Feltes- Edward Scissorhands

This movie displays all of the classic characteristics of a fairy tale; it has an interesting introduction that is used as a framing device, so that the movie may be told in a story-like manner. This framing device is used in plenty of classic fairy tales, for in itself, it is similar to the "Once upon a time" approach to starting a fairy tale. Traditional fairy tales are often marked with violent themes that are related to the moral or outcome of the story, but in Edward Scissorhands, the violence is more contemporary, and there is a less specific moral to this story. Truly, the moral of Edward Scissorhands is that common people can go from very kind and understanding to being blood thirsty and mob-like when they do not truly understand who a person is. In modern life, morality is found only in the most innocent and kind people, and morality is subjective for everyone else. Take the lady that attempted to have sex with Edward in the back room of his future salon; when he left, she decided it would be smart to accuse him of trying to rape her. This is after most of the townspeople believed Edward broke into a home to steal from the owner, and it shows how quickly people turn against someone they once had great respect for. In this sense, I believe that the town this movie is based around is not squeaky clean in any way. I actually believe the town is a greater representation of how Tim Burton interprets the world at large; swayed by popular opinion. When Edward was new to the town, everyone was incredibly interested with who he was as a person and all treated him very well. The same type of behavior continued when Edward cut everyones shrubbery and hair for free, they all talked about how much they love him and respect him. This all changes as soon as Edward is caught after breaking into the man's house; all of a sudden, everyone is talking about how weird Edward was and bringing up how they never liked him and one woman even accuses him of attempted rape. The town transgressed when they all used Edward for his talents then immediately changed opinions as soon as he was framed for breaking and entering. This all speaks to how Tim Burton interprets the "nice, squeaky clean townspeople" around the world as vicious animals only interested in the current popular opinion, and there is only a select few people, such as Peg or Kim, who truly care about people for who they are and disregard popular opinion.