The fairy tale-esque world Tim
Burton creates in Edward Scissorhands
is very reflective of the fairytales in the past. The fairy tale as we all know
today is not the traditional fairy tale our ancestors grew up with. In the
past, fairy tales have possessed a very dark and violent tone to go along with
the story. However, this dark and violent tone was necessary for the story’s
moral to be fully realized. The violence and darkness that would be found in
these fairy tales involved such examples like Little Red Riding Hood being
eaten by the Wolf, the Little Mermaid killing herself and turning into sea
froth, and the evil stepsisters eyes being pecked out by birds in Cinderella.
These violent endings were incredibly important to the story, as they created a
good moral. These morals were great for their time period, however, they don’t
necessarily hold up to today’s society.
Morality in modern times is
very difficult to find. The world is filled with violence, hate, and lying.
Because of this, many people in today’s world live lives that are not of a high
moral standard. Examples of these kinds of people would be murderers, corrupt
politicians, and shady businessmen. This leads to a small bubble of people who
can truly be morally good. This bubble includes small children and babies due
to their innocence. Their lack of knowledge helps to create morality in their
lives. However, due to the outside forces of the world, this morality and
innocence will soon diminish and create flaws in their personalities. This idea
of innocence can be found in the beginning of the movie through the viewer’s
first look at the suburban setting.
The suburbia in which Edward is brought to
originally appears to be a very kind and welcoming place to live. The houses
are all the same basic size, and the houses come in a variety of bright
pastels. This gives the viewer the idea that this suburban neighborhood is a
very wonderful and joyous place to live. However, this notion is very wrong. Throughout
the movie, the viewer learns of the various transgressions found throughout the
community. These transgressions of the neighbor are numerous, the most
noticeable of them being as nosy, gossiping neighbors, a nympho, and a hive
mentality. This hive mentality is the biggest downfall of the community, as the
community quickly turns on Edward after the police catch him at Jim’s house.
Olivia Turnage-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Edward scissor hand does reflect on some of the classic fairytales. Although I don’t think I quite understand where you are coming from when you say that they are dark and violent. I understand were dark plays a role but violent? I’m not quite sure about all that. Because the violent part did not have such an impact on the story as the one in the fairytales mentioned.
Meaning to say that in the fairytales that the one violent dramatic part had such an effect on the movie that if it didn’t happen then things wouldn’t have turned out as it did. But in Edward scissor hand it was the opposite, because if the girls’ ex- boyfriend would have died than it would still been the same outcome. Her coming out with the scissors in her hand as if Edward scissor hand had died.
I agree when you talk about morality , because in the classic fairytales it makes the scene so perfect but then something is always taught in the happening, such as you said the neighborhood seemed peaceful and excepting but the moral of the story soon shined through showing that everything is not as it seems
Olivia Turnage