitution as a last-ditch