Rondeboom, Viola. "American Beasts: The Cinematic Revision of Beauty and
the Beast in The Elephant Man and Edward Scissorhands."
Universiteit Utrecht, August 2006, http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl
(accessed October 27, 2007).
In this article, author Viola Rondeboom discusses Edward Scissorhands as a modern-gothic version of Beauty and the Beast. Rondeboom focuses on the ways in which American cinema characterizes beasts, or "the Others", and depicts society's attitude towards "Otherness". The author suggests that Edward "reflects adolescent alienation and punkishly sub-cultural traits" (39), which is quite similar to my initial view of Edward's portrayal as a social outcast in a uniform society. We also share similar views in Burton's criticism of cultural homogeneity in noting that only after Edward's arrival do the houses and people in suburbia begin to acquire distinct appearances and characteristics. Edward's Otherness prevents him from engaging in normal activities, conveying the "challenges a newcomer experiences when trying to integrate in a new culture" (44). Although the suburbanites so accept him initially, Rondeboom notes that their acceptance "is, unlike, his scars, only skin-deep" (44) as they only find amusement in Edward's naivity and scissorhands. Essentially, the author highlights Burton's use of the beast, Edward, as a social outcast to satirically "expose the falsehood of mainstream culture's 'celebration' of Otherness" (48).
Halper, Thomas and Douglas Muzzio. "Pleasantville? The Suburb and Its Representation in American Movies." Urban Affairs Review 37 (2002): 543-74.
This is a very interesting article about cinematic depictions of American suburbia. Although it only briefly mentions Edward Scissorhands, I think I'll use this source regardless because I can apply its unique perspectives to pinpoint Burton's intentions. In the entire text, the authors only mention that my film conveys strangeness in suburbia. They mock the "middle-class tackiness" (565) that exists as seen with the characters' obsession with conformity and gossip.
What I found most interesting was how the authors broke the representation of suburbia down into categories. According to them, suburbs are generally negatively represented as anti-sitcoms, dens of dysfunction, ticky-tacky, teenage wasteland, or positively represented as ideal environments. Based on this categorization, I think that my movie depicts suburbia as an ideal society by incorporating "universally recognizable icons, such as 'picture windows, patios, barbecues,'"(547) to evoke nostalgia; however, the film also insinuates that suburbia is very anti-sitcom because not everything is as perfect as it seems. i.e. bland characters
So, I think this article would complement my focus on how the film satirizes suburbia.
Burton, Tim. Burton on Burton. Ed. Mark Salisbury. London: faber and faber.
This autobiography offers an insight into why Burton created Edward Scissorhands. Burton talks about his childhood growing up in suburbia and not having "a lot of room for acceptance" (87) in terms of having nonconventional ideas. For Burton, growing up in suburbia prevented him from having a "sense of passion for anything" (90), as everyone was expected to follow social norms. In essence, this film is a "reaction against that kind of categorization" (87), with categorization being labeling a person based on appearance, abilities, etc. I can use this source as 'background information' for certain criticisms authors make.
2 comments:
After reading your summary of your first primary source, I found it interesting that Edward is a polarizing figure in the neighborhood, one that opposes himself to the rest of society. After watching the clip of the movie in class, I also detected Edward's divisive role in society
Diane--it seems that there's a general agreement that Burton is offering a send-up of suburbia. So one of your tasks will be to find a way to create space to say something new about the satire itself--some catagory that folks haven't explored.
Also, you may want to talk with Joseph about this idea of "the Other," since he is also grappling with the idea.
Finally, Burton on Burton is in that gray world of the relationship between primary and secondary sources. Sure, it seeks to analyize and explain the film (the task of a secondary source) but since it's from the perspective of the creator himself (who as the author of the original text might have his own motivations as he frames and explains his own work--indeed is authoring another text) it's a primary source.
Treat the autobiography as a primary source. Sure, you can use it to gather factual information. But remember that we can't simply let Burton explain himself and believe that the job of analysis is complete.
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