The eerily suburban neighborhood that the film took place in reminded me of "Two Children are Threatened by a Nightingale" by Max Ernst. At a glance, the surrealist painting shows a pastoral scene and blue sky, but a closer look reveals that the painting includes a girl with a knife chasing a bird, another girl laying on the floor apparently dead, and on the rood is a man carrying a girl away. These morbid aspects mixed with the suburban setting is quite like the morbid activities in the movie's setting.
The life sized sculpture "Supermarket Shopper," by Duane Hanson is very reminiscent of the characters in Edward Scissorhands. Through the sculpture, Hanson was trying to depict what he felt to be a creature that lived a lonely and unfulfilling existence, which is very similar to the way that Burton portrayed the women of the neighborhood, whose only excitement in life was gossip and what others were up to. Both the film and sculpture seem to be sending a message about how drab suburban life can be and the emptiness people may experience in life without even knowing it.
Edward's scissor hands in the movie reminded me of "Cadeau" by Dada artist, Man Ray. The piece is supposed to have a humorous effect because it takes an iron that is supposed to flatten and make clothes nicer and puts nails on it, thus ruining its sole purpose. It is very similar to the way Edward's inventor gave him scissors for hands, thus ruining what is such a crucial tool for normal humans, thus making his existence difficult and almost impossible for him to build normal relationships.
The film as a whole also reminded me of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein because of the very similar plots. In both works the protagonist is a man-made creature with disabling features that eventually lead to their demise. However unlike the creature in the novel, Edward eventually finds his life, but unfortunately due to the intolerance of the neighborhood and the inability for them to have a normal relationship, their love is doomed and he must leave her.
-Bobby R
I love how as soon as I saw the Ernst painting I thought "That has to be a Bob post"...and of course it was. I really like how you connected the ideas presented in the movie to what we have studied in other classes. Middle class American suburbia is such an interesting topic because it often times appears perfect on the surface (manicured lawns, smiling families) but in reality can have terrible secrets behind closed doors. I think the idea that surburbia can be corrupt and twisted is a common motif in American pop culture because it plays off the idea of irony. All in all, I love the art you chose because it shows how irrational American culture can be, excessive in its nature, greedy and oblivious.
ReplyDelete- Shelby H
Awesome post, Bobby! I love the connections you made. The pieces you selected were so interesting. I'd live to find a way to incorporate more art into our class studies. Looks like I should be asking you for help! Thanks for a really engaging, thoughtful post.
ReplyDeleteI love how you tied in things we've learned in art history this year. I find that in both that class and English, I've discovered doorways into the soul of the world - the truths and emotions that unite us all. Books, art, and even movies all connect to real life, its hard questions, and its difficult ideas. This was really interesting and enlightening, Bobby! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteTori Greaves p.1
Very insightful post! I recognize some of these works from our AP Art History class and actually understand some of the claims you're making! :] I agree with your analysis that the "Cadeau" is an allegory for the scissor hands Edward possesses; it's ironic that the primitive function for the iron and hand is completely nonexisting in the artwork and Burton's depiction of Edward's hands.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I love you. I love how you analyzed the film and connected it to other mediums of art. I'm obviously not as into art as you are, but according to your descriptions I would have to agree that these relate to the themes of the film and may have inspired Burton since he is an art enthusiast. I'm so glad you're majoring in art history, you're going to be amazing at it. :)
ReplyDelete-Elise
I constantly was thinking to myself how much similarity this movie had to Frankenstein. I also find it humorous how you pointed out the art pieces above. Probably the thing which stood out to me the most throughout the movie was how strange, random, and colorful the town was.
ReplyDeleteChad L.