In the small and dismal town of Forks, Washington a story begins to take form. “Twilight”, written by Stephenie Meyer, is a fantasy fiction novel that shows that there may be more than what meets the eye in the small town of Forks. It tells of a seventeen year old girl named Bella who falls for a boy named Edward who has been seventeen years old for far too long. Edward is a vampire and throughout the novel his strong personality traits become more and more prominent. He is an oddity, both a man of compassion and of terror. Edward is dangerous and yet he is filled with a strong desire to protect those he loves. He wears a metaphorical mask to keep himself hidden from society. Underneath the mask is a man of great importance and a great understanding of the world around him. …show more content…
It is directly stated that Edward is dangerous and dazzling, cryptic and curious, and most of all beautiful. He is sarcastic, intimidating, and has a tendency to be unpredictable. Although many of his characterizations are directly stated many of them are not. Edward is indirectly characterized as being secretive, mysterious and observant. Through his behavior towards Bella, Edward can be indirectly characterized as protective. The way he stares at Bella show that he is intense and the way he is able to stop a car from crashing with just his hands shows his strength. Even Edward’s tone or mannerisms such as shaking his head show that he is humorous. In a movie version of the book an actor would need to capture the true essence of Edward. Thankfully the character of Edward was accurately portrayed by the actor Robert Pattinson when the book was produced into a movie. Without all of Edward's personality traits any version of “Twilight” would be bland and
Although a hero’s “goddess” is not always an actual god-like woman, Edward’s is. After working for Amos for three years,
Edward Scissorhands is objectified and is taken advantage of by the people who do not accept him. Edward Scissorhands is considered “different” when he creates topiary with his “hands”. The long shot of the suburb streets with the topiary on the lawns gives us a sense that Edward is being used by the community. When Edward is grooming dogs and styling lady’s hair Edward is being taken advantage of by his hands. The montage of various ladies having their hair cut and not compensating Edward shows us that he is being oppressed.
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.
He is looking at things with wide eyes because he has never seen these things before. He even pops Kim’s waterbed with his Scissorhands. While the audience finds it humorous, the author conveys a deeper meaning, showing that from the start, Edward was not able to fit into the “perfect society” that was created. He was an abnormal child, but Burton still manages to show that it's okay to be abnormal. He feels relatable to Edward, who grew up with no parents and in an isolated castle, and when brought into the real world, he was looked at as an outsider. But he was still treated the same as us, in the beginning. He was seen as special. So, Burton’s use of lighting and camera angles to show his pitiful
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
Another important scene in the book is when Bella goes to Port Angeles with Jessica and Angela to help them pick out dresses and to also get a new book. She gets lost on her way back to meet her friends for dinner. Lost with four men are following her, Edward comes out of nowhere to rescue her. He fishtails around a corner and stops with the passenger door open next to Bella. He tells her to talk about something random to distract him from going back to kill Bella’s stalkers. After he rescues Bella, he takes her to dinner, where Bella interrogates Edward about how he knew where she was. The car ride home from Port Angeles is another scene where the movie’s timeline differs from the book. During the car ride Bella tells Edward her theories about him (Meyers 161). Her theories are built on the story she learned from an old tribe legend Jacob told her when they meet on the beach, revealing that she knows Edward is a vampire (183). This begins a new period in their relationship, where they trade off days asking one another questions about everything. The next day, they go on a hike up the mountain to Edward’s favorite spot, the meadow. He shows Bella why he and his family cannot be seen in the sunlight, being that his skin sparkles in the light. Edward then shows her what he is capable by using his
In contrast, by appearance of a horny sexual character, Joyce, viewers are positioned to see the danger of a woman as she rallies support which turns into a mob after she fails to proceed what she wants – sexual intercourse. However, the actions of main character, Edward, and the clothes worn him and more importantly, an awkward looks of him with scissors for hands positions the viewers to see him as a person who can't and never will fit in ordinary suburbia. Burton’s use of these characters is to convince viewer that whether conformity is good or bad, distinct individual is always to be left behind.
