Our Conceptions of Childhood

Today in class we talked about the romantic notion of the child as opposed to the notion of the “evil child.” We discussed how the romantic notion of children came about around the same time as the industrial revolution began. We also discussed how the romantic notion of the child is still present in today’s society. We still see childhood as a time of innocence. Then we compared this notion of innocence in children to the notion of the “evil child.” We see children portrayed as evil in countless movies and other representations. In class we were asked to choose a movie and answer the question “what does this video say about certain cultural ideas about childhood?” My group chose the video clip from toy story that included the character Sid. In the movie he is portrayed as one of the evil forces to overcome. His parents are clueless about the extent of his violent nature and he is an expert at manipulating them. He just pretends that he is the perfect child when he is around them and they have no suspicions. Why would they, children are often thought of as innocent and angelic beings. We thought that this part of the movie affirms the widely accepted cultural concept that parents believe their children can do no wrong. We also came up with the idea that the character Sid demonstrates that violence can be learned through video games, television, and movies. This supports the point that Postman makes. He believes that television is the end of childhood; that it teaches children adult concepts therefore killing the period of childhood. I agree with this. Looking back at my own childhood I remember that there were certain television shows and movies that I wasn’t allowed to watch because they contained thing inappropriate for children. When I look at children today I see a drastic change in the last few years. Children are allowed to watch shows like Family Guy and they play games that involve death and extreme violence. I agree with the fact that there should be restrictions on what children are allowed to watch. A show like Family Guy contains very adult concepts. In my group it was brought up that a lot of parents might allow children to watch these shows because they don’t think that they will understand the adult concepts. I think that the things shown on these shows have more of an impact on kids then parents think. Children should learn about the world through their own experiences, and watching television shows that include violence and other adult concepts almost alienates them in a way.

            I think that it is interesting that quite often in the last couple of decades children are portrayed as evil. I think that this ties into the concept of the romantic notion of childhood versus the concept of the “evil child” that we talked about today in class. In all the movies that children are portrayed as evil the adults around them are always unsuspecting. They don’t believe that and innocent young child could have the capability of committing such horrible things. I think that the use of children as evil beings in movies reflects how our culture looks at childhood. We look at children as being images of innocence and grace and I think that movies use this to play on suspense and uncertainty in movies. When I watch a movie involving an evil child I never really believe that the child is really to blame. I have also noticed in movies that children are often shown to be possessed or manipulated. To me this also reflects the way our culture thinks of childhood. They are so innocent that they can be mislead, and this affirms an attitude that parents seem to have towards their own children. This attitude goes back to the idea of hyper parenting; parents believe that they have to guide their kids in every way possible and this often leads to the kids not experiencing anything for themselves. Our conceptions of childhood affect the way we interact with them.