Edward Scissorhands

The film Edward Scissorhands, takes place in a suburban neighborhood with colorful houses and stereotypical neighbors who like to gossip about each other. While Edward is often given the impression that he is frightening and threatening because of his appearance, he uses his cursed hands as one his assets by grooming people’s hair and trimming down people’s plants into sculptures. Growing up, Tim Burton knew he had a creative mind and felt as though he was always misunderstood by others. Author Lynn Hirschberg expresses, “Burton has the manner of a precocious teenager who has spent a great deal of time happily alone.” As a kid, he did not have many friends and felt like an outcast (Hirschberg). In Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton’s approach

The “leading character” or protagonist of the film is Edward and the antagonist known as the “leading character’s opponent” is Kim’s boyfriend, Jim (Mays 182). Jim is portrayed as the stereotypical jock who finds ways to frame Edward and make him out to be a freak with evil intentions. In her article “All Too Human,” Clark Julie addresses Edward’s role in the film and his isolation being one of the contributing factors of his ability to create art. In an interview conducted by journalist Lynn Hirschberg, Tim Burton is asked about his soon-to-be-born son and mentions, “'I just hope he's not popular. At my 10-year high-school reunion, all the popular people, the good students, turned out to be unappealing. The so-called misfits all turned out to be attractive. So if you have a child, you should almost hope they're not popular in high school.” The idea of being unpopular and isolated is apparent in Edward Scissorhands by the way the jock is depicted as Edward’s enemy. Therefore, the audience viewing the film may conclude that Tim Burton used isolation to his own advantage and preferred being an outcast rather than fitting in. As a result, he created his own depiction of good and evil characters based off his own experiences in high