Edward’s differences are viewed negatively by society as he is encouraged to conform. By having scars visible on his face, Peg makes an effort to mask Edwards imperfections. She is unfamiliar with his fair complexion as everyone in the neighborhood has glowing smooth skin and therefore she urges to “help with the scars”. While Peg applies a concealing cream on Edwards face, she insinuates that “blending is the secret” which symbolizes how blending into society will help Edward conform. This suggests that Edwards flaws are not accepted and how society pressures to cover up your differences because uniformity is acknowledged. As the family warms up to Edward in their home, Bill suggests that Edward gets a job to earn money like everyone else in the community. He says that having a job is the “greatest satisfaction” a man can have. This insinuates that men are conformed to have a job and earn money for their family. Edward decides to make an effort and get a loan to start up his own business at the local bank which is painted white and black symbolizing the dull and homogenous life the society lives in. Edward is rejected by the bank authorities when he finds that Edward has no previous bank records and therefore “may as well not even exists.” This implies that by Edward not having a job, he is not welcome to exist in society as they are not willing to give others who are different a chance. As humanity negatively views Edwards differences, Burton displays how humans encourage outcast to conform to society.
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.
This shows the viewer that, even though, they love to use his hands to help themselves they are still bothered by how obviously different he is from themselves. They seem to feel that Edward is too different to be accepted into their community without changing who he is, that they have to hide that thing that makes him different. This has also been a continuing theme throughout the history of the human race, and is especially prevalent in today’s media-centric era. If we don’t like what is happening somewhere in the world or if someone wants to create a precise feeling about a certain group of people they only share
An important theme in Edward Scissorhands is conformity, which is displayed well by Edward. Tim Burton shows us this theme through social class and dialogue. In order to help Edward conform well with the community, it is required he changes his appearance by blending. For example in the make-up scene it shows Peg attempting to cover Edward’s scars with make-up. “ The secret is to blend “ This dialogue is meaningful and shows that in order for Edward to be accepted in to the social class he needs to blend it.
Edward (the outsider) is introduced into the bright society below and I noted he is readily accepted by most as they got to know him more. Edward I thought also became happier compared to his sad face in the beginning and more confident in himself and others as he was recognised by the suburban society. However the betrayal of robbing a house by Edward later in the film meant he was framed, forced to leave and return to the place where he came from. I thought this was cruel and inhuman as Jim, who told Edward to break into the house was using him as he could open any house with his scissors. He had no knowledge of what he was doing and was unfortunately framed and Edward being all the more vulnerable because of his appearance.
Due to her parents divorce and her mother's impending marriage, Bella moves from Arizona to Washington with her father, where she is essentially forced to restart her life. This is a very challenging task, and one she was able of enduring alone, proving her self reliance. While Bella made a few quick acquaintances, she struggled with the absence of close relationships prior to meeting Edward. The vacancy left in her life can be attributed to her nonconformity, and her unapologetic nature. Even after connecting with Edward, Bella is reluctant to change the way she acts to please him.
In all four works, Bella Swan in the protagonist. The story is centered around her life. All four books are written in her perspective. Meyer usually tends to write all her stories as first person narratives, including books that are not related to the Twilight Saga like The Host. When Meyer writes, she becomes completely engrossed in the characters. The main reason why she writes is because of the characters she creates. She envisions them in her brain. She talks to them all day, and they talk back. Coming up with the perfect names for the two main characters was a very tough process. She wanted a name that was popular decades ago, but at the same time, she wanted a name that was romantic for the vampire. Since Meyer grew up reading Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen, she used the characters Mr. Ferrars and Mr. Rochester from their works as an inspiration; thus leading her to choose the name Edward. After coming up with the names for the twosome, and was still in the process of creating their story, they would constantly talk to her. She heard their voices all day, so Meyer would