4.1 Tim Burton’s Gothic Fantasy: Representing the Victorian Culture through Animation and Parody Film adaptations based on particular works such as Dickens’s Great Expectations are not the only means through which we get a glimpse of Victorian culture and society. Animated films such as Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005) represent the Victorian era through humor and exaggeration and reveal Burton’s awareness of 19th century English society. In his study Gothic Fantasy: The Films of Tim Burton, Edwin Page argues that Burton’s films are not realistic in nature, but like fairy tales they communicate through symbolic imagery, as they speak of “things far deeper within our conscious and subconscious minds than most films would dare to delve” (7). His films are believed to be personal and reflect dark humor, as he combines elements of fairy tales, the gothic, parody and grotesque. Most importantly, Burton usually identifies himself with subordinate characters in horror films that exhibit grand melodramatic emotion and also finds himself “identifying with the monsters rather than the heroes, as the monsters tended to show passion whereas the leads were relatively emotionless” (13). The monsters in his films symbolize the outsider and the alienated, a figure that defies society and is almost always exaggerated in representation. Significant examples from his numerous films include Edward in Edward Scissorhands (1990), demonic Mrs. Lovett and the blood thirsty barber in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and the tragicomically grotesque jilted bride Emily in Corpse Bride (2005). The major issue that runs through the film that I am going to discuss in this chapter is that there are elements of the gothic, grotesque and me... ... middle of paper ... ...nt the Victorian jilted bride aim to subvert certain Victorian stereotypes and represent them through the postmodern view. My purpose in this chapter was to examine Emily as another Miss Havisham, because I believe that animated films are even more successful than adaptations, since they parody and subvert certain Victorian stereotypes in a subconscious level. Burton manages in Corpse Bride to reveal traditionally criticized issues about Victorian society and especially its attitude towards unmarried women. As it happens in Burton’s films, the social messages always reach the audience through witty songs, dark humor and fairy-tale elements. In contrast to the rest of the films discussed in my thesis, I believe that it is exactly this non-aggressive strategy of animation that helps us digest the film’s point about the fate of unmarried women in the Victorian period.
Not a single individual is able to watch a Burton film without noticing the lighting effects and how it significantly contributes to the tone and mood of the entire film. In the movie Edward Scissorhands, one might be overwhelmed with the burst of extravagant colors in the scenery. Indeed this cinematic technique, high key, wholly influences the viewers perception and impression of the town. One can conclude that even though flamboyancy pervades the town, iniquity lurks in all directions and hypocrisy governs the minds of its inhabitants. Irony is harnessed in this film. How can an effulgent town harbor wickedness and Edward with a chilling and gothic complexion radiate innocence and righteousness? Burton uses these opposing conceptions brought about by the contrast of lighting to convey the message that materialism has been ingrained in the mentality of society (at least in the neighborhood in which Burton lived in the past), thus yearning for th...
Morgan, J. The biology of horror: gothic literature and film. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.
In conclusion, by using the production elements of both allusion and symbolism; director Tim Burton has created the film in such a manner by making deliberate choices in order to invite a certain response. The film is constructed and given greater depth through the allusion to elements from other genres and ridicules the suburbia’s materialism and lack of imagination, which in turn enhances the invited response.
This essay explores the blurring of gender roles within Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Angela Carter’s The Lady of the House of Love, focusing on the presentation of a sexually assertive female and its threat to the patriarchal society, and the duality of the female characters as they are presented as enticing and thrilling, but also dangerous and somewhat repulsive.
Humphrey, Robert. "Ideals of the Victorian Woman as Depicted in ‘Dracula’." The Artifice. N.p., 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 6 May 2014. .
Tim Burton’s films depict his lashing back from a tortured childhood. Somehow, his movies tell his story. His first big budget movie, Batman, was a huge hit. He then chose to make Edward Scissorhands, his most personal film. Despite the fact that Batman was a hit, movie executives were reluctant to give Burton authorization. His use of cinematic techniques displays his unique style.
Edward Scissorhands, written by Tim Burton, tells the tale of a young man who is lovable, childlike and sensitive, bewildered by the humanity around him, yet is terrifying- someone who has scissors, the deadly weaponry, for hands. Many viewers may read this film as a “Tim Burton” type of fairytale which includes both an alternative aspect and romance. However, through the presentation of mise-en-scene in this film, Burton drives in a much more serious subject of social criticism by establishing two different understandings of life in the movie.
“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.
In Dracula, Bram Stoker portrays a clear battle between the “traditional woman” of the time and the “new woman.”. Stoker uses the contrasting characters of Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray to depict this evolution in women and, also, to paint an image of the reaction to this advance, expressed by both men and women.
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.
Tim Burton’s, “Corpse Bride” features many Gothic elements and is well known for its Gothic influence. Tim Burton has successfully used the gothic genre to explore central themes such as; marriage, life and death and the after-world.
Edward Scissorhands is a character loved by many for his kind and sweet personality along with his abnormalities. However, in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands, society does not. The community becomes crude and keeps distance from Edward after some certain events. It is seen as a common theme in Burton’s movies to see instances of atypical protagonist and ideal, yet judgmental settings show the idea that society is against those not normal.
While other kids read books like “Go Jane Go”, Vincent’s favorite author is Edgar Allen Poe - Vincent Malloy. Similar to his character, Vincent Malloy, Tim Burton was quite the unusual child; Burton viewed distinctive people such as Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Edgar Allen Poe, and Chris Lee as role models. As a film director, influences like these have molded some of his productions such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, and The Corpse Bride into masterpieces with mysterious settings which contain vibrant plots and characters. Moreover, in his films, Burton uses diegetic-sound and low-key lighting in order to convey a feeling of fear to his viewers and communicate the overall
Looking onto the novel, there is a perfect gothic look presented to us with its every aspect. Infact every single concept covered comes deep from mythology. It talks about blood and fire, death and love, good and bad, fantasy and magic. And the Count; who sometimes happens to be an atrocital monster, a romantic lover… No doubt, these make the novel even...
When first meeting Miss Havisham, the reader learns that she is not only cruel, but also driven to seek revenge on men. As the novel progresses the reader learns that her vengeance is due to her imprisonment by her past. Miss Havisham always wears a dirty, old, ragged bride’s dress and sits in a room in which the table is set for a feast with a dirty, old, ragged table-cloth. In addition, all of the clocks are stopped to commemorate the time on her wedding day when she received a letter from her fiancé “which she received… when she was dressing for her marriage? At twenty minutes to nine… at which she afterwards stopped all the clocks… [and] it most heartlessly broke the marriage off” (182). After Miss Havisham is deserted by her fiancé, she imprisons herself in her house, nev...