Genre and Narrative Establishment in Edward Scissorhands and Sleep Hollow by Tim Burton
Genre is the French word for 'type'. Type is the kind of text it is.
The genre of a film text may be Sci-Fi, Horror, Action, Romantic,
Comedy, etc. In most films, the genres are combined, this is known as
a 'hybrid genre'. Narrative of a film is the structure or order in
which the plot (sequence of event) is presented to an audience. This
piece of coursework is going to discuss how Tim Burton establishes
genre and narrative in the opening five minutes of two films, 'Edward
Scissorhands' and 'Sleepy Hollow'.
Timothy William Burton was born in Burbank, California, USAon August
25th in 1958. He was not very good in school but found pleasure in
painting, drawing and movies. He loves monster films such as Godzilla,
and Vincent Price was one of his heroes. Vincent Price was an actor.
He worked with Tim Burton when Tim became a director. Be fore he
became a director, he was animator. Vincent Price sadly died in 1993.
Tim tends to use dark colours in his films and is also known to be
weird.
There is always music in a film at least one type. Music creates
effect In Edward Scissorhands, the music in the beginning is choral.
Choral mean 'to be sung by a choir'. This is informs the audience that
it is a Holy time such as Christmas. It is very spiritual and the
atmosphere is heavenly. In the same way, the music in Sleepy Hollow is
also choral; however it makes the audience think of death or a sad
time rather than a good, peaceful time like in Edward Scissorhands.
Although it is heavenly, the tone and the pitch of the choir sound
kind of sad and the vi...
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...ul area in danger of some sort? Why is a hill like that, near a
Suburbia area like this? The mansion is introduced in this scene by an
Avonlady who after having a bad day selling her product saw the hill.
The camera shot is from the perspective of the woman looking through
the side mirror in her car. This tells us immediately that the woman
is an important person in the film.
Tim Burton has succeeded in establishing the genre and narrative in
the opening five minutes of the two films. The way he used music in
the beginning, the way he directed what is to be said (the dialogue)
and the use of lighting, colours and camera shots are very
professional and it shows that Tim Burton thought well on how he
establishes genre and narrative in just the opening five minutes of
films. He has shown that he thought of his audience.
The authors state, “Genres in literature are categories of writing recognized for their patterns of organization, their
The genre of the film is how we know what kind of film it is. Genre is a French word which literally means type; it shows what category a film comes under. There are certain factors in a genre which will identify it. Things like settings, characters and themes can all be similar in one specific genre.
Would you let a man with scissors for hands in your, that you found in a dark evil-looking castle? I know I wouldn’t, but a mom named Peg would. Peg, who is very empathetic, decides to go sell Avon to the evil mansion across the street, but then finds a boy with scissors for hands and decides to take him home. Edward seems to be doing fine in the community, but is soon seen as a monster because he is framed by a bully name Jim. The movie is Edward, the protagonist, trying to recuperate his innocence and he won’t stop until he does. Throughout the movie, director Tim Burton used the stylistic elements of juxtaposition and symbolism to show the character’s personalities and to show how some places in the story are opposites.
The first type of genre that will be examined is the news article genre. This is the primary genre that is used to relay news and events about the...
It tells the story of a school teacher who is enamored by the daughter of a wealthy
Indisputably, Tim Burton has one of the world’s most distinct styles when regarding film directing. His tone, mood, diction, imagery, organization, syntax, and point of view within his films sets him apart from other renowned directors. Burton’s style can be easily depicted in two of his most highly esteemed and critically acclaimed films, Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Burton ingeniously incorporates effective cinematic techniques to convey a poignant underlying message to the audience. Such cinematic techniques are in the lighting and editing technique categories. High key and low key relationships plus editing variations evinces the director’s elaborate style. He utilizes these cinematic techniques to establish tone mood, and imagery in the films.
