Critical Film Study: Social Sciences Essay

Critical Film Study
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Critical Film Study
Generally, Initiation was regarded as a traditional rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. This rite was accompanied by rituals conducted by tribal communities to allow young men and women to become active and fully fledged community members. These rituals were painful to showcase the strength and masculinity of young men. For young women, the rituals proved their spiritual and sacrificial ability before they become adults. Ronald Grimes, however, gives a different perspective of initiation in his chapter, ‘‘Coming of Age’’ According to Grimes (2000), initiation comes in several ways without incorporating any ritual.
In his view, transition from childhood to adulthood occurs without an initiation rite when a child becomes reasonable. An example is the case of Caillah, a young girl who insists on piercing her ears at the age of ten. The girl is tenacious in her discussions and persistent in pursuing her goal which is to pierce her ears even if the father declines her request. Her tenacity and persistence impresses her father who now believes she is reasonable to the extent of making her decisions (Grimes, 2000). Grimes (2000) describe this scenario as ignition without a ritual because the girl is already assuming increased levels of responsibility for her actions. In other words, according to Grimes, initiation without ritual can also occur once an individual becomes responsible for their actions.
Grimes’s chapter connects to various events from the Sean Baker’s film, ‘‘The Florida Project’’ based on how youth in difficult circumstances come of age without traditional rites of passage or initiations in Orlando. One aspect that is evident from the film is responsibility. Moonee’s mother Halley, after giving birth to her daughter, struggles to take care of her baby under difficult situation. However, she is as childish and unrelenting as her daughter to the extent of not knowing how to cope with the burdens shaped by adulthood (Baker, 2017). Although she has rent to pay and mouths to feed, she still desires to escape and evade responsibly. According to the scenario, the youth in Orlando become fully adults after giving birth. However young they might be, after giving birth, they transition to ...