Friendly Facade:
An Analysis of "Edward Scissorhands"
Director Tim Burton, in his movie "Edward Scissorhands", suggests acceptance isn't always found where it's believed to be at. He supports his claim by utilizing music, framing and lighting. Burton's purpose is to criticize the tendency to only partially accept someone or only pretend to accept them by using a friendly facade in order to entertain the audience and make them think. He establishes a bitter tone for outcasts and loners. In the beginning of the movie, just after the opening sequence, you see Peg, a kindly saleswoman, going from door to door in a brightly lit town with vibrant colors everywhere you look. The high key lighting and bright colors help create a whimsical, lighthearted mood. After being unsuccessful at selling anything in town, she goes to an abandoned factory on a hill near the town, where she meets Edward, the protagonist of the film. As she walks through the building, the scene stays very dark with very few colors, making the scene feel quite foreboding. Edward comes back to town with Peg and stays with her. At one point, he is helping Peg cook dinner and he starts staring at a can of peas.
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In fact, they seem to like him more because of it. In this part of the movie the music is happier, lighter, and brighter. Later Edward starts struggling to fit in, and he starts getting pressured by the towns people to fit in and be more normal. When he doesn't change, Jim, the antagonist, ruins Edward's reputation by deceiving him into breaking into a house, which gets him arrested. After that incident the town begins to view Edward as someone who is dangerous and must be avoided. In this scene the music becomes eerier, darker, and more suspenseful. The music choice mirrors and helps emphasize the town's feelings towards
Many a times, society tends to view its outcasts as lonesome, introverted people, who lack happiness and glee due to their secluded nature. Tim Burton, in part to his eerie film style and the fact that he sees himself within his characters, reflects upon this idea within his films, often depicting characters that have these outcast traits. However, Burton contradicts the aforementioned concept by exemplifying the fact that his protagonists are often happy, full of joy, and very content with themselves, even though they may be introverts. Therefore, through his use of close ups and flashbacks, Burton creates the theme that one does not need to conform to society in order to be pleased and comfortable with himself.
In usual fairytale movies, filmmakers intend to make films that give happy endings with simple miraculous entertainments. However, in the fable movie, Edward Scissorhand, the director, Tim Burton, positions the viewers to understand the significant meaning of particular issues. “E.S” is can be seen as a story of stereotypical suburbia with social criticism. In this essay, starting from analysing this film and providing dominant discourse, the use of characters will be discussed followed by debate of technical and symbolic codes which help to put up the discourse. In particular, this essay will consider the technical code of camera angle and symbolic codes of colour which emphasize the dominant discourse.
As the boys grow older, their different classes become more significant to the play. Edward goes off to
Since society judges people based on how they are on the outside, people often feel that to be happy, they have to conform to society’s standards. There are people who are affected by the rules of society, and there are those who are not. Tim Burton is one of these people, because he went against the grain, and decided that he didn’t need to go along with society to be happy. Burton uses imagery, long shot, and juxtaposition in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands to show that people don’t have to conform to society’s standards to be content.
In my essay I am going to reference two films, Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Vincent (1982), directed by Tim Burton. Edward Scissorhands, is Tim Burton’s take on the Frankenstein story. We can clearly see the influences that have appealed to Tim Burton in the classic Frankenstein (1931) was not the character’s monstrousness appeal but the sense of sad sorrow that audiences sympathized to in Boris Karloff’s performance. Whereas in Tim Burton’s vision, we see a “Special” character as the Frankenstein Monster, in the similar way that we call people with disabilities Special. And then we have Vincent, a short stop-motion animation. The short film itself is an entertaining aspect of a suburban boy named Vincent who recites Edgar Ellen Poe and categorizes with Horror film star, Vincent Price. With similarities to Edward Scissorhands, the main character is a chance for Tim Burton to represent himself on the screen as a tortured boy, outsider and artist. I am going to discuss how cultural and psychological concerns are represented through characterization, art direction, cinematography, and sound. I will support my discussion by analyzing a reflection on both the similarities and differences between the two films, and whether a distinctive “Burton” signature (aesthetics, cultural and psychological concerns) is evident.
