Author Topic: Born to Be Bad?: Critical Essays on the Heritage of Evil  (Read 2424 times)

nicholasdiak

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Born to Be Bad?: Critical Essays on the Heritage of Evil
« on: February 06, 2022, 07:59:08 PM »
CFP: Born to Be Bad?: Critical Essays on the Heritage of Evil

Children, particularly tweens and teens, are essentially liminal creatures; neither fully adults nor entirely child-like. This status, as neither one thing nor the other, can breed distrust in adults regarding their behavior, morality, or ideas. Indeed, moral panics, such as Satanism in the 1980s, juvenile delinquency in the 1950s, or the “lost” generation of the Great Depression are targeted particularly at this age group, coloring them as suspect primarily because of their age and potential susceptibility to pernicious influences. One can see this play out across multiple genres and mediums, from films such as The Bad Seed or The Good Son featuring murderous tween sociopaths, to procedurals such as Law & Order (and its spinoffs), which offered multiple episodes following the theme of the “soulless” tween or teen committing horrific acts, made more horrific by their ages. Yet the appellation can also be applied more broadly–and incorrectly–to those who don’t fit the supposed social norms, are raised in problematic or actively toxic environments, or who protest against injustice. Thus in this collection we would like to see examinations of the supposed “evil” child in the 20th and 21st centuries across multiple (global) mediums, both those who commit horrendous acts or merely don’t fit in with their environment and/or adult expectations, or embrace their environment or seek to transcend their upbringing. 

Abstracts of 300 words to be sent to the editors Erin Giannini and Simon Bacon by the end of August 2022 at:  egiannini37@gmail.com and baconetti@gmail.com