Tim Burton: The Monster and the Crowd - A Post-Jungian Perspective

Introduction 5
No, Burton does not aim at this level of theoretical and conceptual complexity,
and does not combine the cinematic means of expression in
unexpected, groundbreaking ways, to achieve it.
And this is, perhaps, for the best. In fact, experimental tracking shots,
lions, horses, clever camera angles and avant-garde points of view would
not be suitable for his creative purposes. Growing up inspired by the style
of Dr Seuss (`the rhythm of his stuff spoke to me very clearly', Salisbury,
2006: 19), avidly watching Ray Harryhausen's work and devouring horror
B-movies from around the world, Tim Burton developed a unique personal
style whose essence can be described as `grand effect by simple means' (of
course, one can also call it popular). He remains ®rmly democratic in his
use and combination of cinematic devices. In many of his ®lms he tells a
fairly simple story, which, thanks to its straightforward sequentiality and
uncluttered symbolism, is immediately accessible for the spectator regardless
of his or her age or background. A Burton story is traditionally illustrated
with beautiful pictures which are far more eloquent than any words
can be. Films like Edward Scissorhands or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
have at their core the childlike naivety, pain and anger aimed at the
insensitive crowd of adults who have long ceased to see the world in fresh
colours. Despite being clear, his message is emotionally deep. To render the
suffering and confusion of his immature protagonists, Burton cannot use
the elaborate sequential and combinatorial devices that are traditionally
employed to show the complexity, multiplicity and unpredictability of the
adult world ± intricate montage, `philosophical' long takes with a series of
complex compositions, freeze frames, rhythmic punctuation, logical discrepancies
between picture and sound, clashes between the extradiegetic
and intradiegetic planes, etc. Any `grown-up' instruments would only
obscure the message, and the purity of youthful vision would be lost.
Instead, Burton chooses to create an impact using different methods. At
stake are not sequential editing or the position and movement of the camera
but the quality and detailedness of the picture and its emotional correlation
with music. In this sense, he is far less `cinematic' than many directors.
Burton is more of a `mise-en-sceÁne director' who has always been praised for
his extraordinary visual sense. His grand imagery seems to be slapped onto
narrative canvases like blobs of dark matter, like some unexplainable and
invincible forces, which effectively belittle both protagonists and
antagonists. Burton's marvellous, powerful visuals are not organised into
perfect arrangements. How the shots work as a sequence (either `classic' or
`avant-garde') has never been of much importance in his ®lms. In cinesemiotic
terms, he is not as interested in the higher structural (syntagmatic)
level as, for instance, such an extreme `syntagmatic' director as Alfred
Hitchcock. Most of Burton's directorial effort is put into single frames
(morphemes); shots at most (words) ± but not `cleverly constructed'
sequences (sentences, paragraphs, chapters). Experimental montage and
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