Imaginary Florida: Multimedia Companion Project Sample

This is a quick and dirty sample of Multimedia Companion that students in RP 300 Florida History have the option to create as a supplement to their essay analysis.
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Florida, perhaps more than other states, has been and continues to be marked by the interplay between imagined expectation and real experience. While the recent academic works Land of Sunshine, State of Dream: A Social History of Modern Florida (2005) and Paradise Lost? The Environmental History of Florida (2005) address Florida’s social and environmental histories, and as substantial analyses such as The New History of Florida (1996) and Florida’s Working-Class Past: Current Perspectives on Labor, Race, and Gender from Spanish Florida to the New Immigration (2008) explore the intersections of the state’s political and economic concerns, an examination of popular depiction of the state highlight the assumptions that have defined the state for decades. In this multimedia presentation, I will in address some of these issues.

The citrus industry has defined Florida for decades. This postcard serves as perfect example of the way people in and outside the state see this iconic industry. The postcard fails to address the complex process associated with cultivating citrus, instead we see marks of commerce and consumption.

Exporting agricultural staples provide one view of Florida, but the state also is defined by the fantastic wildlife unique to it. Here, a classic postcard present alligators with little in the way of clarification about them. Symbolic of the state, but not fully understood, these wild creatures provide a symbol of Florida wildness close at hand.

The idea of dangerous wildlife in Florida represents vision of the state, yet any consideration of the imagery suggests a conflict vision of paradise. Wild flowers and tropical landscape dominate popular depictions. The tension between a wild and dangerous Florida versus a paradisaical Florida is clear.

Modernization brings the idea of Florida as wild wonderland and Florida as paradise together in powerful ways. The evolution of postcard images mirror the growth of population consuming the state's resources.

At some level, the Florida city represent the reconciliation of the competing narratives of the state's existence. On the one hand, the city represents a civilizing space where the dangers pose by nature have been brought under control. On the other hand, natural splendor is never far from the Florida urban experience. You can always hope into your car and experience the natural wonders after a short drive.