Fig. 1. Edward Scissorhands poster.
Tim
Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990) is
arguably another take on Beauty and the Beast with a slight hint of
Frankenstein, set in a stereotypical American 1950’s suburb. Edward Scissorhands is a tale of a young
gifted outsiders rise and fall in society; with love and humour this film will
grip you from the start.
Fig. 2. Edward and Kim still.
Burton’s
tale of a young man who has scars across his face and scissors for hands, who
falls in love with a young beauty is very much a classic Beauty and the Beast
fairy tale, however Burton’s story offers a slight twist on the conventional
fairy tale. For one Edward is created, a work of a creator who dies before he
can finish him. As Maslin points out in her review ‘Ms. Ryder plays Kim Boggs, the daughter of the Avon lady, Peg, and a
dryly deadpan patriarch (played by Alan Arkin). As lovely as she is diffident,
she makes an enchanting Beauty to Mr. Depp's poignant, bashful Beast.’
(Maslin, 2003). Maslin suggests that Burton’s tale is very much a take on the
Beauty and the Beast story, this is shown through the love and compassion that
emits from Edward, a kind gentle soul who is trapped in a beasts shell.
Edward Scissorhands touches on the demand in society
for people to fit in, throughout the film Edward is seen as an exotic, strange
and interesting individual, to start with he is almost a celebrity. But as the
film progresses society slowly turns on him, exiling him once again due to his
incapability of fitting in. As Biodrowski suggests ‘The message seems to be
that the gulf cannot be crossed that separates Edward from the rest of the
world, and the film ends on a bittersweet note, with Edward and the love of his
life (Winona Ryder) forever separated, although their brief time together
remains the most significant element of their lives (think Titanic).’
(Biodrowski, 2008). Biodrowski makes the point that it doesn’t matter how hard
he tries, Edward cannot fit in to the world that surrounds him so he is forced
to carry on living a life of solitude. It is possible that Burton was trying to
express the issues with creative individuals fitting into a world that won’t
accept them, an unfortunate message that appearance for one can be a dividing
factor in the world that we live in.
Burton
creates an interesting view of what can be considered a monster (Edward) in
normal life, Schwartz mentions in his review ‘The main thrust of the fable is exposing the exotic gentle freak to the
boring middle-class suburbs and seeing how they relate to each other, with the
monster being the sympathetic innocent and society being the one to fear
because of its evil nature.’ (Schwartz, 2008). This suggests that Burton
reverses the typical roles of a monster in a film and captures the inner beauty
of the beast. It is possible that Burton was trying to suggest that the society
that is all very uniform and unimaginative, living in the same houses is in
fact the real evil in the world, where as the creative, unique individual who
is deemed as an outcast is the real beauty.
Fig. 3. Suburb still.
Burton created an interesting world in Edward
Scissorhands, at the end of a suburb lies Edwards home, a giant towering castle
that looks very gothic in style. Figure 3 shows the suburb with Edwards home as
Peg is on her way to visit him at the start of the film. What this image may
suggest at first is that the suburb is a peaceful place with an evil towering
menace situated at the end, however Burtons makes the viewer feel the opposite.
As the story progresses you soon feel safer in the confinement of the dark
gothic world that displays a certain charm and trust into the viewer, as
opposed to the danger that lurks in the repressed pastel coloured suburbia.
Burton is keen to make the viewer find trust and safety in what looks like a
dangerous place, so that they can see the real danger that is all around them.
Edward Scissorhands is a somewhat fairy tale love
story that will pull on your heart strings. With moments that will make you
laugh and some that will leave you feeling uncomfortable, this film is
definitely one to see. With deep underlying society issues and an expression of
the consequences of not fitting in this film may leave you questioning how much
this happens in everyday life.
Illustration
list
Burton,
T. (1990). Figure 1. Edward Scissorhands poster. http://images.moviepostershop.com/edward-scissorhands-movie-poster-1990-1020280845.jpg (Accessed on 09/11/2014)
Burton,
T. (1990). Figure 2. Edward and Kim still. http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/23300000/Edward-Scissorhands-edward-scissorhands-23334059-800-441.jpg (Accessed on 09/11/2014)
Burton,
T. (1990). Figure 3. Suburb still. http://cloud.lomography.com/576/313/87/e056eca4d0100a8b481ddf15096a4bca93f0c0.jpg (Accessed on 09/11/2014)
Bibliography
Biodrowski,
D. (2008). cinefantastiqueonline.com. http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2000/10/edward-scissorhands-tim-burtons-elephant-man/ (Accessed on 09/11/2014)
Maslin,
J. (2003). nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE2D81338F934A35751C1A966958260&partner=Rotten%2520Tomatoes (Accessed on 09/11/2014)
Schwartz,
D. (2008). homepages.sover.net. http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/edwardscissorhands.htm (Accessed on 09/11/2014)
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