The career of Tim Burton has spanned over the last 34 years and still continues today. He has developed a fair amount of films that fall under a range of genres that have been perceived well by his audience. However, all his work seems to contain common themes and aspects, that are clearly of interest to him. Films such as Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet street (2007) have been used to explore special concerns about outcasts and the power of your true identity.
Burton has used aspects that are recognisable by the audience, for example, colour palette and characterisation to consistently explore these thematic concerns throughout the films. Tim Burton can be considered an auteur due to his use of a unique gothic style that is consistently seen in his films, despite the genre. He does this through including unusual looking characters, perhaps like himself, and a gothic setting complete with a dark colour palette that is contrasted with bright colours. However through Burton portraying an almost unrealistic society to his audience, he is engaging with them.
This is because it causes him to draw the audience in so he can communicate his concerns, that are relevant to the viewer’s life. However the fact that is not so clear cut means the audience is forced to think deeper in order to obtain his concerns and, therefore, his films have more of an impact on the audience. This is why he is such a successful director and auteur. Colour palette is the recurring colours and shades that a director has included in their work in order to help set a mood or show an emotion.
In Edward, Scissorhands Burton has used a colour palette that consists of bright pastel colours that juxtaposition against the dark grey and black colours that he has also included. He does this in order to show his concerns about outcasts in an interesting way that ensures the audience understands. This is seen in the sequence between 08:20 and 14:20 when Peg Boggs visits Edward’s mansion. The director has utilised a medium close-up shot that allows the audience to see two settings in the same screen, as seen below.
The viewer sees Pegs arm reaching out the car door to adjust the side mirror and in doing so she reveals the dark grey mansion that is behind her. However the viewer can also see the bright pastel coloured houses, with blue skies, and green grass that is outside of the car and in the town Peg lives in. The director has used juxtapositioning of colours to set the scene of how different the two characters are and, therefore, builds the suspense of what will happen when they meet, as the dark colours set a horrific mood but the pastel set a more cheerful mood.
The use of the pastel colours is also exaggerating an idea of a fake suburbia where every house is the same and the people who live there all have a strong sense of community, This too builds suspense for the audience of what is going to happen when they meet whoever lives in the gothic mansion that they have seen previously, as the shot of the mansion through the car mirror, shows that it doesn’t fit the perfect town that Peg lives in.
Further on in this sequence, when Peg enters the gates of the gothic style mansion, an establishing shot allows the audience to see the surroundings of the house Edward lives in. The viewer notices that the gardens are in an immaculate condition, with bright green grass and tree sculptures that stand out against the dark house. This begins to change the viewer’s opinion of what they expect the person who lives in the house to be like, as the bright green is not a colour that sets a horrific mood like grey.
It also reflects the green of the grass that is present in the town at the start of the sequence. Finally, at the end of the sequence, Edward emerges from the shadows at the end of this sequence and rays of light are surrounding him so the audience can see that he looks vulnerable and like a lost child. Thus, the colour palette shows the audience that Edward is trying and wants to fit into the town even though he has been outcasted. However the fact that he is so to different from the people in the pristine suburban town shows that his transition to an outcast again is to be expected.
This does happen as at the end of the film as he is returned to the dark gothic mansion with the dark colour palette. Therefore, colour palette has been used to show the audience concerns about outcasts, as even though this sequence shows an exaggerated situation of someone being an outcast with help from the chosen colour palette, the audience is positioned in a place where they can relate to the characters. This is because in the viewer’s world there is likely to be the presence of an outcast, whether the are the outcast themselves, like Edward, or part of a group that outcasts people, like Peg.
Either way the viewer is understanding what it is like to be an outcast and, therefore, reconsiders the way they treat they treat themselves or the people around them. The ability Burton has to make the viewer think about their own lives through the use of colour palette, is a signature part of his style as a director because the colour palette makes this film include his unique gothic theme, but yet he is still able to show the concerns he has for outcasts and, therefore, make his concerns the audiences as well.
Burton has also shown the viewer his concerns about outcast through the film, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, by using a colour palette that shows emotion rather than creating a symbolic setting like Edward Scissorhands. During the sequence between 06:00 and 8:20 there is a flashback to his life before he was banished, where Mr Todd is singing, a barber and his wife. The sequence consists of a tracking shot that moves a series of close up which allows the audience to see the surroundings of Sweeney Todd, who at the time recognises himself as benjamin baker.
The colours the director has included in this sequence are bright yellows, purples pinks and greens and environment the has a gold sheen to add to the positive and happy emotion of Benjamin. However when Judge Turpin is introduced in the film, the gold sheen is replaced by a dark black filter that makes the colours look dull. This changes the mood of the film for the viewer which stresses to them how Benjamin was made an outcast by the people around him and in doing so he has become an evil man who slits the throats of people out of revenge.
There is then a cutaway shot which takes the viewer back to Sweeney Todd’s reality where the environment consists of dark grey colours, to show his sad and angry emotions. The director’s use of colour palette to show concerns about outcasts is also seen in the last 3 minutes of the film. There is a series of close-up shots that allow the audience to see Mr Todd covered in blood and his wife whom he thought had been dead for years until now, covered in blood too.
