Picturing Childhood : The Myth of the Child in Popular Imagery

Whether highly controversial or taken for granted, pictures of children are everywhere, from magazines, newspapers, and advertisements, to greetings cards and the Internet. Using images from a wide variety of sources, Picturing Childhood looks at the endless array of pictures of children designed to entertain, shock, amuse or persuade us to buy. It considers popular imagery in relation to news, entertainment, education, welfare, charity and consumerism, and asks: what implications does this have for the ways in which children themselves are treated? The book is a stimulating and original read for all those concerned with the uses and abuses of childhood and children today. Patricia Holland Looks Anew At Debates And Mythologies About Children And Childhood That Have Circulated From The 1970s To The Present. She Reveals That, With Disputes Over Children's Rights In The 1970s, Child Sexual Abuse In The 1980s, Disruptive Children In The 1990s, And Precocity Consumerism And Violence Against Children In The 2000s, The Rotational Image Of Childhood Innocence Survives Only As A Form Of Kitsch. She Considers Popular Imagery In Relation To News Education, Welfare, Charity And Consumer Culture And Discusses The Implications That All This Has For The Ways In Which Adults Treat Children, For Children's Place In Our Society And Indeed For A Better Understanding Of The Nature Of Childhood Itself.--book Jacket. Preface; Twenty-first-century Childhood And The Routine Spectacular -- Introduction: Pictures Of Children: Images Of Childhood -- There's No Such Thing As A Baby ... Or Is There? / Superbrats In The Charmed Circle Of Home -- Ignorant Pupils And Harmonious Nature -- The Fantasy Of Liberation And The Demand For Rights -- No Future: The Threat Of Childhood And The Impossibility Of Youth -- Crybabies And Damaged Children -- Gender, Sexuality And A Fantasy For Girls -- Postcript: Escape From Childhood. Patricia Holland. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Whether controversial or taken for granted, pictures of children are everywhere -- in glossy magazines, newspapers and advertisements, on greeting cards, brochures, catalogues, charity appeals and the internet. Using visuals from many and diverse sources, Picturing Childhood demonstrates how these familiar images reveal a view of childhood which is constantly changing.Patricia Holland looks anew at debates and mythologies about children and childhood that have circulated from the 1970s to the present. She reveals that, with disputes over children's rights in the 1970s, child sexual abuse in the 1980s, disruptive children in the 1990s, and precocity, consumerism and violence against children in the 2000s, the traditional image of childhood innocence survives only as a form of kitsch. She considers popular imagery in relation to news, education, welfare, charity and consumer culture and discusses the implications that all this has for the ways in which adults treat children, for children's place in our society and indeed for a better understanding of the nature of childhood itself. "Whether controversial or taken for granted, pictures of children are everywhere - in magazines, newspapers and advertisements, on greetings cards and the Internet. "Picturing Childhood" demonstrates how these familiar images reveal a view of childhood which is constantly changing. With debates over children's rights in the 1970s, child sexual abuse in the 1980s, violent children in the 1990s and precocity and consumerism in the 2000s, the traditional image of childhood innocence survives only as a form of kitsch. Using images from a wide variety of sources, this text considers the popular imagery in relation to news, education, welfare, charity and consumerism and asks what implications does all this have for the ways in which children themselves are treated?."-- Provided by publisher. Using images from a wide variety of sources, this text considers the popular imagery of childhood in relation to news, education, welfare, charity and consumerism and asks what implications does all this have for the ways in which children themselves are treated?