Tim Burton's Gothic Imagination

Discussion questions
• Tim Burton has a perennial fascination with the idea of what makes someone
human, and this is the central theme of Edward Scissorhands.
o In what ways is Edward more human than the people he encounters?
o Which characters in Edward Scissorhands are the most destructive and
monstrous?
• Not only is Edward the unique product of his scientist creator’s vision and
imagination, he also benefits from the love and care lavished on him by this
surrogate father.
o How do we know they have a special relationship?
o Why are Edward’s memories so important?
o In what ways does Edward carry with him the creativity and vision that
led to his existence?
• A fascination with the duality of existence is an essential element of the Gothic
imagination.
o How is this expressed in Edward Scissorhands?
o Think about this idea in terms of the opening where Peg makes the
journey between the world of the town and Edward’s castle. What does
each of these places represent?
o How is the theme of duality explored in the relationship between Edward
and Kim?
• In both Edward Scissorhands and Frankenweenie, Burton reprises the mob scene
from James Whales’ Frankenstein.
o Why is this scene such a powerful part of Burton’s cultural memory?
o In what ways might a mob be considered monstrous?
• Discuss this quote with reference to Edward Scissorhands:
Monsters are our children. They can be pushed to the farthest margins of geography
and discourse, hidden away at the edges of the world and in the forbidden recesses of
our mind, but they always return….These monsters ask us how we perceive the world,
and how we have misrepresented what we have attempted to place. They ask us to
reevaluate our cultural assumptions about race, gender, sexuality, our perception of
difference, our tolerance towards its expression. They ask us why we created them.—
J.J. Cohen 36
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