A Synopsis of the Movie Edward Scissorhands Essay

Edward Scissorhands (1990) tells us a story about an artificial man, Edward Scissorhands, who was made by a lonely inventor in his mansion atop a hill near a small town. Long after his inventors death, Edward is brought into society by Meg, a local resident and encounters many new and interesting things as he attempts to depart in civilization. The text explores concepts of belong to groups or communities and a sense of belonging in relationships shown by Edwards endless struggle to find clarity and purpose. A sense of isolation tin can capture from ones difference to others, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual. Edwards hands made out of sharp scissors are iconic of his legal separation from the rest of society. They create a physical barrier between him and others which greatly limits the amount of physical contact Edward can have with others and the rest of the world and in turn creates a sense of isolation. This is carefully and noticeably communicated by Burton throug h the use of colour and contrast. Specifically, Edwards initial costume is completely black leather, decorated with metallic element studs and rings.His hair is jet black and very messy and his face is pale white. This along with Edwards mansion, a dark place riddled with cobwebs and falling apart, so far away from society, juxtaposes fantastically with the bright and vibrant colours of the town, the houses and the clothes and outfits of the townspeople. He in fact only finds a sense of belonging when he is shown kindness and outreach by Meg. She gives him clothes to wear, which although do not seem to break his theme of darkness and dullness, do still symbolise his inclusion and belonging in their society. She also offers him purpose, letting him use his scissors to trim her garden hedges and in doing this, she turns what Edward, among others, fears to be tools of destruction into tools of creativity and resultantly breaches the barrier between Edward and the world. This gives him a sense of belonging within Megs family and the rest of the community.A sense of belonging can also be achieved though relationships with others. Edward finds love when he first lays look on Kim, Megs daughter. At first she is quite intimidated by Edward and does not quite feel as if he belongs there moreover she gradually warms to him as everyone else does and shows him deserved kindness, fashioning him feel as if he does belong. However this feeling of connection is eventually lost when Edward is falsely accused by Joyce of sexual harassment and framed for robbery due to his innocence and loyalty to Kim (I did it) because you asked me to. He is driven out of town after further misunderstandings in which he accidentally hurts few people and it becomes clear that he cant quite belong their because of the sole fact that the vast majority of the townspeople cant seems to understand him.His escape from the town and its community is symbolised by Edward tearing off his clothes to rev eal his original apparel. Burton uses a motif in the mental picture the falling of snow-like ice shards as Edward makes ice sculptures with his Scissorhands. This is used to symbolise both Edwards connection with Kim and his final state and residence in the film. In a key scene, Kim dances under the falling snow and this is basically the exact moment she falls for Edward. When he is driven away, he spends his time making sculptures and this has the effect of making snow over the town. Kim as a grandmother tells us Before he came down here, it never snowed and after, it did. The snow is metaphoric of the lack of warmth in his life, as he longs for Kims love. Edwards journey of belonging is full of changes. Through his experiences we can learn and see that one can attempt to belong somewhere, whether they seem to belong there naturally or not but they may not truly succeed.