more racist than a Jackson facelift

Rating: 7/10 (4 June 2001)

Interpretation, Spoilers:
On the surface, this movie is a quaint suburban fairy tale; in actuality, it is laden with symbolic racist propaganda.
The fact that Edward is the only member of the scissorhands immediately gives him minority status. He lives in the run-down part of town which is basically taboo to visit - unless you're a desperate avon lady or a blood thirsty lynch mob. Saying the house is haunted is a euphemistic way of saying the ghetto is dangerous and not to be frequented. Likewise, the polarity between the unpleasant darkness of Edward and his abode with the unseemly brightness of both the town and town folk is further illustrated by Edward's dark attire - completely black from head to toe. Edward's skin is not black because that would be too honest for Mr. Burton. Instead, Ed's inferiority is hinted at in that his skin is seen as unpresentable and in need of drastic cosmetic refurbishment. Also, Ed is shown to be mentally unstable and manipulatable and even assumed to be a master criminal. In the end, Kim tells Ed that she loves him, but conveniently refuses to visit him for the remainder of her life although he lives just down the street: it is not acceptable for her to associate with the subspecies scissorhands. A modern lynch mod drives Edward out of town and back into his isolated, decrepit pit. Symbolically, they have "shown him his place." Understanding this, Ed remains alone for the rest of his days; but, we are visually assured, he is happy with his sculptures. Conclusion: not only is segregation desired, those oppressed by it also desire it. And, racial mixing is never to be tolerated.
However, and hopefully, this film could be interpretated as an anti-racism satire. Prejudice of Edward was overcome twice in the film. Those who met him were able to see past his unique body (his handicap!) and one other person stood up for him: unsurprisingly, the police officer - the only truly black character in the film. Thus, there is hope of transcending racial stereotyping, but the end-of-the-film renunciation by both Kim and Edward seem to tell against this more politically correct interpretation.

Either way, this movie is watchable if simply to help demonstrate our still backwards racial morality.