Edward Scissorhands As My Movie example essay topic

Edward Scissorhands Su Khin Aung Tint Art 130 Professor A. Takayama 12/03/03 Term Paper: Analysis of Edward Scissorhands I chose 'Edward Scissorhands' as my movie to be analyzed because I was fascinated by this movie as a child. I used to watch it over and over again just to see this strange yet charming man with scissors as his hands, but only now I am able to connect the visual images to the themes of the movie. I believe Tim Burton has created a marvelous film in which he reflects himself as an artist who does not fit into the real world due to his peculiar visions. In doing so, he creates an innocent, clumsy, talented creature named Edward doomed by his shear metals of scssior-hands. When Edward ventures out of his gloomy castle for the first time, he came to have a new meaning to his machine-life as he became the town's favorite for a while. Eventually, the neighbors turned against him as his scissors were considered harmful to the community.

First of all and the most important of all, I think 'Edward Scissorhands' is about man's obsession with machines. The creator of Edward invented as assembly line of huge machines as cookie-makers and vegetable-choppers. Basically, the old man was a lover of invention and one day he thought "why not invent a human?" Besides, he was a very old man who could use a companion when living in his lonely world surrounded by machines. And so Edward came about when the inventor placed a heart (inspired by a shape of a cookie) in a robot. However, the inventor took longer to create hands for Edward and so Edward was given scissors as hands in the mean time. When the hands were finally finished, the inventor passed away and Edward was stuck with the scissors for the rest of his life.

Why scissors? I ask myself and I came up with the thought that they seemed very useful to the inventor since they could perform tasks such as cutting, chopping, and trimming. At the same time, nothing would be so awkward as having scissors as hands in the human world, which is perfect for the plot of the movie. Scissors are very sensitive objects with the capability of performing much damage if not handled carefully, and they " re the kind of things that people want to keep out of reach of children and from themselves when not in use. The music at the beginning of the movie brought the fairly-tale characteristic of Edward Scissorhands. I believe Denny Elfman has succeeded in creating a piece that matches both the innocent and the mysterious characteristics of Edward.

The setting of the movie made it furthermore dramatic. The blank screen at the beginning showed that it did not take place in a real city but rather in a city by creation. The movie crew repainted 60 houses in a series of pastels in a subdivision of Florida to create a uniform, suburban look. All the dwellers used these colors for their clothes, accessories, and for other objects as well. This simple cartoonish town was in sharp contrast to Edward's dark Gothic castle on top of the hill. It shows that Edward was separated from the rest of the world and that he was meant to be that way.

He wears a black, tight leather suit from neck to toe and has a very pale face full of scars he's caused himself. He was the most unusual version of a human these townspeople have ever imagined. However, the motherly instincts of the Avon lady could not help but take him home when she meets Edward all alone in the mansion. I think of this as another theme of the movie- the nature of some humans to help a stranger and nurture them as one's own child. One other theme that I could relate to this is the inevitable curiosity of humans and the consequences it could lead to.

The Avon lady chose to go to the forbidden mansion and she did not turn back even after she saw that it was not a place she could define as safe and welcoming because her curiosity kept her looking for the occupant of the mansion. When she found Edward and took him home to her society, chaos came after a few days of thinking that Edward was special and useful. His scissors became a threat to the community. Edward's arrival to the small town was made more dramatic by the fact that these residents had nothing much to do with their lives.

All the husbands leave at the same time to work every morning and the wives spend their time putting on make-up, choosing clothes to wear, and mainly gossiping. Everybody knew everybody else's story in their town. Edward became a very exciting and interesting topic for them to talk about, and he lightened up their world with his skills by giving them stylish hair-cuts and creating wonderful topi aries for their front lawns. However, as all fire burn out in the end, Edward's fame came to a downfall as fast as he had earned it.

In the end, people decided that he belonged where he came from. In analyzing this case, I think it is very typical that human beings make use of certain things for their own benefits and abandon them when not needed any longer. One other conclusion that I could draw out from this movie is that some things are better off by themselves; that we do not necessarily have to change them according to our perception of what is best for them. For instance, bringing out Edward from his mansion to a society seemed like a bad idea in this movie because nothing would have happened if he just stayed alone for the rest of his life in the mansion. Nevertheless, it seems Edward's life will never be the same having experienced the things he has experienced. I believe another major theme of this movie is about someone trying to fit in.

