One thing that is used a lot during the course of the movie is snow. And as we all know it usually snows during winter, and what is in winter? Christmas. Now not only is Christmas about presents, which usually means lots of presents for kids, further linking to the childish theme, but Christmas is about spending time with family and for Edward, this doesn’t mean anything. He doesn’t have any family and he doesn’t receive any gifts, which makes him feel even more of an outcast.
Mechanical Theme
In the opening sequences we see extreme close ups of machinery and robots. From these extreme close ups, the viewer is left confused and unaware as to what the sole purpose of these robots is. This gets the viewer intrigued as to what there role is and by this, the viewer is more likely to carry on watching. Another thing that is interesting about only seeing parts of robots is that this could be linked with Edward and his scissorhands. By only seeing parts of robots we don’t see the full picture, meaning we cannot judge it. But when we look at Edward, we do see the full picture and therefore we judge him and this is exactly what Peg does. She can’t see him; all she sees is a black outline of his body, so she is quick to introduce herself and says that she is “as harmless as cherry pie”. But when she sees the full picture of Edward (his scissorhands) she starts to back off and gets very scared very quickly.
One thing that I managed to notice is that some of these robots look as if they have faces. Could this be the creator trying to inject some life into his creations? This seems to be the case as he has given Edward a face and other human traits. Why not give these mini-creations lives.
When we see the three robots go by, you can see that they are going up and down. This is shortly followed by a collection of cookie shapes. Could these two things be linked in any way? Perhaps these robots were cookie-cutting machines. And perhaps Edward was given scissorhands to help in the cutting of the cookies.
The colours used in these scenes are primarily black, grey and silver. This suggests to us that the scenes are sad, lonely and dark. Also, the robots suggest to us that the scene is industrial and metal-like, meaning very robotic. Perhaps this could be an insight into the mind of the Creator when he was thinking about creating Edward. This could be him telling himself to make a new robot, a robot that has life.
American Dream Theme
When the tracking shot reveals Edward for the first time, we see the town through his eyes. By no means is his view of the town the “American Dream”. Looking out of his dilapidated mansion, he sees nothing but a big lonely world.
Immediately after Edward’s view of the town, the picture changes from a dark town to a very bright, colourful one. But I think that the inhabitants of this town are trying to hide behind a colourful exterior. I think that they know all is not well and that they know something or someone is up there.
One thing that accents the American Dream is the Avon Lady and her unsuccessful persuasion skills towards potential buyers. She is trying (unsuccessfully) to sell the female ideal and she thinks that it is her duty to brighten up people’s lives, and this is how she ends up helping Edward. Being an Avon Lady, Peg feels that if everything looks pretty and cheerful, then everything is pretty and cheerful. Also, seeing as her job is to sell people material goods to help “cover up the bad” there is even more of an incentive to improve the castle.
But when Peg finally gets up to the castle, she can’t believe her eyes. No longer can she see the run-down exterior of the castle, all she can see is the beautifully crafted hedge statues that are lined with radiant, elegant flowers. All of which are juxtaposed to the dilapidated castle.
We continue to see the American Dream throughout the film and no more than in the next few scenes. The cars for instance. Nowadays you mostly see blue, red, black or occasionally white. But during the movie (possibly 1950’s or 60’s) you see your host of yellows and oranges. These dazzling colours are not only plastered onto cars, but splashed all over houses to give them that elegant feel.
One of the last things in these scenes that indicate to me “American Dream” is the bored housewife and her labour saving devices. A host of electrical goods that supposedly ease the pressure of simple things like washing the dishes or slicing food.
Fairytale Theme
The fairytale theme and the childlike theme are linked in many ways. A lot of the childlike sequences are very much linked with the fairytale theme and this is clearly shown with the 20th Century Fox symbol. As you can see, the snow is falling on to the 20th Century Fox and this symbol is usually very bright, but in these circumstances is quite dark. As I have said before it is unusual to associate dark colours with children or in this case a fairytale story and the dark colours suggest to me that the film will be sad, unhappy and give off a lonely vibe.
Later on in the opening sequence we see an array of cookies and I think that this is further linking back to Christmas. If you look at the shape of the cookies three of them tell different stories. First up, the animal. The animal could be a deer, of course it would be missing its horns but this would link in with the extreme close-ups seen earlier in the movie. The extreme close-ups indicated that you only see parts of objects meaning you don’t get the full picture and you cannot judge them, just as we cannot judge Edward only by looking at his scissorhands. The star: this could be a symbol of the Three Wise men following the star to the stable where Jesus was born, who of course was born on Christmas. And finally, the heart. Christmas is a time for spending time with the family and having a heart to be nice and give gifts, Etc.
We now see a tracking shot of Edward’s home from the view of an Old Woman from a little girl’s room. The two things in this Mise en Scene that I think are linked with the fairytale theme are the fireplace, which looks to create a warm, orange glow and gives off a sense of security when compared to the cold streets outside, and the old lady in the rocking chair, who is telling the story of Edward to the little girl in the big bed. In fairytales told in movies or cartoons, you often hear the recipient of the story (in this case, the little girl) say that he/she is tired and wants to hear a bedtime story. This is usually replied with the phrase “A long time ago…” and this is exactly what happens.
Appearances Theme
Almost immediately we get our first glimpse of Edward in the confines of his own home. A sad, lonely figure peering out of his “mansion” with no friends whatsoever.
Soon after this shot, which led us from the house, through the snowy town and up to the castle comes a completely altered shot of the town. This time, we see a sunny, radiant town that is absolutely littered with colour. And I find that the snow in the opening scenes is very much juxtaposed to the bright scenes used here.
In the snowy scenes, Burton has managed to create a darker, sadder atmosphere. This is because the opening credits we see the many aspects of Edward’s life and Burton is trying to explain to us that Edward is a sad person and therefore nearly all colour is blocked out. However, once Edward has disappeared off screen, the scene changes to very bright, luminous colours. The reason for this being that everyone in this town feels their lives are happy and bright, but are they? One woman’s life is so boring, she is trying to have an affair with the repairman. And another woman looks as if Christianity owns her life.
Another aspect of this “happy, bright life” is the Avon Lady going door-to-door to try and sell her cosmetic goods. As her job is “selling beauty” it was Peg’s natural instinct to try and bright up the dilapidated abode that is Edward’s home.
But when she finally gets up to Edward’s castle she is astounded. She cannot believe that someone could look the way Edward does and not be helped. But no matter what anyone looks like, looks are deceiving and not everything is what it seems. And that is exactly the case with Edward. Even though he looks dangerous, he is very scared and harmless.
In conclusion, Burton has managed to create five different themes in the first twenty minutes, which carry on for the rest of the film and complement each other perfectly. During the first twenty minutes or so, we have been not only introduced to Edward but we have been introduced to his past, surroundings and what was to be his new home for most of the film.
