Before it was called “Disney World” it was “The Florida Project.” Located in the tropical sunshine state, the Disney World is the home to all of our childhood favourites from Mickey Mouse to Cinderella the newer ones, like Mirabel and Asha.
Disney is not just for kids of the present day, it welcomes kids from different generations and it awakens the inner kid who has been dormant for some time, this is the Magic of the Kingdom.
On the other side of the kingdom is another world that spans through generations of kids, albeit not as magical as the former, it’s a world we all know through and through. Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch brought us to the latter in their 2017 film, “The Florida Project.”
We follow the story of a young girl named Moonee and her single mother Halley in their life in Florida. Halley, a young mother herself struggles to make ends meet and make enough money for basic needs and to secure their stay in a low-cost motel called the “Magic Castle” managed by Bobby.
Moonee enjoys the summer vacation making chaos with other neighbourhood friends. Majority of the film, we watch Moonee as she become a menace to adults, and we also watch her mother doing the same. Two kids with the same coping mechanism.
Halley doesn’t seem to try her best to get on anyone’s side. She manifests attitude you would expect from a rowdy teenager. Her neighbours, especially, Bobby, tried to help her to a certain extent, but sometimes you just got to lose some battles.
Halley tried to sell knock-off perfumes outside a luxury golf course but was eventually kicked out. She then resorted to another activity which was implied to be prostitution. This then prompted the child services agency to take action and reconsider Halley’s role in her daughter’s life.
Needless to say, it wasn’t the best feeling in the world to be separated by the person you love most in the world. Moonee ran away from child services, invited her best friend to escape and they ended up escaping to the magical kingdom of Disney.
Albeit not being a teenage mother, this topic hits close to home as I do have loved ones wo became pregnant at a young age. It was not something I could have survived. In my late-20s, I could barely get to feed myself properly, I cannot imagine having to be responsible for another human being’s well-being.
I know it’s never easy to ease in with that type of situation. Not only because of the fact they need to be raising a kid as kids, but also the scrutiny these young ladies get from their society, specially their loved ones. It upsets me that teenage pregnancy is always seen as the problem with the girl and not the sperm-owner. It was a collaborative effort but the mother is always seen as the wrong one.
Despite the adversities, all teenage moms I knew are the most hardworking and loving ones. They never let anything wear them down, whatever other people tell them. They do the most that they can to make sure their family has whatever they need.
The Florida Project struck the empathy string in my brain. It’s painful to think these things do happen in real life, but I cannot think of other ways to help them and society in general than making the idea of sex not much of a mystery.
I can only speak for my observations, and it appears the more we shy away from the topic of sex, the more kids become curious about it. The more teenagers learn about sex, how to prevent unwanted pregnancy, and STDs, the more educated they would be and the easier they can make decisions.
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