The Stereotypes in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands: Part Two
The Bumbling Dad
The previous article explored the stereotypes, tropes and cliches: The Desperate Housewife, Snow Means Love, Happily Ever After, and The Outsider. What I discovered by analysing Edward Scissorhands, was that Tim Burton was subverting stereotypes; creatively manipulating them to make them original. For this article, I am going to analyse one other important trope in Edward Scissorhands that Burton did not subvert.
The Bumbling Dad. We have seen him before. Recognise these dads?
They are all examples of the Bumbling Dad trope. They mean well, but the advice they give to their children is often terrible; they are poor listeners, they are absent minded, and always provide comedic relief. But all these dads were created after Edward Scissorhands was written. So was the Bumbling Dad a trope when Tim Burton made his film? The answer is a definite yes. One just has to google search ‘80s sitcoms’ to see numerous examples of bumbling dads. And it goes back further through literary history… I am off topic already. The important question I want to ask here is: why? Why did Tim Burton represent the character Bill as a bumbling dad?
Bill plays an important role in Edward’s story. If Bill was attentive and thoughtful, he would have been aware of the dangers enclosing in on Edward and he would have done more to protect and help him. The stereotypical representation of the Bumbling Dad provides the space for Edward’s demise and ruin. It also adds humour to the film which increases audience empathy. The bumbling Bill adds further tension because, as the audience, we see the potential for danger, which increases our compassion for the innocent Edward, who is looking for a new father figure after the death of the inventor; and Edward's loss of Bill then adds to the tragedy of the film.
The reason Tim Burton did not subvert the Bumbling Dad trope (Bill), along with the Desperate Housewife stereotype (Joyce), and the Jerk Jock stereotype (Jim), is because they support the themes of conformity and innocence lost. What Burton has created in Edward is a unique character, fallen into ruin because of the stereotypical; the mundane; the boring; the unoriginal. Tim Burton is making a strong statement against these types of people. My previous article explained that Edward Scissorhands was a satirical statement on suburban life, held up not just to ridicule by Burton, but to exhibit it as a place of stagnation, unoriginality, creative decay, removal of creativity, and the ultimate absence of creativity and originality.
Written by Scott Barnard