Monstrous Children and Childish Monsters
Essays on Cinema's Holy Terrors
Nonfiction, Entertainment, Film, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
| Author: | ISBN: | 9781476619866 | |
| Publisher: | McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers | Publication: | March 6, 2015 |
| Imprint: | Language: | English |
| Author: | |
| ISBN: | 9781476619866 |
| Publisher: | McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers |
| Publication: | March 6, 2015 |
| Imprint: | |
| Language: | English |
Perhaps because of the wisdom received from our Romantic forbears about the purity of the child, depictions of children as monsters have held a tremendous fascination for film audiences for decades. Numerous social factors have influenced the popularity and longevity of the monster-child trope but its appeal is also rooted in the dual concepts of the child-like (innocent, angelic) and the childish (selfish, mischievous). This collection of fresh essays discusses the representation of monstrous children in popular cinema since the 1950s, with a focus on the relationship between monstrosity and “childness,” a term whose implications the contributors explore.
Perhaps because of the wisdom received from our Romantic forbears about the purity of the child, depictions of children as monsters have held a tremendous fascination for film audiences for decades. Numerous social factors have influenced the popularity and longevity of the monster-child trope but its appeal is also rooted in the dual concepts of the child-like (innocent, angelic) and the childish (selfish, mischievous). This collection of fresh essays discusses the representation of monstrous children in popular cinema since the 1950s, with a focus on the relationship between monstrosity and “childness,” a term whose implications the contributors explore.
