Children in the films of Steven Spielberg

To say that children matter in Steven Spielberg's films is an understatement. Think of the possessed Stevie inSomething Evil(TV), Baby Langston inThe Sugarland Express, the alien-abducted Barry inClose Encounters,Elliott and his unearthly alter-ego inE.T, the war-damaged Jim inEmpire of the Sun, the little girl in the red coat inSchindler’s List, the mecha child inA.I., the kidnapped boy inMinority Report, and the eponymous boy hero ofThe 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 inChildren in the Films of Steven Spielbergtherefore 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.