Comparative Film Essay on Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish

A character's behaviour or personality will often affect the audiences' and other characters' perception on them; this was demonstrated in the two films Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish, both directed by Tim Burton, which had a common connection as the main characters were made for the audience to feel sympathetic towards them. The two characters, Edward Scissorhands from Edward Scissorhands and Edward Bloom from Big Fish, were introduced to the audience early in the film. They both stood out from everyone else around them and at the same time made the audience feel compassionate for them. Tim Burton has demonstrated this not only through the actions and emotions executed by the characters, but also through visual film techniques that were used throughout the two films such as camera shots and mise-en-scene.

One visual technique, camera shots, was used to introduce the main characters to the audience and also allow them to form an opinion about the two Edwards. In Edward Scissorhands, Edward's physical appearance was not shown to the audience until his encounter with Peg Boggs. Instead, his personality was revealed to the audience through different camera shots. For example, an over the shoulder shot was used to put the audience in Edward's perspective as he looked out the window to the town below. This brings in the theme of isolation and longing to be accepted by people. Looking out a window usually suggests that one is caught in a trap and wants to get out, in Edward's case, he wanted to meet the Boggs family again, but he is forbidden to do so because he is not accepted by the other town citizens. At this point, Edward is still unfamiliar to the audience; however, the audience can make the assumption that Edward is very lonely through the window shot. The over the shoulder shot also makes an emotional effect on the audience because it puts the viewer in Edward's position, allowing them to experience the emotions that Edward is going through, such as the feelings of desperation and isolation, but also hope that Edward may see the Boggs again. Similarly, in Big Fish, Edward Bloom was not directly shown to the audience until Will's wedding. His face was not seen in the shots but rather his body language. Through this, the audience will get indications on what kind of person he is instead of his physical appearance. For instance, the montage consisted of close up shots that focused on Edward's hand and body gestures as he told the story of catching an uncatchable fish. This emphasizes his personality as a charismatic speaker and his role as a storyteller. This connects with the theme of storytelling as our attention is drawn to his matching gestures to the story being told, just like how a storyteller would use his body to highlight any exciting parts of the story. The montage of shots showed that he was telling the same story on multiple occasions; this shows the audience that the uncatchable fish story means a lot to Edward and gives the audience the impression that Edward is passionate about telling his life stories and lessons to other people. The two films both introduced the main characters through illustrating their behaviour and actions instead of their physical appearance using various camera shots such as close up and over the shoulder shots. For me, Edward Scissorhands was introduced to me more effectively. This is because of the use of the over the shoulder shot; it had put me in the perspective of a person looking out a window and longing to see others, this helped me understand Edward as a lonely and isolated individual. Therefore, camera