Style Analysis

Tim Burton Does our outer appearance segregate everyone else from each other? Film director Tim Burton uses low key lighting, low angle, and music in order to express various dark childhood and gothic cinematic experiences. In his 2005 film Corpse Bride, 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and 1990 film Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton uses low key lighting and flashback to achieve the effect of nostalgic moments along with a gothic environment. Tim Burton gained his inspirations in his films from his childhood when he watched TV and imagined making movies of his own. In his films, he demonstrates that being different from everybody else will determine how you will be accepted by society; however, when people judge what’s on the outside of people, they never take the time to look at themselves and see that they are no different from that person they differ from others. One of many cinematic techniques that Tim Burton uses is low key lighting which makes a perfect example of Tim Burton’s use of gothic effects. In Tim Burton’s Film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burton uses low key lighting in Willy Wonka’s flashback to convey a dramatic evil environment of Willy’s father when he confiscates Willy’s candy from Halloween. As Willy Wonka’s age flies through time, he meets a boy named Charlie who helps him realize that his ignorance in his childhood blinded him to think that his father reeks of evil; therefore, in reality, Willy Wonka’s father dearly loved his son and did not want him to get cavities. In Tim Burton’s film Edward Scissorhands, Burton uses low key lighting on Edward’s face which creates a sinister shade in the background of his home to convey how Edward will look and act when Peg sees him for the first time; however, as the low key lighting recedes from Edward, the tension between Peg and Edward subside because the light reveals Edward’s true appearance as an artificial human rather than being a monster. Tim