"Edward Scissorhands"- Background for Oral Part 1: Historical and Sociocultural Context

Institutional factors as a production of Tim Burton that may be important are that Burton is known for creating dark characters, which creates the look of Edward and where he lives.

The film's significance as a document of its time is that in the 1980s people started supporting gay rights and AIDS was first discovered in the early 1980s. This relates to the film because Edward was seen as an outsider at first, but people started to accept him as being different, like how gay people were rejected, but people started accepting them as equals. Also, he has a deformity that leads him to disaster when he hurts Kevin and kills Jim, much like how AIDS destroyed its victims.

The film's historical significance as a part of history of film is that Edward is, as Entertainment Weekly put it, "Pinocchio with Freddy Krueger's hands" with his inventor (Vincent Price) as "Gepetto." Edward can be taken form many different characters because, despite being artificial, he is as gentle and curious as a little boy. However, he has the potential of the well-known villain Freddy, which many people (e.g. Jim) indirectly associate him with despite his Pinnochio-like personality. It also relates strongly to the established scary castles in old horror films. It fits in with Edward's past, but is ironic when we discover what Edward is really like. Nevertheless, the sight of the scary castle brings up memories of old villains like Dracula. Also, there is the '60s style "pastel" neighborhood that can be incorporated into its place in film history because the 60s was known as a "cultural revolution" (Wikipedia). It demonstrates the "revolution" Edward experiences as he moves from his "gothic" (EW) castle to the bright, colorful neighborhood.

America was still undergoing sociocultural changes in 1990 with the supporting of gay rights and their incorporation into society. For example, on October 27, 1990, Congress repealed a law prohibiting gays form being admitted into the US (Wikipedia). This relates to Edward because he remained an outcast for who knows how long, but Peg "admits" him into her home despite his differences.

The cultural aspect of this film can be summed up as being lively and colorful. This pertains to the socio-cultural context because Edward is the one person who has to try especially hard to become one with society and the colorful culture, like how gay people had trouble integrating into society and joining its culture. Becoming one with a colorful culture is especially difficult given Edward's potential dangerousness and his scarred, pale appearance, like how gay people had a secret that some people wouldn't accept.

Burton got the idea for the film from his childhood in suburban Burbank (Wikipedia). This specific part of society is full of middle-class/high-class folks. Perhaps Burton's past can relate to Edward because he felt like an outcast. Burton revealed that his parents bricked up his windows as a child, so he had only a slit to look through (femalefirst). According to "The Independent: UK" parent spent 3 times less as much time with their children in the 1970s (Burton's preteens/teens), so this would make children very lonely if they had no friends, like Edward before he finds Peg. This further relates to a specific part of society in 1990 because Edward never learned to go outside and make friends since his father figure was absent.

The film's sociocultural context as a work made for a specific audience is that there are so many people who are never noticed because they have no friends or are too shy to integrate into a gossip-filled and loud culture. This film would connect to them since Edward goes through the same situation, but he begins to find a place for himself as he becomes less shy. It may also be for those who are well-integrated into society because then they can see and recognize the other side of the story.

The sociocultural context as a work made for a specific reason is that there are always those living outside of the mainstream culture and as an average member of society, such as gay people who are just beginning to get used to integrating with everyone else. The reason it was made was to demonstrate that there is beauty in the most unexpected people, and it represents the context that some people begin to stop judging them, and at least get to know them first.