Films, TV and other stories in which boys take control to help a man, woman, family, or other group of adults; girls also are seen taking control in films, but more often, it seems, they take control of other children/teens rather than adults

background: Bruno Bettelheim, in his book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976, p.134) discusses stories in which the child is in control, a reversal of the roles of guardian and guarded. These are stories for adults, not children, he notes; the child enjoys such stories, but distrust of parent(s) on whom the child must rely can result. Still (my opinion), they make for a powerful cinematic message: children are not always wimps in need of 24-hour protection.
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