This book explores cultural conceptions of the child and the connections between historical imagery and beliefs about Africans, and the cinematic absence of black children from contemporary Hollywood film. The author argues that within the discourse of children's studies and film scholarship in relation to the conception of "the child," there is often little to no distinction among children by race--the "child" is most often discussed as a universal entity, as the embodiment of all things not adult, not (sexually) corrupt. Discussions about children of color among scholars often take place within contexts such as crime, drugs, urbanization, poverty, or lack of education that tend to reinforce historically stereotypical beliefs about African Americans. This book examines the significance of the image of the black child to the current cultural construction of childhood. How does the image of the black child affirm or subvert popular notions of childhood in contemporary US society? The author looks at historical conceptions of childhood within scholarly discourse, the child character in popular film and what space the black child (both African and African American) occupies within that ideal.