As this is seen in Edward, the creation of a skilled inventor, intertextuality is evident. There is a resemblance to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as human beings cannot recreate life to substitute the factor of God and expect it to thrive. Since Edward is an unfinished creation, he is considered an outlier in the normal society.
Burton shows this archetype of inconformity through the juxtaposition of good versus evil, technical tactics of mise-en-scene, and the violations of the dark romanticism conventions to introduce the moral of appearance versus reality. Edward is a very humble and polite human being yet he is detached from the real world. As a result of being concealed in his gothic mansion for so long, he yearns for acceptance in the quaint suburban town. As Peg, an Avon sales woman is going door to door trying to sell her cosmetics, she is shut down by everyone in the neighborhood.
As a last resort, she looks through her side view mirror and sees the great, gothic mansion behind her (Source I).
This is a contrast of light versus dark, or good versus evil. This archetype is also in Source P, when Peg walks into the mansion, almost angel-like as the light shines on her in the middle of the darkness (Devine).
Peg is willing to give Edward everything to feel accepted into the neighborhood. It is best illustrated in Source L, as Peg is applying concealer to conceal the scars on Edward’s face. The scars represent his rocky past of his creator’s tragic death before his completion of having hands.
The Essay on Dr Jonas Edward Salk
Dr. Jonas Edward Salk was born on October 28, 1914 in New York City. He laid the structure for our understanding of advanced study of disease and medicine. Jonas Salk was the oldest son in his family. His parents, even though they didn't have any primary education, were determined to make their children succeed in the society. They encouraged their children to study hard and helped them when they ...
Hands are a motif throughout the film as metaphor for Edward’s incompletion (Sampson).
This incompletion is seen all through the film as Edward does not belong inside the norms of the stereotypical suburban town (Source D).
In this stereotypical town, there are stereotypical people, these people have all conformed to the cookie cutter mold of routines and schedules. This uniformity is juxtaposed by the originality and uniqueness of Edward with his dark, untamed hair with the bright pastel cars, houses, and friendly neighbors.
His juxtaposition against the bright colors enhances his mysterious character, as the neighbors gradually accept him in curiosity. While the curiosity builds, Edward is on the inside looking out, as if he were a caged animal. Burton uses a point-of-view shot to show the audience how things are from the character’s point of view. This is best seen in Source O, Edward is smiling at the new landscape faced in front of him, yet he is still behind the door of the car. The use of mise en scene in this source is to show the audience his gradual immersion into the suburban life as he is driven by Peg.
This is evident by Edwards surroundings, he is “driven” into a town of color. Color use in this scene is very symbolic. Edward is surrounded by bright hues of pastels (Source D), this foreshadows his darkness, which causes great havoc in the neighborhood. The focus on Edward in this scene, the contrast is from the brightly, bubbly background of which he is the dominant figure. Burton creates a dreamlike setting of a perfect suburb with unusually odd characters which conflict and fill the norm of the neighborhood.
This dreamscape is clashed with Edward’s world, coexisting. The lighting is also another factor in what gives the film a running theme of light versus dark. During the day, the lighting is natural, realistic, and bright. This is best illustrated in Source R. While at a barbeque, Edward is placed in front of the barbeque and surrounded by smiles and laughter while behind a bright blue background. This has the town rejoicing with happiness and sanctity, but as the day progresses, more conflicts occur. As the lighting gets darker, so do the actions.
The Essay on Controversy in the Film “American History X”
The controversial American History X is an excellent film directed by Tony Faye starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. This film chronicles the behavior of a ex-nazi skinhead named Derek Vinyard (Ed Norton), the events encompassing his incarceration, and the effects of his life on his younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) who idolizes him. The film begins with Derek violently murdering two ...
It is seen in Source G as Edward is placed in the middle of the picture, before this scene, Jim, Kim’s boyfriend, was pushed through the window. This shows the evil of which the darkness brings to the image. Edward’s art violates the dark romantic convention due to his uniquely creative hairstyles and charismatic topiaries (Source A and N).
The violations begin in the opening credits as heart shaped snowflakes sprinkle the screen. This violation foreshadows the love Edward feels for Peg’s daughter, Kim.
As Peg walks into the gates of the great mansion, she is surprised to see the great topiaries as it is a sign of beauty in Edward’s eyes. Despite Edward’s complete loneliness in the great mansion, he wants company. When Peg brings Edward back to her house, he reminisces what his creator did, making cookies, before he was created (Source E).
Edward reminisces often during the beginning of the film, he remembers the lessons which his creator taught him, and the poetry that breaks the dark romantic stereotypes; the dark romantics thrive off of poetry.
Towards the end of the film, Edward is seen cutting ice figures as he creates “snow” which is uncommon in the area of where the Boggs’ live. This pleases Kim very much, and keeps Edward striving to do more of. This is Edward’s way of safely touching Kim without harm (Source T), to give her happiness because it has never snowed before he had arrived. Kim is Edward’s angel, as she accepts him with love and affection. Kim’s love for Edward is evident as it is shown in the beginning and the end of the film when she is telling her granddaughter the story of the snow.
This shows the correlation between the good versus evil and how they intertwine as one while intertextuality is apparent to a Beauty and the Beast type of scenario. In the last scenes of the film, Edward is seen sculpting ice sculptures in his room, creating the snow fall on the underlying neighborhood. The sculptures are a replica of the world around him, as he recreates people and objects of which brought him joy. He creates these sculptures because he believes that they please others and keeps it dear to his heart. These actions all violate the conventions of dark romanticism in the fact that Edward was created with a heart.
The Essay on Did God Create evil or did man
Ever since the beginning of time our reality has been based on the conflict between good and evil. From the story of Adam and Eve to modern day and everything done by the human race has been a battle between these two. Many theologians and scholars have tried to argue the creation of evil. They question if God created it or if man and his perversion of the good created it. Or even if it goes back ...
Edward portrays both humorous and dark behavior, while the seclusion of being different, give him a chance to experience the social norm. Edward finds love on this experience, which is a rare sight when Beast is looking for a Beauty. He is unable to become permanently conformed or accepted into society, so he is driven out of the suburb and driven back into his mansion. During the entire film, Edward is in and out of transition from evil to good, back to evil; as it is seen in his costume. Edward violates many of the dark romantic conventions throughout the film, as he gives metaphors of church and art.
