Children in the Films of Steven Spielberg

Adrian Schober, Debbie Olson

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2016
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9798216220992
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

To say that children matter in Steven Spielberg's films is an understatement. Think of the possessed Stevie in Something Evil (TV), Baby Langston in The Sugarland Express, the alien-abducted Barry in Close Encounters,Elliott and his unearthly alter-ego in E.T, the war-damaged Jim in Empire of the Sun, the little girl in the red coat in Schindler's List, the mecha child in A.I., the kidnapped boy in Minority Report, and the eponymous boy hero of The Adventures of Tintin. (There are many other instances across his oeuvre). Contradicting his reputation as a purveyor of 'popcorn' entertainment, Spielberg's vision of children/childhood is complex. Discerning critics have begun to note its darker underpinnings, increasingly fraught with tensions, conflicts and anxieties. But, while childhood is Spielberg's principal source of inspiration, the topic has never been the focus of a dedicated collection of essays. The essays in Children in the Films of Steven Spielberg therefore seek to address childhood in the full spectrum of Spielberg's cinema. Fittingly, the scholars represented here draw on a range of theoretical frameworks and disciplines—cinema studies, literary studies, audience reception, critical race theory, psychoanalysis, sociology, and more. This is an important book for not only scholars but teachers and students of Spielberg's work, and for any serious fan of the director and his career.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Illustrations
• List of Tables and Figures
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Spielberg and the Kidult
• Chapter Two: Unconditional Love, Hysterical Motherhood, and the Lost/Possessed Child
• Chapter Three: Ambiguous Loss
• Chapter Four: “I’ll be right here!” Dealing with Emotional Trauma in and through E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
• Chapter Five: Children, Innocence, and Agency in the Films of Steven Spielberg
• Chapter Six: Childhood, Race, and the Politics of Dirt in Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple
• Chapter Seven: Betwixt-and-Between
• Chapter Eight: Hooked on Happy Thoughts
• Chapter Nine: Bipolar Boys
• Chapter Ten: Trauma, Loss, Anxiety
• Chapter Eleven: Body Consciousness and Adolescence in The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
• Index
• About the Contributors