The mass media has been the X-factor and a big agent for social change in any community, no matter what the period of time is. Cinema is the most popular among the mass media platforms to reach a larger and wider audience across the world. Throughout the time, cinema has evolved and become the most effective medium of communication ever. Cinema creates unlimited opportunities to learn and unlearn in different genres of films. Despite all the conventional genres of cinema, the most interesting one would be ‘Children’s Cinema’. A genre which should be most popular and effective is actually kind of the most neglected one. As I speak about the ‘Children’s Cinema’ genre, it could be a cinema of the children, a cinema for the children, a cinema casting children, cinematic subjects connected to children or a cinema by the children.
Children’s cinema has proved that cinema is vitally important for children’s social, mental and psychological development. Cinema is capable of making children more emotional and educated, and it helps them increase empathy. Normally, children prefer watching movies or cartoons which are making them addicted to digital platforms these days. In an era where modern technologies are in charge of the human minds and lifestyle, it is really important to understand the type of shows the digital platforms are sharing, especially with our children. Generally, people would love to remember the beautiful memories experienced during childhood. Childhood is a crucial stage of any individual because it shapes adulthood and helps identify the personality of that particular self. So, children should be provided with good, educative and rich contents which will help them reshape their minds.
There are people who think children’s cinema should be made by cartoons or animations only. That is why, the increased demand for cartoons and animations has brought a hypnotic effect on children, thus altering the traditional idea of children’s cinema into a whole new perspective. Animation may be a great transformation for the development of a child’s mind and soul, but we cannot ignore the traditional filmmaking process. Movies like ‘Willy and the Chocolate Factory (1971)’, ‘A Little Princess (1995)’ and ‘The Story of Mankind (1957)’ show how traditional cinema can impact children’s minds. Different directors in different periods of time have made these masterpieces that are still important for shaping children’s minds.
In an interview, Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki once said: “I would like to make a film to tell children–it’s good to be alive”. In today’s individualistic society where parents are not spending quality time with their kids, we need a medium of peace where children can learn to dream and the ways of living their life properly. I am not saying anything against animated and cartoon-dominated films or TV series. Our filmmakers have created wonderful flicks like ‘Brave’ (2012), ‘A Good Dinosaur’ (2015), ‘The Lion King’ (1998), ‘Kung Fu Panda’ (2008) and many more which teach a plenty of good lessons of life. Yet, children now prefer animated movies over traditional ones as animations have more colourful characters and scope for imagination. The limitless demand for cartoons and animations has always raised the effects of cinema as a mass entertainment medium among audiences.
Different countries have made different explanations for the presence of children in any cinema. Basically, children have been seen as a symbol of innocence and purity around the world. Hollywood has generally portrayed children as innocent. As American film director Konigsberg said, children in films have largely remained innocent and good. Movies created by Disney provide good examples of children portrayed in a complete family and social life, making Disney’s films accepted by the general people as typical traditional children’s cinema. Since millions of people worldwide watch Disney films, these may be influential for every community. On the basis of their innocent appearance in Hollywood movies, children in the early British silent films were portrayed as rebellious, prankster children. The European cinema world has represented children as irrational and marked them as little demons as a symbol of mischief. Like in the movie Oliver (1968), all the child actors can be seen connected with many mischievous acts.
In Iranian cinema, the representation of children has been an approach to defuse constitutional threats, as the Iranian revolution’s censorship reduced the liberty of saying anything against the government in cinema. Iranian film critic and author Hamid Reza Sadr argues that children in Iranian cinema have replaced the roles of the adults, so the filmmakers have scope to discuss the sensitive issues. Sadr also adds that children are more independent than adults. What is more, famous filmmaker Ziba Mir-Hosseini believes that the Iranian government’s total restrictions on the showing of love and women in movies in the 1980s have prompted the filmmakers and producers to use children to deliver human emotions. In Bangladesh, the children’s cinema has never had its heyday, has never been in a good position or explored properly. Very few filmmakers were interested in making films that represented the world of children in cinema.
The only name related with children’s cinema that most Bangladeshi people know is Morshedul Islam. This famous home-grown director has made several films (Dipu No. 2, My Friend Rashed and many more) related to children. Morshedul Islam strongly believes that cinema is an effective medium through which children enter their imaginary world of dreams and ambitions. That is why, he established Children Film Society, an organisation that helps children make cinema with their own thoughts. The small filmmakers also get scope to appreciate movies made by their counterparts from all over the world through organising a film festival every year.
Cinema has a fascinating effect and lasting impression on children and they enjoy this artistic medium to the full. In the history of literature and cinema, writing for children and making children’s cinema is one of the most tough and difficult art forms. Children’s minds, interests, thoughts and their capability of accepting art should be well understood before creating movies for them. Cinema presenting to children acts as a form of informative records that explain different social and economic conditions of the country. Before everything, our childhood was filled with moral stories, daring exploits of ancient heroes and desperadoes, grandparents’ stories or bedtime stories shaping the creativity and imagination in our minds. That is why, we were always fascinated and curious towards listening to those fables, parables and adventurous stories, which were the most effective way of communication for us.
