Children, Cinema and Censorship: From Dracula to the Dead End Kids

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Children, Cinema and Censorship: From Dracula to the Dead End Kids
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Sarah J. Smith
SeriesCinema and Society
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:256
Dimensions(mm): Height 234,Width 156
ISBN/Barcode 9781850438137
ClassificationsDewey:302.2343083
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint I.B. Tauris
Publication Date 24 June 2005
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Children make up one of cinema's largest audiences, yet from its infancy cinema has in the minds of moral watchdogs accompanied penny papers, comic books and mobile phones as a threat to children's health, morality and literacy. Mobilising original research, and writing with energy and wit, Sarah J. Smith explores the recurring debates in Britain and America about how children use and respond to the media. She focuses on a key example: the controversy surrounding children and cinema in the 1930s. Arguing that children are agents in their cinema viewing, not victims, she uncovers children's distinct cinema culture and reveals the ways in which they subverted or circumvented official censorship to regulate their own viewing of a variety of films, including Frankenstein and King Kong. In an era when children are seen to be 'at risk' in so many ways, this involving book is a refreshing and illuminating read for all those interested in its subject.

Author Biography

Sarah J. Smith is Lecturer in History and Director of Open Studies at the University of Reading.