Reisz Big Fish

Edward Bloom

            I particularly enjoyed the juxtaposition between the sunny Edward Bloom and the somewhat darker character inhabiting Big Fish. The commonalities that the characters Edward Bloom ran into was that they were all rather misunderstood. Most people run away in disgust or ignorant fear; however, Bloom is not afraid (after all he knows how he is going to die) and takes the time to get to know the darker creatures. For example, the young boys run from the scary looking witch but Bloom stays and talks to her. Another example would be the giant who seems frightening at first but is simply a kind and misunderstood creature. Edward Bloom is such a sunny character because of his wide-eyed optimism towards life and people. He says during the werewolf scene that, “most things that you consider evil or wicked are simply lonely” (1:06:45). This understanding for outcasts and those who are misunderstood merges any creature with Bloom despite any personality differences. Edward himself likes them because they are so much greater than life, like him. He also has a compassionate heart that enjoys helping those in need. Bloom displays this by helping the giant find a home and saving Spectre free of charge.

However, a good heart is not enough to link together Bloom with such dark creatures. Another important factor is Edward Bloom’s grander-than-life personality. One would expect no ordinary creature in his fantasies. This personality matches directly with Burton’s real-life father who Burton has said was, “a real fairy-tale character.” Although Bloom is an average man, he was a great fairy-tale character through his fantasies and in his mind’s eye. I think that Burton took on Big Fish as a sort of homage to his father. Burton always loves tying in his personal life and emotions into his work, which I think can clearly be seen by the final mutual understanding between father and son. Perhaps Burton wished that he had the opportunity to reach this mutual understanding with his own father before he passed. Burton’s love for his father combined with his admiration for the strange and unusual, like Edward Bloom’s fantasies, can be seen through his work in the heart-wrenching film Big Fish.

Tim Burton Quote on Big Fish

Reisz Ed Wood

Ed Wood Film Poster

While discussing Tim Burton’s Ed Wood in class, I fully supported its peculiar humor and heartwarming relationship between Bela Lugosi and Ed Wood; however, after reading Kathi Maoi’s movie review, I believe that Burton could have been more realistic for his viewers. While I was entertained and drawn in by the bizarrities and general plot, the naivity of Ed Wood did bother me at times. He never truly undergoes any great change. He begins with these starry eyes of becoming the greatest director, producer, and actor combo that the world has ever seen. He also ends this way. Burton never reveals too many great struggles. Ed Wood searches both for film investors and for acceptance of his cross-dressing throughout the film. I think that the struggles Ed faced while dressing in women’s clothing was well represented to Wood’s biographical life struggles; however, the film fell short in representing his financial struggles. As Maoi said,  “Johnny Depp is marvelous… my only complaint is that the writers did not allow him to express any of the self-doubt and desperation Mr. Wood must have felt [when he wasn’t publicly putting the most positive spin on his dubious film career].” I do agree that writers could have focused on this segment of Wood’s life struggles more, but at the same time I believe that Burton did a magnificent job as usual at creating an emotional bond for his audience with the characters. 

Another homage that Burton executed nicely was incorporating scenes directly from Wood’s films, like Plan 9 from Outer Space, throughout the film. This directorial choice added to the realism in Wood’s films and I also think he chose to do this because of the common theme between many of the films. While Burton definitely related to Wood’s biographical life as an odd film director, I think that some of the themes that Wood attempted to portray really appealed to Burton. In Plan 9 from Outer Space, the aliens say that humans are juvenile and really do not use their brains. They proceed to explain how this will be the downfall to the entire universe. I think Burton really enjoys revealing humanity’s flaws as well. Burton takes this similar concept and applies how people treat other people (like with most people surrounding Ed Wood before he collects his equally bizarre cast or “freaks” as his ex-girlfriend refers to them as). Although I had never seen any of Ed Wood’s films before now, I still developed a relationship with the characters and thoroughly enjoyed the screenplay throughout Burton’s Ed Wood. Learning more about Ed Wood biographically only added to another of Burton’s entertaining and fascinating artworks. 

Reisz Batman Returns

Sketch of an Emotional Penguin

            Penguin and Batman share eerily similar problems of abandonment among other psychological problems; however, the conflict and large moral of the story is based on how the two similar characters react and deal with their troubles that really platform the movie. The most obvious similarity is the mutual abandonment from their parents, which ultimately affects who they become and the decisions that they make. However, the important difference here is that Batman’s parents were taken from him, leaving him an orphan, and Penguin was literally abandoned by his parents as child because of his differences. The mental impact on the two is actually similar as they act out of rage and vengeance, whether it is from the dark sewers or by the dark night sky. This is a pivotal point of conflict between the two characters. As Penguin acts out as a villain because of his abandonment and identity crisis, Batman avows to stop villains that murdered his parents to cope with the same issue. With this striking similarity and drastically different coping mechanism, the movie creates one of its vital messages: it is not what happens to you but how you handle it and what you allow to define you. Both Batman and Penguin embark on an identity quest in hopes to find something other than their abandonment to define them.

 However, because they struggle with the same issues a latent sense of compassion is embedded in their hateful battle, which ultimately rubs off on the audience. By creating so many similarities between the two characters, viewers try to skew the lines between good and evil. While we never doubt Batman really, he is not a chaste hero after the first film and continues killing others but justifies it, which does not make him a clear perfect hero. Penguin is inherently evil in his actions but viewers are easily pulled into his sob story of abandonment and make some excuses for his behavior. Sometimes the strange and dark are not as evil as they appear. Batman, for example, is cloaked in black just like the Penguin, which is usually associated with evil things. Yet, he is our “good guy.” Penguin does not hide his face, his deformity, or his childhood troubles despite being introverted like Batman, which usually builds trust with people. Again though, everything is not as clear-cut as it seems. Batman and Penguin’s similarities ultimately create a much more dynamic battle between the two that holds emotional substance to draw viewers in; however, their drastic reactions to events in their lives creates excellent commentary on human nature and how we chose to identify ourselves.