It's about a person wanting to communicate, explore, and belong. I have learned that this idea of an outcast was inspired by the childhood of the director of this movie. We can see from the creations of 'Beetle Juice', 'Batman', and 'Nightmare before Christmas' that Tim Burton reflects the characters of his movies- horrific yet sweet, and talented yet a misfit in the society. Also, I think the movie shows the importance of having a perfect human form as the key to fit into a society. To be popular, it seems one need to be different from the crowd but in order to belong for the long term, one need to be 'normal'. Edward tried very hard to cope with his new life by imitating the ones around him; by dressing like them and eating food they ate.

Another theme could have been developed from this perspective- human behavior is learned and not innate. Edward's polite manners were also taught by his inventor as it has been written in the books. Edward Scissorhands also has characteristics of a fable in that it starts with the Kim as the grandma telling the story of Edward as a flashback, when she was asked where 'snow' came from. In the end, it was supposed that snow came from Edward's mansion whenever he carved ice blocks into statues of various forms and these flakes of ice poured from the window of his mansion to the whole town underneath as snow.

This theme is one of the reasons why we saw snow flakes at the very beginning of the movie. Last but not least, what I think made the movie so heartwarming is the love story of Edward and Kim (the Avon lady's daughter). For Edward, love was at first sight. He fell in love with Kim the moment he saw her picture in the home he was going to live.

Kim, on the other hand, was the only person who gave a realistic response to Edward when she screamed at the first sight of him. However, she became the only one to accept him in the end for who he is. Kim eventually saw that Edward was kind, gentle, loving, and that his physical appearance has no effect on the way he took account of things. This is a classic tale of true love and the idea that it has nothing to do with appearances when it is real. I could also think of it as a fairy tale similar to 'Beauty and the Beast'.

It seems that Edward's life will never be the same having experienced the things he has experienced in the town and most of all, having met Kim as the girl of his life. For Kim, it seems it is better to fall in love with a person even if it's for a moment than living the rest of one's life with someone one merely love. Her decision was made clearer by her villainous boyfriend. I think the boyfriend of Kim in the movie also helped establish Edward's character as soft-hearted and considerate or as the 'good guy' when he plays the role as the bad guy against Edward.

In conclusion, I would like to restate that 'Edward Scissorhands' is about man's obsession with machines combined with the portrait of someone trying to fit in where he wasn't meant to belong, and about falling in love in the wrong place at the wrong time yet finding true love that lasts forever. Overall, it is a fairy tale that started with the origin of snow and made unusual by contradictions of life portrayed by a machine with a human heart. Major Film Credits A 20th Century Fox release. Director Tim Burton. Producers Burton, Denise De Novi. Executive producer Richard Hashimoto.

Screenplay by Caroline Thompson. Cinematographer Stefan Czapsky. Editor Richard Halsey. Costumes Colleen Atwood.

Music Danny Elfman. Production design Bo Welch. Art director Tom Duffield. Set designers Rick Heinrich's, Paul Son ski, Ann Harris. Set decorator Cheryl Cara sik.

Special makeup and Scissorhands effects Stan Winston. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. MPAA-rated: PG-13 (language, violence). Reference: "Short Takes 'Scissorhands's hear Fantasy". The Los Angeles Times 23 Mar. 1990: Page 8 Wilmington, Michael. "Movie Review: a Modern Fairy Tale Movies: Director Tim Burton is back on the cutting edge with 'Scissorhands', possibly the original film fantasy creation of the year".

The Los Angeles Times 7 Dec. 1990 Easton, Nina J. "For Tim Burton, This one's Personal The director of 'Beetle-juice' and 'Batman' is filming another bizarre movie-but this tale draws on his own childhood images". The Los Angeles Times 12 Aug. 1990 Masters, Kim. "Eight Questions for... Tim Burton; He's Dreaming of a Dark Christmas".

The Washington Post 24 Oct. 1993 Kempsey, Rita. "Edward Scissorhands': Winter's Fable" The Washington Post 14 Dec. 1990 Hinson, Hal. "Into the dark with Tim Burton; Once upon a time; there was a boy named 'Scissorhands'... ". The Washington Post 16 Dec. 1990.