Perkal- Edward Scissorhands

A traditional fairytale is usually a story, which people wish would happen to them.  It is glossy and mostly has a happy ending, such as Disney or happy animated movies.  Edward Scissorhands, on the other hand, is not a typical fairytale.  I would not describe it as a fairy tale, but that it resembles one.  The movie starts out with a Grandmother telling a story to her granddaughter.  The audience is left in wonder throughout the whole movie as to who these two characters are. Edward Scissorhands has the violence of a traditional tale, similar to the old Disney movies until they were made to have happy endings. We see violence when Edward fights with Bella’s boyfriend, but only to defend her because he loves her.  Another time violence occurs in Edward Scissorhands is when Edward becomes angry and wrecks the house because that is what he is familiar with doing. Edward Scissorhands is similar to a fairytale because he is the outcast in a normal town, such as Cinderella who was an outcast in her own house with her family.  The idea of isolation or rejection seems to be a recurring theme in fairytales. 

In modern life mortality is seen in people who do good things for others.  In this instance, Peg would be the one with the morals in the story of Edward Scissorhands.  The society that Peg lives in is supposed to be where everyone is considered to be “normal” and following the correct morals.  The only person in Peg’s town that should be considered “squeaky clean” is Peg because she takes in Edward even though he is an outcast and may not be familiar with the aspect of living in a town with strict morals.  Small towns like Peg’s are so focused on their image and one small thing that goes wrong and the whole town is shattered by it.  Peg is able to change her friends view of Edward and help them to reach out of their comfort zone and accept him.  The town transgresses when Peg’s friends start to accept Edward even though he is different than him.  They find him unique because of his ability to cut their hair and make their plants look better.  There was a transition in the movie when Edward was at Peg’s first party and all of her friends started to accept Edward and become fascinated with him and he was able to use his talent to fit in with the town even after not being familiar with their morals.