Garcia-Ruiz, Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands is much like a traditional fairytale except it is not entirely like the Disney fairytales most of us know of. Tim Burton closely relates and grasps ideas from the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Frankenstein is a European tale that tells the story of an inventor and his creation, the monster. Just like Edward Scissorhands, Edward is seen like the monster at some point in the film and is isolated once again by the people he was beginning to get comfortable with. Burton took the idea of a European novel and created this suburban American setting for the film. The town is set around the 50s where men worked and women stayed home as housewives. This could relate to fairytales in the way that men are seen strong and warrior like and the women are the princesses. The castle that Edward lives in is very specific like a haunted house in a fairytale. There’s a scene where Peg goes into the house looking for someone to sell her Avon products and she becomes a bit terrified by the emptiness and machinery inside the house. It makes the house seem almost haunted until later in the film Peg finds Edward in the house. 

The people in the film are very stereotypical; Burton mixes generations between Edward, the adults, and the teens. When Edward first comes into the town he becomes an object of sympathy just like the monster in Frankenstein. The town is more than what it seems; there are pastel colored exterior and interior homes and the people around seem to be friendly, united, and perfect. Burton digs deep in this town and throughout the film the audience realizes that there are many flaws to the people living in the town. They’re immoral and ignorant towards the different and artistically creative. There are a few scenes in the film where the audience see snow fall. In the end of the film the grandmother is finishing telling the story and she talks about the snow with a magical explanation. In most fairytales there’s always a magical explanation as to how or why the environment looks the way it does. The film does keep Burtonesque tradition with the gothic castle and the way that Edward is dressed in the beginning and end of the film.