Jump - Edward Scissorhands

I find Edward Scissorhands to be an alteration of the story of Beauty and the Beast. As we all know,  a prince was transformed into a beast for his cruelty and selfishness, and he can only become human again if he finds true love. He meets Belle, a beautiful girl of kind heart and he falls in love with her. Though at first she refuses him, when she finds him dying she confesses her love for him and he turns back into a handsome prince. They live happily ever after. In Edward Scissorhands, Edward is immediately infatuated with Kim while she is unhappy with his presence in her home. As their relationship grows, she feels conflicted with her feelings of this man covered in scars, crazy hair, and scissors for hands. When he is driven out of the town and she realizes she can never see him again, she tells Edward she loves him. Both the Beast and Edward are marked as beasts due to the lack of understanding by society. Their ignorance of the two characters turns to fear which results in the communities to form mobs to drive the characters out. The difference between the two mobs is that violence expressed by the mob in Edward Scissorhands is more "uncharacteristic". The town to me is a symbol of the “typical” utopia: all the houses are the same, the lawns are perfectly kept, there are kids playing outside, the weather is always sunny and beautiful, and each family appears to be happy. However, Burton is quick to point out the flaws in the community. The most obvious being the women who are trying to distract themselves from their unfulfilling lives as housewives with affairs and town gossip. Burton is also quick to point out the isolation and exclusivity of the town. When the neighbors see Peg driving an unfamiliar figure, they are immediately intrigued to the point of obsession which shows they must not get many newcomers often. As a result, the community has very little experience with those different from them. The community has lived in a protected bubble their whole life, and though they are accepting of Edward at first, they are quick to turn their back on him when he makes a mistake. If he had been another member of the community I truly believe they would have been more forgiving, but because Edward is so different they are unsure of what to expect from him and do not give him the benefit of the doubt. Beauty and the Beast, however, takes place in a small village in France and their ignorance is more expected. There is no evidence of its attempts at being a utopia, and their opinions of the beast are all influenced by Gaston. He is not a reliable source because his hatred towards the beast is caused by his jealousy of the him winning Belle. I find their hatred towards the beast to be more ignorant while I find the town in Edward Scissorhands’ hatred towards Edward to be not only ignorant but also hypocritical. They appear to be a perfect, happy town, but in reality much of the community is very unhappy and their behavior towards Edward is extremely hostile and unjust. The oh so happy town is not so perfect after all.