One of the major themes of Edward Scissorhands is conformity, which is defined as “behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards”. Have there been times in your life when you went along with the traditional ways of doing things? Have there been times when you did something unconventional? Write about those experiences and what you learned from them. Feel free to be serious and funny. Please write a minimum of 4 sentences.

Conformity is the behaviour of correspondence with form, nature, or standards; when all are congruous and similar, they are conformed. In the film Edward Scissorhands, the community in which main character Edward is introduced into, is one that has much conformity; the houses are alike and the people have much resemblance. However, Edward does not follow the same nature as the people in the community. Director Tim Burton shows that despite many attempts, Edwards positive and negative differences cannot overcome that conformity is unfavourable when two differing societies try to mix.

In Edward Scissorhands, conformity is a main theme throughout the entire movie, which is mainly shown through the community and the characters that live within it. Many things throughout the movie show how they conform. For example, there houses are all one solid colour and all have the same shape, the characters are all dressed the same and all act very similarly. Film director Tim Burton uses many techniques to display these resemblances, like many aerial shots of the houses and multiple close ups of the characters. When Edward is introduced to the community, he is immediately looked upon as an outsider who does not follow the communities nature, which is true. Edward has never been in this town, and looks nothing alike to the people. Most importantly, Edward is different because of his hands that are made out of scissors. This doesn’t only make him an outcast, but it makes him very dangerous to the people, and surprisingly special. Edward cuts the townspeople’s hedges, gives their dogs haircuts, and even gives them haircuts, which makes him very popular within the community. Edward’s complexion is also very unfamiliar, as he has wild hair, pale skin, and scars that mark his face. These differences were displayed over the course of the film, using many close-ups and different camera angles. Both of Edward’s positive and negative differences show how he does not conform with the community, however this doesn’t stop him and his friends from attempting to make him indistinguishable.