In the words of Tim Burton, “One person’s craziness is another person’s reality.” This is the truth for the magical movies he has put together. Burton grew up different from others; he was an outcast from the people around him. Enjoying B movies, he would watch them a great deal. Out of all the characters, Burton preferred the monsters or strange creatures. Some inspirations to him are Edgar Allen Poe, Roald Dahl, and Vincent Price. He frowns upon conformity, for he prefers individuality. What is normal to Burton could be completely wild to another. In Tim Burton’s distinctive films, he uses symbolism and the comparison of individuality and conformity to emphasize the purity of an outsider.
In Tim Burton’s 1990 film Edward Scissorhands, explores how people who are different are treated in society. This statement will explore the reasons why and how people are treated differently. The statement will prove that there are people who are treated differently because of what and who they are.
The film Edward Scissorhands is a contemporary archetype of the gothic genre exploring themes such as unrequited love, social rejection and human creation as defined by Tim Burton. Feature films explore different ideals that can be categorized into different genres that create expectations among audiences about characters, settings, plots and themes. Edward Scisscorhands directed by Tim Burton in the year 1990 is described as both a dark romantic fantasy and a gothic horror film. The film tells a story about Edward Scissorhands, the creation of an elderly inventor who dies before he can give Edward his normal hands in place of his scissor hands. Edward is taken from the mansion he lives in by a suburban family in an attempt to live a
Edward Scissorhands, written by Tim Burton, tells the tale of a young man who is lovable, childlike and sensitive, bewildered by the humanity around him, yet is terrifying- someone who has scissors, the deadly weaponry, for hands. Many viewers may read this film as a “Tim Burton” type of fairytale which includes both an alternative aspect and romance. However, through the presentation of mise-en-scene in this film, Burton drives in a much more serious subject of social criticism by establishing two different understandings of life in the movie.
Tim Burton’s gothic drama film Edward Scissorhands explores what is immoral with our society. A present issue with humanity is people who are different are encouraged to conform. In addition, society plays by the rules and follow societal norms rather than listening to their hearts. Most importantly, humans are cruel and exploit those who are vulnerable for their own benefit. Through the use of film techniques, Burton proposes the faults in humanity and the brutal nature of humans.
The film ‘Edward Scissorhands’ by Tim Burton, is a modern day fairy tale which follows the story of Edward, a young man that is taken out of isolation and introduced into a new way of life. Although the film is for entertainment, that is not its sole purpose. The film has deep and rich themes, which convey many important messages to the audience. Some themes of the film include; conformity, appearances versus reality and individuality.
The film Edward Scissorhands directed by Tim Burton is about a boy who has been kept away from society his whole life in a mansion surrounded by unkempt bushes and rusted gates. Alex grey once said, “In a society that tries to standardize thinking, individuality is not highly prized.” And that shows when Edward is ostracized because he is different and does not conform to the so-called statuesque but the almost unwavering love from the Boggs family nearly helps him overcome his rejection after people are so cruel.
The film ‘Edward Scissorhands’ by Tim Burton can be seen as a modern day fairytale. However, there are many important themes that make the film richer and deeper in meaning. The film is not simply entertaining, because the director examines the importance of individuality, love and appearance and reality.
The most appealing films are those that keep audiences guessing, surprise them at the most unexpected times and break conventional film boundaries. Edward Scissorhands (1990) directed by Tim Burton, is a feature film that does exactly that. It blends a fairy tale story with a gothic horror film, to engage the viewer right from beginning until the resolution. It tells the tale of Edward, who was the creation of an inventor who died before he could give Edward proper hands, and was left with scissors as hands. When he was taken from his gothic mansion, into a “normal” suburban community, he was at first welcomed, but then heartbreakingly rejected when things went wrong. The character of the “monster” is an
In the films of Tim Burton, the antagonists are always troublesome, self-absorbed, and ill-mannered, while the protagonists are always the outsiders. Burton, director of many movies such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, Frankenweenie and much more, makes the protagonists outcasts because “‘It’s important to feel like you live or understand the character.’ [...] Like young Victor, Burton grew up feeling isolated in the suburbs, with emotionally-distant parents and a beloved dog, bullied in school and probably a bit depressed…”(Hollywood Reporter). The great contrast between the protagonists and the antagonists convey the tone for how he perceives the world and the people in it. In the films Edward Scissorhands and