Edward Scissorhands: A Short Story

Compare the ways in which the authors of two texts explore how society treats people who are different.

The camera focuses on Edward’s face; it shows how pale and sad he is. The gothic horror feature used here is the physical appearance of the “monster”. Edward is a large, dark figure with objects (his scissor hands) that can cause harm. This is very stereotypical of the gothic monster as this has been used in Frankenstein (1931) and Nosferatu (1922), and is imprinted in viewers’ minds. But what makes us question how monstrous Edward truly is, is his facial expression and the way he talks. Unlike most gothic horror monsters, he does not have a scary personality. He is shy and is not the antagonist. As the story continues, all the bad deeds he does, are actually the result of someone else taking advantage of him. As viewers, we see this, and we are led to believe that it is not Edward who is the monster, but rather the community Peg has brought him into. By manipulating common features of gothic horror films, Edward Scissorhands is able to influence the audience into believing the “monster” of the film is Edward, but when the tradition is changed, it makes us think that not everything is black and white, and that to get the correct judgement, we must wait until all evidence is presented.

Tim Burton created Edward Scissor hands out of his own experiences in Collage. It is Modern Fantasy which uses narrative and Film conventions to create the mixture of Horror and Fantasy. Fantasy films have their own charatestics and those are how we can determine what genre the movie belongs to. A fantasy Film will normally be in an enclosed space, the setting oF Edward scisoor hand is way that Tim Burton makes the film aFantesy film. Like most movies there is a clsh between a villan and the main Charater changes during the film aswel. Many other things make a film what it is like the Charaters the plot and even the sound.

In ‘Edward Scissorhands’, Edward goes through new experiences that show his individuality and how he is different to all the community. In the film, characters such as Joyce and Jim firstly rejected Edward as he was different, they then adored him as he did unique art such as hairdressing, gardening, grooming dogs, cutting meat and ice sculpting. Once Edward discovered his talents, he became very popular amongst the community. They used him so that they would have an easier life, but then when he did something wrong he was then rejected again. Being the individual Edward was in the community, he experienced so many new things such as his growing relationship with Kim. His new experiences with Kim made him learn what true feelings for a girl really was. As great as being and individual is with all this said however, being an individual can also be dangerous in a way, as you would get judged by others around you for being yourself. Edward in the beginning of the film had that exact problem, everyone would be judging him for having scissors as hands and would think of him as a scary monster. The reason Edward went to the community in the first place was because of Peg. Peg

In addition, mise-en-scene is used to show the contradictions between the two understandings of life. The barbecue and dinner scene show the emotional overkill and unstable conduct of the residents in the town by using the lively and distinctive color (Burton, 1990). The distinction with Edward’s gothic punk style of fashion, hairdo and makeup is unusual and marks him as an outcast. It is not only his exterior that points out his detachment from people, but also his ideas which represent his own reality and separates him from the world that he does not belong to. When the people discover Edward’s talents they begin to request different tasks from him. Overall, it seems as if the society is only accepting of Edward for their own benefit. However, Burton makes it clear that there is no true acceptance for Edward when he is forced to leave Peg’s house. Kim, the girl Edward falls in love with, knows she cannot change society, so she leaves him in the castle and tells everyone he’s dead so he is protected.

Another example from the movie is when Edward is introduced into this brand new style of living where he is the new ‘toy’ and uses his creative side to make people’s lives more enjoyable and fulfilling by cutting neighbours hair and turning a hedge into art. Tim Burton makes us think to look beneath the surface and not too just leave out someone who doesn’t look normal, he makes us think about our everyday life how we can be ignorant, rude and reject people who don’t look like us and have a disability. In Edward Scissorhands Edward isn’t always seen as the good guy from the town’s perspective. In the opening seen when we are given a bird’s eye view of the cars moving in and out of the town, this gives us the thought that the town is bright, bubbly and organized to the split second that the cars come out of the drive way but really as the movie goes on they seem to take the tag of being the ‘bad town’. In the movie the town thinks he is the bad guy because of what people have been gossiping about. Edward becomes the ‘bad guy’ as he is being betrayed/forced into the role of the town devil when he is the town hero as he has bought something to the town that will

The symbolic code of colour and technical code of camera angles are not only used to support the dominant discourse, but also to make a clear aspect of Edward’s difference to the society. Burton uses a technical code in which the camera is shotted from the castle windows showing all of houses look same and insignificant. Use of colour such as the repetition of all the houses' yards as greenish colour and houses being in one colour encourage viewer with the conformity of the town. Furthermore, the bright colour of suburbia and dark and doomed image of Gothic castle present how awkward the individual can be seen in such town.

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 movie Edward Scissorhands starts off with an unusual character named Edward who was very different to the others. At the start, everyone seems to like Edward because he is able to do things others can’t, which means he has something different to give. The film shows that people who are different are treated differently for example when Edward was deemed interesting by the town but as soon he's done something wrong he is not liked.

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.

Does abnormal people like the way they are - hated by the “ordinary” people? The movie “Edward Scissorhands” directed by Tim Burton, is about a man named Edward who has hands that are scissors. He was fabricated by the inventor who lived in a mysterious, gloomy castle. The reason why his hands were scissors, was because the inventor died before he replaced it with human hands. That the inventor was dead, Edward was left out and living in the castle all by himself; until, when a local Avon saleswoman, Peg Boggs went into the castle and saw Edward. She felt frightened of his hands at first. However, she realizes that Edward is harmless and lonely so she decides to take him to her home. Once Peg introduced Edward to everyone in Peg’s neighborhood, most people got along with him. Edward was also recognized as a talented, trustworthy person once he proved his skills on hedge-trimming and hair-cutting. However, not everyone accepted him and at last, the whole neighborhood start to reject him. As a result, Edward ends up living back up in the castle, his home. In the movie Edward Scissorhands, Tim

Edward’s actions speak very loudly, louder than his odd hands, dark clothing, or strange/awkward behaviors. The show of loyalty proves Burton’s message of identity. This message is also showcased in the movie Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Basically, all of the Peculiars are the outcasts of the film. When Jake first enters the loop and meets Miss Peregrine, she says a quote that beautifully supports the message. As Miss Peregrine explains to Jake what Peculiars are, she says, “We are what’s known in common towns as peculiar. Because our abilities don’t fit in the outside world, we live in places like this where no one can find us.” Miss Peregrine. This quote helps to show the audience that the misfits couldn’t fit in, but as the movie continues, the peculiars prove themselves as brave, merciful people with strong characters. In contrast, the times we do get to see the townspeople, they seem to be reckless, moody, unstable people. The words both sets of characters say shows just how different they are and just how much of a good thing being an outcast can be.

because he has worked with them before and knows if they can do it he

In “Edward Scissorhands,” Edward lives in a gigantic and forsaken mansion that is surrounded by withered trees. He sits in a secluded tiny corner of his house day after day alone and forgotten. It is hard for Edward to find a comfortable place to sleep, and it is difficult for him to find anything to eat. Nobody ever dares to enter Edward’s mansion, except for one woman named Peg. One day, Peg looks upon the enormous mansion debating on whether or not to enter.

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.