Johnston - Big Fish

     Tim Burton's Big Fish incorporates a theme that we have seen in many of his other works – a group of misfits creating a family. The happy, brightly shining character of Edward Bloom befriends many characters in the film that do not have as sunny of a personality as Edward. Even from the beginning of the film we can see that Edward is not afraid to accept people who are different than he is. When he and his friends go to the witch's house in the middle of the night Edward simply walks up to the door and when she answers he asks very politely "Ma'am, my name is Edward Bloom, and there some folks that would like to see your eye". Instead of being afraid like the other children, Edward treats the witch like he would any other person.

     Another example that shows Edward accepting someone who is seen to be darker and more monstrous than he is, is the scene with the giant. Instead of joining the angry mob that wants to run the giant, Carl, out of town, Edward takes the time to talk to Carl and learn why he is doing what he is doing. He learns that Carl is not eating all the townspeople's sheep because he is evil, like the townspeople think he is, rather, he is doing it simply because he is hungry. Just because Carl is different than him, Edward still accepts him.

     The next time Edward accepts a character that has a darker side to them is when the Amos Calloway, the circus ringleader, turned into a wolf at night and attacked Edward. Instead of running or trying to kill Amos, like the clown with the gun tried to do, Edward simply picks up a stick and begins to play fetch with the animal. He realized that just because something seems dark and monstrous doesn't necessarily mean that it is, saying "it was that night I discovered that most things you consider evil or wicked are simply lonely, and lacking in social niceties".

     Burton uses the character of Edward to make a statement about how our society treats people who are different. We always say "never judge a book by it's cover", but do we always end up using it in practice? Burton is trying to say that we should take the time to try and understand things that are different from us instead of just judging before we even know a person because many times are assumptions are very different than reality.