Essay On Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton often makes major characters in his film an outcast of a society. Most of the people are isolated or live in outlying residences distant from where the “average” people are from. Burton creates this to show the social issues of accepting extraordinary people within the society. Tim Burton applied different types of lighting, camera framing, and camera movement in his movies to show that a character’s curiosity will resist them from loneliness and sorrow.
In “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, even though Willy Wonka is believed by many to be one of the most extraordinary chocolate maker, he is also considered a secretive and unusual man. In one scene where a camera viewed Charlie’s home along with other houses in the background,
different type of lighting glimmered outside of the houses’ window. The warm glow that poured outside Charlie’s windows reveals that Charlie’s family is more welcoming and comforting than other houses that has pale lighting from the window (in the background). Another aspect to note is that Burton incorporated a silhouette on the very back of the city to represent the chocolate factory and to convey how isolated and alone Willy Wonka is. When Wonka met the five “Gold Ticket” winners, there was high-key lighting to express his satisfaction. In addition, Burton supports Wonka’s happiness by comprising close-up shots at Wonka’s face to emphasize Wonka’s joyful facial expression. Wonka’s curiosity towards the world around him has influenced him to view the world in a new, different way as well as to guide him to a more pleasant and sociable life.
In “Edward Scissorhands”, Burton portrays Edward as a very dark and odd man.
Edward’s gloomy, old, and gothic home that overlooks the whole entire town shows that Edward feels dejected up in the castle alone. The gloomy color and lighting of his castle creates a depressing sorrow and lonesome tone while showing that he is a peculiar outsider. Burton supports this element by utilizing low-key lighting. On the other hand, Burton depicted the houses in the town as bright and colorful with high-key lighting to show how joyful and socialized the town’s people are when they are together. Even everyone around town dressed colorfully. At the shot where Peg glances right into the car mirror, it captures both the dark, gloomy, and gothic castle and the colorful town in the background at the same time. Burton does this to compare and contrast the mood felt between Edward’s home and the town’s people’s home. When Peg decided to bring Edward home, the lighting immediately transitioned from dark to light. On their way home in the car, there was a fixed close-up shot at Edward to show his exhilarated facial expression as he reacted on experiencing things in the town for the first time. Camera movements had also mimicked the car speed to create excitement. Burton use of lighting and framing emphasizes how Edward’s mood transitions from an isolated place to a sociable place and shows that Edward’s curiosity can overcome
loneliness.
In “Big Fish”, Edward Bloom is considered an outcast to the many people in the society since no one really believes his wild and unrealistic adventures until the very end. He is portrayed as an elderly man who is in bed for most of the time in a dimly-lighted room. Burton use of low-key lighting to expresses how lonely and isolated Edward is while he is in his room. As William began to see the values of his father’s stories, it helped bonded both of their relationship together. Near the end of the movie, Burton uses high-key lighting in the hospital scene and close-up shots to reveal Edward’s pleased facial expression when William finally understands his father’s story. At the last scene of the movie, William is shown with his children telling them the stories that his father once told him. To create a happy mood, Burton included high-key lighting. To sum it up, William’s curiosity towards the understanding of Edward’s stories has contributed to Edward’s happiness before his passing.
In conclusion, Burton uses different types of lighting, camera framing, and camera movement in his movies to show that a character’s curiosity will resist them from loneliness and sorrow. Burton’s films reveal a different perspective on how we should view life and encourage us all to never underestimate our curiosity towards the world around us. If you are curious, you can create opportunities that open doors to new possibilities.