Introduction to Film: Through the Eyes of a Child

Cathlena Martin

In film, children run the gamut of character types. They can be glad little angels like Pollyanna (1960) or murdering heathens from Children of the Corn (1984). They can possess and define a historical moment like the youth of Newsies (1992) or they can just plain be possesse like Regan in The Exorcist (1973). Movies can feature a return to childhood as in Hook (1991) or present a new slant on a traditional fairy tale like in the anime Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1998). From the earliest of silent films, sounding off into talkies, past black and white spilling into vibrant color and forward into animation and CGI, children and youth have dominated the silver screen. The majority of movies, even if they are not rated G for General Audiences or are not marketed specifically to children, have either children in their cast or relate to childhood through some facet or theme.

Because of the numerous film genres and movements that use childhood, I was able to create an introductory film course focused on the theme of children and childhood. My class is not a special topics course, but a general introduction to film analysis; therefore, I am not teaching children's culture through film, but I am using films with children and childhood themes to span the breadth of an introductory film course. This course would fulfill most any introductory college film requirement.

At the University of Florida, there are several different sections of ENG2300 Film Analysis. Each teacher is responsible for creating his or her own syllabus for this class. As you have probably ascertained, I designed the course with my research focus as the overarching theme--children's literature, culture, and media. Because the readership for this newsletter is probably more interested in the aspects of the class pertaining to children and youth, I will skip the course objectives, text selection, class readings and general film analysis pedagogy and explain the theme of my class and detail my movie selections.

The theme of my class is "Through the Eyes of a Child" which constructs a paradox with which to examine films. While theorists like Laura Mulvey have discussed the camera as an active male gaze, this class will look at films where the camera creates an intrinsically adult gaze with the child as a subject. For this film class I will use the theme of children and childhood with which to analyze and study both film history and film theory. However, just because the films deal with childhood does not mean that they are all about Happy Elves, woodland creatures, and butterflies (think the opening to Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)). Some of these films will be disturbing and require a mature audience.

Each week, my class has a three-hour block dedicated to film screenings in addition to a traditional fifty minute Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. I have loosely divided the class into four viewing units: film introduction, film basics, film movements, and film ideology.

Film Introduction

The class begins with an introduction to film production and the mechanics of the movies. While looking at the progression of film, I begin with the silent film The Kid (1921). Most students have never seen a silent film even though they know who Charlie Chaplin is. This comedy/melodrama forces them out of their film-going comfort zone of sound dialogue and color. I try to balance popular movies that my students have seen with more "artsy" films that they may not have been exposed to. The Kid presents themes of child abandonment, adoption, and parental longing and stars the famous child actor Jackie Coogan.

To return to a classic that everyone has seen, I then show Wizard of Oz (1939). This helps transition the class from black and white to color by screening part of the original and part of the Technicolor version. Wizard of Oz provides an example of Classical Hollywood Cinema and feeds our class discussion on narrative construction and form. It also provides a look at musicals and stars another famous child actress, Judy Garland. Based on the book by L. Frank Baum, Wizard of Oz links children's literature and popular culture.

The final introductory film, The Shining (1980), grounds our discussion in genres as an example of a horror genre. With this film we can continue discussion on narrative formats, film types, and I can introduce the aspect of an auteur. It presents a child actor with special "shining" abilities, as well as disturbing perspectives on children's imaginary friends and child trauma. The Shining provides a nice segue way into the second unit on film basics because Kubrick's editing in this film utilizes a unique relationship of shot to shot.

Film Basics

Once we begin our discussion of film basics, it is important to use more clips during the normal class periods so that students can visually see the film style discussed. However, Taxi Driver (1976) presents a detailed cinematography, particularly in regards to maintaining tonality and through the use of lights. The students who have not seen this movie know the tabloid scoop on Jodie Foster as a child prostitute and John F. Hinckley Jr.'s trial. I am always prepared to spend at least one class discussion on the effects of movies on people and potential copycat deeds. This movie can also spark discussion on what roles are acceptable for children in movies. The horrors of real life transition into the horrors of fairy tales in our next screening.

Students need to be forewarned about the graphic nature of the following film. Because it is a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, some students expect Freeway (1996) to be happily ever after. I use Freeway to discuss adaptation and to continue with film basics by inspecting aspects and narrative functions of mise-en-scene. Other movies such as Pretty Woman (1990) present fairy tale retellings, but none do it in such an obvious way with a postmodern twist. The day after viewing the film, we return to class and re-watch the opening credits of Freeway to discuss retellings, foreshadowing, animation, audience, theme, tone, and style.

The class returns to Jodie Foster in a much different role than we first saw her in Taxi Driver. Foster both produced and starred in The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002), which wraps up the section on film basics by providing examples for mixed media, animation, style, and sound. This movie is a perfect blend of comics and childhood. The homo-social friendship of the four main actors details realism and the use of comic heroes to express their innermost thoughts as a second narrative is perfectly illustrated. If you have not seen this movie, rent it today.

Film Movements

After providing students with the vocabulary with which to address film in general, the class begins looking at a sampling of film movements. We revert back in time to a black and white film of German expressionism. M (1931) presents a horrific child abductor whom both the police and the criminal underworld search for. German expressionism, and therefore M, depends heavily on mise-en-scene and sound and links the film basics with the first film movement. It also can be compared thematically with Freeway regarding violence and serial killers that prey on children.

The second film movement that we explore is the French New Wave. Les Quatre Cent Coups (The 400 Blows) (1959) follows the main child character around the gritty side of Paris to view a marriage gone terribly wrong, violence, and a judicial system out of whack. Truffaut's realism compares nicely with the boyhood troubles and friendships presented in The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys.

Film Ideology

To conclude the semester we briefly address film ideology. This could have been any number of approaches to critical analysis of film, but I choose queer theory and gender politics as a firecracker to end the semester with good debate begun with Taxi Driver of what roles and themes are appropriate for child actors to portray. Ma Vie En Rose (My Life in Pink) (1997) covers gender and gender policing in an interesting way. It connects the family's social status with the child's gender performance and portrays a remarkable enforcement of social control through the parents' role.

These are just a sampling of films to use in an introductory film class. Other possible films and categories include the following:

With the large number of choices, the difficulty comes in deciding which films to screen and which films you don't have time for. But as you can see from this small sample, one can easily design any type of film class, from introductory to special topics, using children and childhood. A genre specific course could look at the progression of animation and cartoons in films. A themed youth class could look at the view of high school life in the movies over several decades. A Classical Hollywood class could focus on child actors and actresses. Those are only some of the choices for specific film classes. Films can be used to enhance any college classroom no matter what the topic. The possibilities are endless. Happy viewing.

Please view my course web pages for additional information: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/cmartin