According to our book for class, genre can be defined as the following:
“Most scholars now agree that no genre can be defined in a single hear-and-fast way. Some genres stand out by their subjects or themes. A gangster film centers on large-scale urban crime. A science fiction film features a technology beyond the reach of contemporary science. A western is usually about life on some frontier (not necessarily the American West, as North to Alaska and Drums Along the Mohawk suggest). Yet subject matter or theme is not so central to defining other genres. Musicals are recognizable chiefly by their manner of presentation: singing, dancing, or both. the detective film is partly defined by the plot pattern of an investigation that solves a mystery. And some genres are defined by the distinctive emotional effect that aim for: amusement in comedies, tension in suspense films. Objects and Settings often furnish iconography for a genre. A close up of a Tommy Gun lifted out of a 1920’s Ford would probably be enough to identify a film as a gangster movie, while a shot of a long, curved sword hanging from a kimono would place us in the world of a samurai. The war film takes place in battle-scarred landscapes, the backstage musical in theatres and nightclubs, the space-travel film in starships and on distant planets. Even stars can become iconographic – Judy Garland for the musical, John Wayne for the Western, Arnold Schwarzenegger for the action picture, Jim Carrey for Comedy.”
(Bordwell & Thompson, 2010)
You can definitely use iconography to determine films that Tim Burton does. He most definitely features Johnny Depp in quite a large number of his films. Johnny Depp is a character that you can see, and think to yourself, “hmmm, I wonder if this film is a Tim Burton film, because Tim Burton frequently makes films featuring Johnny Depp!”
In a book titled Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology by Keith Grant, it states that:
“Iconography may also refer to the general mise-en-scene of a genre, as in the case of low-key lighting and Gothic design in the horror film or the visual excess of the melodrama. Iconography provides genres with a visual short-hand for conveying information and meaning succinctly.”
(Grant, 2007)
“Tim Burton, like his work, is a wonderful mess. He’s falling-apart funny and completely alienated; he’s morbid and ironic; he’s the serious artist as goofball flake. A self-described “happy-go-lucky manic-depressive,” he’s like a bright flashlight in a very dark place: the grim factory of Hollywood. Burton is a true visionary. Our culture usually doesn’t use that word for people whose visions look like cartoons and go down like dessert, but Burton is spitting in the eye of our culture while simultaneously celebrating it. That’s the fabulous, odd thing about his work: He’s angrily spitting something sweet.”
(Breskin, 1992)
When I began to think of the Genre that Tim Burton’s movies reside in, I first thought of Fantasy and Animation. When you start to think of a few of his most popular films such as, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Sleepy Hollow, you begin to also see themes of horror and terror. There is definitely a theme of darkness in his movies, and I think that aspect of being creepy and dark makes people fall in love with his movies. Tim Burton is definitely put into a genre of his own, and it is very easy to tell when you are watching a Tim Burton film. There are themes of long, stick-like characters, artwork that seems deathly and gloomy, and a sense of not belonging in his characters or main character.
One of the most characteristic parts of Burtons films is how it looks to the eye. The places and scenes in his films are made with such a unique style that is a lot like German Expressionism. I happen to be doing my group presentation for this class on German Expressionism, and I have found that German Expressionism is based on distorted shapes, heavy lines, sharp contrasts, and lots of black and white. German Expressionism was the birthing place for horror films to this day. Characters do not just exist, but rather form visual elements that mere with the setting. Burton seems to love dark, shadowy, and bizarre settings that allow him to fall into the fantasy/animation genre that he rightfully does.
Many of his movies also have two different worlds in them. For example: in Big Fish, there is the reality, and then his father’s story-world. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, there is the dull world outside, and then the fantastic and magical world inside the chocolate factory. In The Corpse Bride, there is the land of the living and the land of the dead, and the same goes for Beetlejuice. There are also common themes of death and murder in his films. There are also themes of isolation, and longing. In Edward Scissorhands, he wants somebody he cannot have, just like the dead bride in The Corpse Bride.
For the most part, Burton creates these whimsically gothic worlds, filled with sweet, wonderful, memorable characters. He also gets wonderfully sincere performances from his actors, regardless of the fantastical worlds they find themselves inhabiting.
Beetlejuice is notable for establishing certain Burtonian trademarks on both a stylistic and thematic level. The film’s opening, for example, has become a Burton staple–a sweeping travelling shot across a skillfully constructed model that serves to literally waft the viewer right into the film. Burton’s approach here is what might be called radical-reactionary.
Tim Burton has certain technique when it comes to his filmmaking and being put into the genre that he is.
Work Cited:
Bordwell, D., & Thompson, K. (2010). Film art: An introduction. (9 ed., pp. 328-330). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Breskin, D. (1992). The Tim Burton Collective. Rolling Stone.
Grant, K. (2007). Film genre: From iconography to ideology. Wallflower Press.
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