Through the camera panning around the rest of the bakehouse, the audience sees that the red from the blood is the only colour in the room, as the surroundings are pitch black. He then takes revenge on Mrs Lovett by murdering her. There is then a close up of Sweeney Todd leaning over his dead wife, with blood splatters on his face and clothing. The camera then cuts to Tobias approaching Tobias from behind and as this happens Mr Todd lifts his head up to expose his neck as if he knows that Tobias is going to slit his throat as if he wants to die.
Tobias then slits his throat and a gush of red blood falls onto his wife. This is exaggerated by the fact that the red colour stands out from the dark background that is around them. Therefore the fact that a scene at the start of the film lets the viewer see the unhappiness of Mr Todd because he has been outcast, by the contrast of bright colours and dark colours, before and after he was banished. At the end of the film however, we see dark colours contrasted with a bright red colour that represents death and danger.
This sequence is showing how an outcast reacts when he realises that he is responsible for the fact that he has become a murder and, therefore, an outcast. This is slightly different to Edward Scissorhands, as Edward realises that he cannot stay in the Suburbia as he has been outcasted so he continues to live in his mansion. However because Mr Todd is responsible for the fact that he is an outcast, because he decided to change his personality and get revenge, he dies.
They both, however, show that they can not be anything but an outcast in the particular society that they are in. Therefore, like he did in Edward Scissorhands, Burton is portraying his concerns for outcasts by showing and exaggerated society through the use of colour, and then showing that the character cannot fit in. Characterisation looks at the costuming, actions and attributes of a character. In particular, in Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton has utilised costuming and the actions of the character Edward to explore the idea of the power of your true identity has.
This relates to the previous discussion on Burton showing special concerns about outcasts through his use of colour palette, as outcasts often change their identity to fit in. However through the characterisation of Edward burton is telling the viewer that you don’t need to change who you are, as are who you are and that okay. This is seen at the end of the selected sequence, as a long shot allows the audience to see the black leather suit with a number of buckles that Edward is wearing. His costume is peculiar and has similarities to a straight jacket, but practically it is suitable for him.
Meaning that thick heavy fabric will stop him from cutting himself with his scissor hands. The audience also sees how Edwards costume is part of him later on in the film when Peg takes Edward home and tries to dress him in a normal white shirt and grey pants. He is unable to take his leather suit off and has to put the normal clothes over top. This is because it is part of him and the director is trying to say to the audience that the character, although trying to fit into a new environment, he is remaining true to himself to keep his true identity at his core.
This is also seen through his actions, because despite the fact that Edward was actually a vulnerable character who wanted to be loved, as seen through his dialogue, “wait, don’t go” during the sequence, Edward ends up back where he started, alone and isolated in his mansion. Therefore, characterisation has been used to show the audience the importance of remaining true to yourself and not changing who you are, as Burton is saying it is okay to be yourself.
This has an impact on the audience as it is easy for them to relate to because acceptance of one’s own identity is a common issue. It is likely that many of the viewers find themselves thinking that they are not like everyone else and, therefore, need to change who they are are. However through Burton including a character with scissors for hands but yet using characterization to show that it is okay for him to have scissor as hands, is demonstrating an extreme circumstance of where someone is different to the people around him but is still happy in his own skin.
Burton has used his talents to position the viewer in a place where they feel comfortable about who they are as a person rather than respond to the character in the film. Therefore, this is a signature of Burton’s style because although he has included a peculiar character he is still able to take the viewer beyond the film Like the way Burton portrayed the idea of staying true to yourself in Edward Scissorhands through showing a character who does not change who is to fit in, Burton has portrayed the idea of staying true to yourself by including a character that realises who he really is when it is too late.
Burton has also used characterisation to explore his thematic concerns regarding the power of your true identity in Sweeney Todd. This is because the emotions and the actions of the character change as the film goes on. At the start of the film during the flashback we see him as a loving and compassionate man through his interactions with his daughter however out of the flashback, we see Mr Todd as a character who is revenge and is holding a grudge about the past through his murderous actions.
The last scene of the film, however, shows Sweeney Todd crying over his dead wife with tears in his eyes and expressions of regret. This shows how Burton is trying to portray to the audience that it is okay to be who you are because he is remaining true to himself and realising that he is not the murderous Sweeney Todd that he has become to be, but actually, the loving Benjamin Baker that he used to be.
Therefore, characterisation has been used by Burton in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, to show the importance of staying true to yourself, by showing a character hat has changed who they are to get revenge, at is only when he is about to die that he realises that he is not the man he has become. In conclusion, Tim Burton is a talented director due to his ability to teach the audience important messages through filmatic aspects that are interesting and entertaining for the viewer. It obvious that through his films Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, that he is an auteur because of his use colour palette and characterisation to show concerns about outcasts and the importance of remaining true to yourself.
These two ideas can relate to each other as many outcasts change who they are, do not remain true to themselves, in order to fit into the society around them more. Therefore, it is obvious that Burton has true compassion for human beings who do not feel comfortable being themselves and self-respect is an important subject for him as a human and specifically as a director. Looking at the fact that these films were made 17 years apart but yet they still include the same thematic concerns, shows that Burton is dedicated to and has a passion for disclosing these messages to his audience.