Fig. 1: Edward Scissorhands Poster (1990)
This review will focus on Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990) and how the concept of the American dream has been interwoven within the film's set design, characters, and overarching plot. The key sources that have been used are Sarah Jay's How is the 1950s Re-Imagined Through the Lens of Tim Burton's Films? (2008), which analyses how the film uses elements of the time period to successfully create an idealized version of the lifestyle, and Eric Drown's A Suburban Fairy Tale: A Simple Visual Analysis of Edward Scissorhands (2014), which explores the visual language of the film.
Edward Scissorhands is a film about the titular creation (played
by Johnny Depp) of an elderly inventor who passes away before being able to
complete his invention, thus permanently leaving him with scissors for hands. Edward
lives alone until being found and cared for by Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest) and her
family, with the exception of Peg’s daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder), who is
initially afraid of him. The neighbourhood in which they live eventually warms
up to Edward after he performs favours for them (in the form of haircuts, ice
sculptures, and the like); however, the peace is quickly disturbed after a confrontation
between Kim’s boyfriend, Jim (Anthony Michael Hall), and Edward, which leaves
the former dead and the latter returning to his state of living in solitude.
Fig. 2: Edward and Kim embrace one another after Edward is
accused of purposely injuring Kim’s younger brother, Kevin. (1990)
The American dream is based around the idea that everyone
should be able to pursue their desires and happiness, in turn contributing
their utmost to society. Initially, the concept was the creation of white
property owners, but this was changed alongside societal views and became
accessible to slaves, women, and non-property owners as well; “the idea of inalienable rights was so powerful that laws were
added to extend [them]… In this way, the American Dream changed the course of America
itself” (Amadeo, K. 2018). Eventually,
from around the 1920s onwards, the desire to achieve happiness was replaced
with a desire for material objects. The notion of the American dream became
possible due to many factors, including a single government controlling a large
land mass with very few neighbours and an abundance of natural resources which
allowed the growth of the economy, which still continues at present.
Edward Scissorhands makes use of the American dream
primarily in its use of prim pastel aesthetics that engulf the setting, as well
as the stereotypical personality traits associated with the characters (which
root themselves in the societal expectations of women and men at the time that
the film was set). Combined, these aspects successfully provide “a mild social satire of suburbia”
(Rondeboom, V. 2006) which aims to subtly poke at the underlying problems with
the ‘perfect American dream’ idea - Burton himself said that "Growing up in suburbia was like growing up in a
place where there’s no sense of history, no sense of culture’’ (Jay, S. 2008),
which seems to have served as the inspiration for the somewhat unsettling identicality
of the setting.
Fig. 3: The uniformity and normality of the neighborhood’s
design is intended to highlight the lack of individuality that can arise from
the population’s attempts to strive for the same ‘American dream’. (1990)
Bo Welch, production designer of the film, said that the
team were looking for “a kind of generic, plain-wrap suburb’, which they then
‘made even more characterless by painting all the houses in faded pastels, and
reducing the window sizes to make it look a little more paranoid” (Smith, J.
and Matthews, C. J. 2002). The intent to showcase the idealized American suburb
as lacking in individuality can further be supported when considering the
character of Edward (alongside the mansion from which he came as it looms on
the outskirts of the neighbourhood) – Edward brings with him a sense of
creativity and imagination which seems to be unlike anything witnessed by the
inhabitants of the suburb. This unconventionality is a stark contrast against
the rigid orderliness, but it quickly turns from a positive influence to one
much more sinister.
Fig. 4: Edward’s castle serves as a reminder that he is in
constant juxtaposition with the ordinary, carbon-copy lives of the neighbourhood
that thrives below (1990).
This “sunny, idealized representation of suburbia” (Chernov,
M. 2015) could very well be a nod to the critics of American society in the
1950s, as there was a very prominent fear that the society striving for the
same goals and sense of perfection would begin to encourage a “creeping
consumer conformity” (Drown, E. 2014), which Edward Scissorhands proves can be
an unsettling visage. Not only are the buildings identical, but the lifestyles
and mentalities of their inhabitants are, too. The residents quickly develop a
mob-like attitude towards Edward after believing he attacked Kevin; “[Edward's] innocence is slowly chipped away, basically by the American dream, the perfect
suburb, whose inhabitants are… easily turned.” (Tauchert, C. 2009). This,
however, is not before the residents attempt to attach their sense of normality
onto Edward, with some of them (Peg included), trying different ways to make
him fit in, and subsequently fail.