“I recall being one of those kids where every day was a science fair… It's like well, 'here, let's mix this up and see if it blows up'.” Tim Burton was always quirky as a child, but he was okay with his differences and embraced them through his art. Influenced by the “B” horror films from his childhood, Tim Burton brought the iconic dark mood into his movies, giving a modern twist to the idea of monsters and obscurity. The characters portrayed in his films had the obscure qualities that he saw in himself. In the films Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare before Christmas, Tim Burton utilized the cinematic element of symbolism to convey the reoccurring theme of individuality.
Stephen King believes that we are naturally attracted to the horror genre because we can identify with it to some degree and it is also considered a challenge by some to be able to withstand horror. I find it slightly unsettling that to some degree we are all insane according to King, however, I find this to be very believable.
A man starting from nothing with only the urge to write becoming so much more. The King of Horror is a member of many guilds, writer of some of the best horror novels, and has even made a couple movies. Although, with a current net worth of 400 million dollars, Stephen King was not always the King of Horror.
On August 25, 1958, Timothy Walter Burton was born (“Biography”). Burton had a painful childhood in which the relationship with his parents and brother was nonexistent (Morgenstern). Through his intense feeling of isolation, his visual talent began to develop. The comfort found in hobbies such as writing and drawing led him to attend the California Institute of the Arts which led him to his first job in any artistic field at the Disney Animation Studios (“Biography”). Burton has since been referred to as one of the most visually gifted writers, artists, and filmmakers that America has seen (Hanke). His short stories, poems, and film scripts are centered on an inner darkness which he has been slowly acquiring since his childhood. He throws himself into everything he writes and makes even the simplest characters have a deep, complex meaning. His famous darkness and symbolism is shown in his book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories. The book contains a collection of his short stories, poems, and illustrations about a variety of fictional characters that can be compared to Burton and his life. Tim Burton’s home life and previous hardships have made a significant impact on his work. In my paper, I will draw parallels to his life and work as well as prove that there is reasoning and beauty in the way he is.
A girl runs frantically through the woods trying to escape an axe wielding villain. The defenseless victim suddenly trips and collapses to the ground. The villain laughs wickedly as he lifts the axe above his head. The girl releases a final scream as the weapon quickly ends her life, causing the audience to go silent as they watch the villain drag away the lifeless body. Death, blood, guts, suspense, screaming, and terror are all just a few things to expect when watching a modern day horror film. What is horror? Horror can be defined as an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. (Wilson) The description of horror is not very pleasant, but for some reason horror films are extremely popular. Why is this so? People are addicted to the synthetic feeling of being terrified.
We crave horror movies simply for “the fun of it” in agreeing with Stephen King Why We Crave Horror movies. King gave multiple examples in his story as to why we crave horror movies and I can agree with just about each and every one of them. After watching a few horror movies for yourself, you will understand why it is easy to agree with King. If you have watched movies such as the 2004 movie Dawn of the Dead, The Purge, or The Conjuring you will also be able to relate to Chuck Klosterman My Zombie, Myself “Zombies are just so easy to kill.” Klostermans theory of zombies are extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult yet exciting problem of zombies in the real world. Klosterman’s argument that the repetition of modern life is
Hollywood has been using the genre Horror for centuries to scare and frighten the audience. Horror is by far the most popular genre due to the fact that it provides a descent thrill and gives the audience a rush so this make this a popular genre for teenagers a young adults. In my essay I will be exploring and researching into the genre Horror and also all the sub genres such as Drama horror, Slasher, Comedy horror etc. This will hopefully give you all insight into the genre and all its sub genres.
Genre denotes a systematic way to categorize literature. The term might be considered academic jargon; however, it produces up a set of expectations that allow us to judge literature. These expectations or criteria also allow us to compare with other literature in the same as well as different genres. In spite of these expectations, genre does not dictate a set of rigid rules; in fact, genre is more descriptive than prescriptive.
This essay will be examining the genre of Horror, its conventions and origins. A dark genre that aims to unsettle. Wholly unique in the aspect that traditionally film often attempts to lull the audience into a comfortable sense of detachment. A voyeuristic element of disconnect from the screen, yet Horror's appeal is it's aim to immerse. Mise en scéne, the use of lighting and sound all common film techniques. Used to play upon the audience's most basic instinct, fear.