Lennox Sweeny Todd

Sweeny and Eleanor

In Sweeny Todd, Todd and Mrs. Lovett are at the bottom of the food chain. They have no say, no power, no anything. Sweeny Todd wants revenge for the years he had been locked away and his lovely wife and daughter taken from him. Mrs. Lovett wants money and Todd. They agree to help each other get the power they desire. Todd begins to murder the poor nobodies of London and Mrs. Lovett begins to grind down their bodies and use the meat for her meat pies which are consumed by everyone of London. Mrs. Lovett uses the little people to get themselves to the top.  

 

It's a dog eat dog world out there, and Mrs. Lovett takes advantage of it. She doesn't have a care in the world as she grinds up the corpses. She feeds it to people as if she is doing nothing wrong. It's how she is getting by. It is not until the end do we realize how selfish she really is. We see that she knows that Todd's wife is still alive, but she wants the man and the property all to herself. She lets Todd kill his own wife in cold blood. Mrs. Lovett did what anyone with the right opportunity would do. 

 

Sweeny Todd was unjustly put in prison for something that he did not do. He is angry and bitter when he gets back to London, but deep down, he wishes to come home to a wife and child. When Mrs. Lovett tells him the story, all Todd wants more than anything is revenge. The men with power chewed him up and spit him out to get what they wanted, and Todd delightfully returned the favor. While he can't get to the judge, he takes the lives of innocent men in cold blood.

 

Mrs. Lovett and Sweeny Todd were looked down upon, they were filled with jealousy and hatred that only mend with depriving others so that they may gain. Man devouring man. It happens every day, everywhere. We see at the end of the film, those stepped on others to get where they are don't get the luxury of a fairy tale ending. 

Lennox- Ed Wood

Ed Wood & Company 

 

Ed Wood was different. He was unique. His vision was his own and Tim Burton understood that. The actors selected for the Ed Wood film resembled Ed Wood’s own group of actors very well. In Gothic Fantasy, we learn that Tim Burton has always been a fan of Ed Wood’s film, and as a true fan of many things myself, I know what it is like to watch your fascination go down the drain because of choices made by an ignorant or uninterested director. Burton did what any fan would do and stuck to the truth as best he possibly could.

Ed Wood’s films were as unique as himself. Those poorly shot scenes are viewed as great works of art in the eyes of fans. If those fans were to view Burton’s biopic and see those scenes had been drastically for the entertainment of the audience, there would be a fit to throw. Burton’s job as a fan and a director were to make this biography as believable as possible. His job was to make us think that we were watching Ed Wood live his life, not to be entertained by his life story.

The scenes from Plan 9 from Outer Space were shot perfectly by Burton. It was as if Burton had literally taken the scenes directly from the original film. This had to be very pleasing to the eyes of fans and it had to have made them think they were actually watching Ed Wood direct this movie.  

This is why. Burton did not change or fabricate the work of Wood. He preserved it. It was Ed Wood’s work, not his. A painter would not paint the Mona Lisa with alterations and try to sell it to dedicated fans of Leonardo Da Vinci passing it off as parallel to the original. He has altered the originality that the fans fell in love with. Sure the extras are nice, but it is not the same thing. Tim Burton would be out of his mind to alter the art of Edward Wood Jr. and sell it to old fans and oncoming fans as a parallel work.

Lennox-Edward's Fairy Tale

Edward's enjoying some of that magical "lemonade"

Edward Scissorhands is very similar to a fairy tale. There’s romance, there’s tragedy, there’s a protagonist, there’s an antagonist and there’s a lesson to be learned, but poor Edward doesn't get your typical Disney fairy tale ending. The beginning of the film starts off with a grandmother telling her granddaughter what sounds like a magical story. Once we’re in the story we see our protagonist, Edward. Now others may disagree with me but Edward was very similar to the princess I grew up watching: Disney Princesses. Like Ariel, Cinderella, and Snow White, Edward loses a parent at an early age and is forced to try and understand the world alone. Edward is also misunderstood by the town’s people just as Cinderella is misunderstood by her step sisters and Ariel is misunderstood by her sisters. Now, I will stop comparing Edward to women. Edward is also similar to the beast in Beauty and the Beast; Edward is seen as a monster; Kim is the beauty; Kim’s boyfriend is Gaston. The sort-of fight seen was similar to the fight seen in Beauty and The Beast. The guy who thinks the Beast is most dangerous fights him and loses the fight and his life. Kim kissed Edward like Belle kissed the beast, but Edward did not miraculously turn into a man like the beast; he remained the same. I also found Edward to be similar to be similar to Peter Pan because he does not age, but the one he loves does. He also reminds me of Pinocchio due to the fact that he was created. Edward did not get the fairy tale ending like Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, The beast and Pinocchio. Edward ended up alone in his own little world. It is not revealed that Edward is too happy or too sad. He does create beautiful ice sculptures and causes it to snow a beautiful snow that Kim still enjoys in her old age. The lesson to be learned here is that people should not judge someone by their outside. Kim is hoping to pass this lesson on her young granddaughter.