Throughout centuries society has embraced the conception that children should be free to be children. This means that children should be able to play, they should have someone to care and nurture them as well as the opportunity to lead a good life. These components are some of what is believed to compose a good childhood. However in the video Little Criminals, Des' character is portrayed as a child who often has to take on adult responsibilities, and has no time or space to be a child. This defies the belief that children are children at all times. In Des' life, adulthood and childhood are interconnected. Some of the reasons for that are: Des is a victim of his surroundings therefore he needs to act older then his age to survive; there is a lack of a strong, supportive parent or guardian in his life; and the way he is viewed by society, not as a child but as a little criminal.
             Even though the viewer finds Des' actions disturbing, they still cannot look away or hate him because he is a child. The first scene of the video Little Criminals foreshadows mixed feelings the viewer will have towards Des throughout the movie. As the video transcends, Des' transformation from being seen as an adult to being seen as a troubled child has the viewer feeling compassion and sorrow towards him.
             A factor that has shaped Des 'character is the environment in which he was brought up. His house is filthy, and there is never any food for him to eat. Likely he thinks that if he acts more like a grown up things might change. Also they seem to be poor, and it is never made clear what his mother's problem is. In many cases children brought up in less fortunate households are forced to grow up faster because they cannot afford to be children for very long. They often have to work and find other means to help the income at home.
             It can be supposed that Des never had a positive role model to look up to. His mother shows no interest i...