 |
| Edward and Carl
Tim Burton
merges the sunny character of Edward Bloom with the darker grotesque characters
of the film by using humor. When Edward meets Carl, the giant, the first thing
Ed says to the giant is that he is here, before the giant, as a human
sacrifice. This is obviously a joke and brings humor to the fact that Ed is
standing in front of someone that could crush him if he wanted to. But instead
of eating him, Ed tells the giant that he is just too big for this small town
and convinces him to go in search for bigger and better things. Edward likes
these darker grotesque characters like Carl because they, like Edward, need
something more from life. On their search of bigger things, Ed and Carl come
across a circus, which brings Ed to another unusual character, the circus
owner, Amos Calloway, who happens to be a werewolf. As Ed stands before the
werewolf that could eat him any minute, Ed picks up a stick and throws it into
the forest, causing the werewolf to go chasing after it like a house dog. This
aspect of humor again brings light to this dark scene. Amos Calloway sees Ed as
a hard-working man and respects that about him. Ed views Amos Calloway as a
man-to-his-word which he also respects about him. People are drawn to people
with similar aspects of their life, which Burton shows in Big Fish. Edward is
on a search for his life, which brings him on the same path as the giant and
the werewolf. The giant is always too big for everything, until he finds the
circus, where he fits in perfectly. The werewolf just needs someone to play
with, which Edward provides when he plays fetch with him. Everyone is one the
search for something, which they may not know until they find it. Edward is on
the search for love, he realizes this when he sees his wife for the first time.
He did not know he was on the search for love until he saw her. After that, he
did everything he could just to get closer and closer to her, including
shoveling elephant poop.
|
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Dupuis: Big Fish
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I like how you mentioned whenever Edward is in a dark situation, he somehow manages to bring light to it. He is a very positive and lovable person, and he makes the outsiders feel welcomed. That is a very special gift, which is why all the outsiders naturally gravitate towards Edward and his wonderful personality.
ReplyDeleteI also liked how you said that Edward made the outsiders find their place. Like you said, Karl was a misunderstood giant in a small town, until Edward coerced him into expanding his horizons into the big city. Edward’s charisma is contagious, and pulls the shy, timid Karl out of his shell to take a chance and try something new. This also shows how Edward can relate with anyone. Many people would look at the giant and turn away in disgust, but Edward enjoys talking with anyone (which ties back into the fact that he makes the outsiders feel welcome and appreciated).
Katie Carey
I also picked the giant scene and the circus setting to compare the sunny Edward to the socially grotesque people, and although I also talked about Edward helping people discover their place in life, I did not even think about humor. Humor obviously plays a large part in this movie, but it is also a genre that Burton likes to play into his movies almost as much as the gothic genre. I think that without this humor, the outsiders would still have been seen as outsiders. Without Karl humorously dismissing Edward Bloom’s request to be eaten, the audience would still see Karl as a monster with the potential to attack at any moment. The same goes for Amos Calloway. Without Calloway running into the forest after the stick, the audience would see him as a monster not to be trusted. In this way, the aspect of humor does play a large role in the trust between characters, and their destinies due to it.
ReplyDelete-Allison Davis
I agree, Amy, and I feel like humor is the one thing that can make a heavy situation just a little bit lighter. I think that one of the funnier sequences of the movie is the part of the circus owner’s (Amos Calloway) telling Edward one fact a month about his love. He says such mundane facts about her such as “She likes music!” And the sequence is only enhanced by Edward’s reaction to these facts, like when he reminisces about her and says, “She likes music! Wow!” The audience can only chuckle and give out a collective “Duh, everyone likes music.”
ReplyDeleteHumor most definitely has its place in this movie. I think that without it, the movie would not be any darker, but it would sure be a lot less entertaining. The entire movie would be rather boring and Edward’s stories would not be nearly as fun. I wonder how Burton applies humor to his own somewhat turbulent life.
Charles Elkins
I agree that the use of humor in "Big Fish" is important for viewers to understand Edward Bloom and bring light to the dark grotesque characters that surround him. The character of Edward Bloom is humorous through his stories and unique way of handling things. However, beyond the humor throughout the film, I think that the fact Bloom takes other characters seriously and respects them makes the other characters appreciate him. While some would fear the giant or witch, he creates a friendship with those who are misunderstood. The balance of humor and understanding in Edward is what makes him such a likeable character. This combination is probably something that Burton admired in his own father. Burton carried the same fascination and love for the strange and unusual as Bloom. Burton’s father carried the same odd humor that Bloom had as well.
ReplyDelete-Leanne Reisz