In which ways does Tim Burton use a mixture of genres in "Edward Scissorhands" to present the conflict between Edward and Society?

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In which ways does Tim Burton use a mixture of genres in “Edward Scissorhands” to present the conflict between Edward and Society?

Edward Scissorhands, directed by Tim Burton, is a movie about a young man named Edward who lives alone in a mansion on top of a hill. The old man who invented Edward died of a heart attack shortly before completing him and placing plastic hands over his scissors. Avon Lady, Peg Boggs discovers Edward one morning during one of her rounds and takes him back to live with her in her pastel-coloured suburbia. As a movie, Edward Scissorhands contains all the distinguishing elements of a Tim Burton film. There is the prototype of the well-meaning outsider who, despite good intentions, will always fail at his or her attempts to fit in with the "normal" world. By presenting various symbols and incorporating numerous elements throughout the movie, Burton makes it clear that Edward Scissorhands will never belong in Peg Boggs’s perfect suburbia. Although he can do various tasks such as trim shrubs, he is not classed as an average human and is seen as some sort of freak when he enters suburbia in the car.

Even before viewing the film, one is aware that it is not a conventional horror. Burton's previous films Beetlejuice and Batman prepare one to expect a film which is visually stunning, perhaps with humour or. The publicity for Edward Scissorhands used the phrase 'the story of an uncommonly gentle man' and posters showed a picture of a sad Edward with a butterfly perched on one of the sharp blades. Contrasting images such as these reinforce the idea of a mixture of the romance and horror genres.  A close analysis of the opening sequence of Edward Scissorhands reveals many of the conventions associated with the horror genre but these are offset by elements of comedy and romance. As the credits roll, the eerie music, the graphics of the names make jagged scissor shapes and the major colours of black and white establish the relationship with the horror genre. We then see visual images associated with the conventional 'haunted house' yet the music becomes lighter, brighter and some of the gadgets look like toys, reminding the audience that this is not a horror film. The motif of falling snow, associated with Edward and used throughout the film, creates an atmosphere of tranquillity and romance that again contrasts with the horror images.

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The two worlds meet for the first time when Peg Boggs decides to visit the castle to sell Avon products. The light-hearted music associated with the suburb becomes eerie as soon as Peg views the castle through her wing mirror, the long shot emphasising the sense of unreality and illusion. When Peg reaches the castle, long wide-angled shots convey the relative size of character and setting and suggest too her vulnerability in the strange environment. Black and white are the predominant colours, except for the character of Peg. We first see Edward in a long shot, coming into medium close-up ...

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