Edward+Scissorhands

__Edward Sicssorhands__(1990) // Edward Scissorhands (1990) // is a romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It is a story of an unfinished artificial man with scissors as hands named Edward who falls in love with Kim, which is the daughter of one of the town’s family that took Edward in. The main theme of the film is isolation vs. acceptance. With Edward as the outsider of the town, because of his special appearances, trying to fit into the town but ends up being chased away back to his old castle because the society can’t accept his differences. Another theme of this film is appearances vs. reality. On the outside Edward looks like a monster but throughout the film it is shown and proved that in the inside, Edward is a kind and innocent man.

Throughout the film, lighting constantly helped to emphasize the differences between Edward and the town’s people. The way the town’s people’s house and their person is lit in a way that makes them seem bright. However, on the other hand, the place Edward lives is lit in a dark way that creates a lot of shadows, which makes the place seem more horror. Nevertheless, Edward himself is lit with a shadow casted on his face to contrast him with the town people. This compares and contrasts the town’s people with Edward by indicating that Edward is the outsider. This also ties in with the theme of appearances vs. reality. Edward is lit in the way that terrifies people, but throughout the film, when the town’s people got to know Edward better, there was a period of time where he was lit the same way as the town’s people. This further emphasizes the fact that Edward, at first, seems like a monster but in the end when people get to know him, they discover that inside he is a nice man. This expresses Tim Burton’s idea of some people might seems scary on the outside but in the inside they are actually nice people.

Music also helped build the tone of the film. When Peg drives through the town with Edward in her car, the music is generally happy and cheerful, this help built a joyful and friendly tone. Especially when the town’s people saw Edward and are curious of a new, unique, and different person in town. The music helps emphasize that Edward is an outsider than is introduced into a whole new world. When Peg introduces Edward to her family, the music is holly, soft, and angelic. This indicates that the concept of family, to Edward, is holly because he has been an outcast for a long time. It shows that Edward is different but he wants to be accepted and be a part of this family. When Edward remembers his creator during his flashback, the music conveys a lonely melody. It shows that Edward still feels like an outsider and he wishes to be accepted by others the way he is accepted by his creator.

The Mis-en-Scene of this film is especially important because it helps a lot in conveying the themes. The different appearance between the color of the town’s house, which is bright and colorful, and Edward’s castle, which is dark, gloomy, old, and has a gothic element. This color contrast further emphasizes the idea of Edward as an outsider. The dark color of his castle creates a depressing, sad, and lonely tone while at the same time shows that he is different and that he is an outcast. The most important object of this film is Edward’s scissors hand. It shows that this is what caused Edward’s broken cloths and his scared face. His hand is what makes him the outcast that everyone is scared of. It also contains a slight tone of sarcasm because it shows that the society can’t even accept a small difference. Edward just has scissors as hands, but yet the society can’t accept this fact. The scissors hand is the object that leads the story plot from rejection to acceptance then back to rejection. It is the key object that links the characters directly to the theme. In the end of the film, Kim’s white dress symbolizes her purity. Throughout the whole film, every one of the town’s people is dressed with bright and colorful cloths. In the end Tim Burton decides to let Kim wear white to show that she is the only one that accepts Edward, and that she is the role model of the film. She also symbolizes the society that Tim Burton is pursuing.

The main editing technique is the flashbacks that appear. Flashbacks of the time Edward spent with his creator are constantly intercut within the film. The flashbacks are arranged as if Tim Burton is trying to use the creator as a role model and an example for the town’s people. The creator’s acceptance towards Edward is constantly contrasted with the town’s people’s rejection. This further strengthens the theme of isolation vs. acceptance.

The cinematography of this film also helps emphasizing the theme. The worm’s eye view is used when the castle is introduced. Showing that to the town’s people, the castle is scary and that they reject the castle as a whole. This shot is particularly interesting because the mirror captures the dark, gloomy, and gothic castle while in the background the colorful car and houses are in the same shot. This once again contrasts the town’s people with Edward. Also this shot with Edward and Kim standing closely together with the window frame framing them shows that Kim is the only one that accepts Edward. It also indicates that the characters are led into their world, a whole new world where they are accepted by each other.

In the end, the director uses lighting, sound, mis-en-scene, editing, and cinematography efficiently in regards of supporting the tone and theme of the film. This film fits within the body of Tim Burton’s work because in most of his films, there always is an outcast that is not accepted by others. Tim Burton often uses his work to emphasize that the society constantly rejects others that are differen<range type="comment" id="420631082_9">t. Also, the theme of appearances vs. reality also fits within his body of work because one of his goals is to show society that “one cannot judge a book by its cover”. And through his films, he manages to call attention to these social issues and cry for a change within our society. </range id="420631082_9">