Edward Scissorhands

Fig.1 Film Poster Edward scissorhands is a 1990 title directed by Tim Burton and even though it's very clichd for a Burton release. In that it is his classic Gothic style imagery. If you look at his other titles the only time he really strayed from this very distinctive style was in his 1989 Batman title that already had a dark plot an therefore Burton could only build on it and not replace it. The story is it's most redeeming feature because it signifies how people can be treated as an outcast just because of a deformity. The plot fundamentals don't really waver from this subject. Edward has all the essential ingredients for today's standard body, with the exception of a pair of hands. Fig.3 The subject at hand covers three major points. Relational complications, Alienation and Domestic issues. So all in all all the classic problems of a young man in a contemporary age. So lets break each section down briefly. The problems with Edwards relationships start before the plot with his dad. When he was created his father tried to teach him the ways of society but because he was never able to experience it he was not able to understand what he was learning and any revelation to why he would need to learn such things. Isolation and Community is another contrast in this film spanning from the dark creepy castle to the nauseatingly vivid colours of the small town. This film brings home a similar moral backdrop of 'The Elephant Man' that instead of the assumption that a deformity limits an individuals worth, that if anyone believed this was true then we would never even know that a man like Stephen Hawkins was the genius that he turned out to be given the chance to show it. In this film we see how Edward falls in love and how he is rejected and though misunderstanding he becomes targeted as a wrong doer first by people of his age then by the neighbours. Edward Scissorhands came from a drawing by then teenage director Tim Burton, which reflected his feelings of isolation and being unable to communicate to people around him. Fig.4

This film goes well though so many scenarios that it is almost certain to strike a chord with you at some point. The acceptance into a new family is one that is very familiar for some whereas being gossiped about is one that we all have experienced and, God forbid, we have done it about others. The film has a certain air that if one were to take a still photo of a modern day town or city, load it into Photoshop then adjust the brightness and contrast of the concept,if only that were possible, it would look like this film. But the appearance is but a display of the heart. This film is a view into a childhood that must have experienced bullying and either distanced or deceased parents ad a young age. For you don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand how important family is and the importance of the example given. An uncommonly gentle young man, who happens to have scissors for hands, falls in love with a beautiful teenage girl. Fig.5

Fig.2 Film Still

Bibliography Image Fig.1 Film Poster, Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton, USA, http://goremasterfx.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/edward_scissorhands.jpg Fig.2 Film Still, http://3.bp.blogspot.com/c7D9LtIK71c/Tec4rwDyMBI/AAAAAAAAAPo/1MDsecgojz0/s400/Edward-Scissorhands.jpg Quote Fig.3 Web, Rotten Tomatoes, http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/edward_scissorhands/ Fig.4 Web, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Scissorhands Fig.5 Web, IMDb, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099487/