Seeing how it was?: childhood geographies and memories in home movies

Home movies provided valuable insights into childhood experiences during much of the twentieth century. Contrasting footage of children in rural and urban setting in Northern England between c.1937 and 1970, viewed through the cinematic gaze of two male amateur film-makers underpins this discussion of childhood geographies in the past. Issues explored in the paper include the social construction of childhood, power relations and visual representation of children, and the role of home movie-making in shaping memories and constituting ideas and ideologies about family and children.