Fig. 5: While the suburbs presented by the film may seem
ideal, the sense of conformity that is fascinated by Edward for his ‘otherness’
is also the same attitude that turns against him later on. (1990)
The satirical view of the American dream could be explored
further with defining traits presented by many, if not all of, the main
characters; for example, Peg is a well-established housewife who takes pride in
her family, Kim is the representation of the all-American teenaged girl who is
initially confined to the social order
presented by the suburbs, and Joyce is typically the flirtatious woman who
spends most of her time indulging in idle gossip. These were the expected ideals of
women in the 1950s, while men were anticipated to “settle into steady white-collar careers… to raise families, in
achievement of the Great American Dream” (Jay, S. 2008) – hence why many of the
husbands are rarely present in the film besides Peg’s husband, Bill (even then, he isn't as prominent a character as the rest of his family).
Fig. 6: The women in the film are an example of the
conformity that caused the population to not only be charmed by Edward, but to
turn on him as well. (1990)
It becomes clear that Edward disturbs this normality; “his work upsets the perfect orderliness
of the suburban environment” (Drown, E. 2014), but there is still a sense of
the population lacking individuality. This can be seen when the entire
neighbourhood receives haircuts from Edward alongside other favours which, while
it can be seen as deviating from the norm, actually proves that there is a
strong sense of conformity and rejection of ‘otherness’ as once again, everyone
has the same types of ‘quirky’ haircuts and the like.
Fig. 7: the strict orderliness of the suburb is displayed as
each of the husbands leave at the same time for work, all departing from
identical houses in similar cars in an eerily robotic fashion. (1990)
Overall, Edward Scissorhands could be seen as an obvious
criticism to the ideals of the ‘American dream’ and perfect American suburbs,
as not only do the inhabitants end up rejecting Edward out of fear with a mob
mentality, Edward himself never actually ends up
conforming to their values and lifestyles; “Burton offers an accurate depiction
of 1950s America; traditionalist yet destabilized by unacknowledged
undercurrents of change and fear” (Jay, S. 2008). In the end, Edward and Kim do
not end up together and remain separated, both returning to live out their
lives in their respective residences with Kim remembering the tale many years
into the future. Little to no changes have been made to either party’s
lifestyle or attitudes, showing that non-conformity and the American dream are
doomed to be incompatible. As Drowns (2014) states, “suburbia is the place where a truly
human society has stopped evolving.”
Illustration List:
Bibliography:
- Amadeo, K. (2018), What is the American Dream? The History That Made it Possible. [Article for The Balance] [Online] At: https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-american-dream-quotes-and-history-3306009 (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
- Chernov, M. (2015), Edward Scissorhands: From Box Office Misfire to Cinema Classic [Article for Variety] [Online] At: https://variety.com/2015/film/news/edward-scissorhands-25th-anniversary-johnny-depp-tim-burton-1201653236/ (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
- Drown, E. (2014), A Suburban Fairy Tale: A Simple Visual Analysis of Edward Scissorhands. [Article for Medium] [Online] At: https://medium.com/110-seconds-from-now/a-suburban-fairy-tale-a-simple-visual-analysis-of-edward-scissorhands-3af31df4529e (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
- Jay, S. (2008), How is the 1950s Re-Imagined Through the Lens of Tim Burton's Films? [Online] At: https://sarahjay.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/how-is-the-1950s-re-imagined-through-the-lens-of-tim-burtons-films/ (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
- Rondeboom, V. (2006), American Beasts: The Cinematic Revision of the Beauty and the Beast in The Elephant Man and Edward Scissorhands. [PDF] [Online] At:https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/20567/scriptie.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
- Smith, J. and Matthews, C. J. (2002), Tim Burton (Virgin Film Series). London: Virgin Books Ltd. Pages 94 and 95.
- Tauchert, C. (2009), Revisiting Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. [Article for Den Of Geek] [Online] At: https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/14887/revisiting-tim-burtons-edward-scissorhands (Accessed on 25 October 2018)
