“Burton’s work, as a collective, contains the dark Gothic element of expressionism with a distinct edge. Many of his sets are artesian or hand made and have the appearance of a human touch. There is a consistency in all his work with harsh lighting, muted color, period design costumes, mono-chromatic set designs, and a surrealistic overtone to each film.”
(Chambers, 2007)
“Tim Burton, a director and animator, produces a continuous stream of films . While it appears his works are influenced by the German Expressionist, they have instead advanced the traditions of Dark Gothic Art by continuing into mainstream film productions.”
(Chambers, 2007)
“Gothic Art originated with architecture during the late medieval times in Europe and was ridiculed during the Renaissance period as an offensive style. Mostly found in religious buildings, the form was also seen in castles, city buildings, and colleges. The advent of film at the turn of the 20th century, Gothic Art gained another attribute through the lighting of the sets and more significantly, the lighting of the architecture of the buildings. Shadows, long drawn elements, harsh contrasts, cold forms, and necessary at the time: black and white, produced the Dark Gothic effect. The effect of shadows on the set give the dark element to the Gothic form and evoke the feelings of terror without actually showing something horrific. Dark Gothic Art applies to films, and only those that present the architecture so familiar to the style and an important part of the Expressionist form.”
(Chambers, 2007)
With nearly all of Burtons films having the effects of shadows, long drawn elements, harsh contrasts, and black and white used a lot in his films, I can definitely see how he would be said to be heavily influenced by Gothic Art. From the standpoint that dark elements evoke the feeling of terror without actually showing something horrific, Burton does this all the time. When you watch a Burton film, you are immediately hit by a depressive emotion, or a scary emotion. But does he really show something horrific? No. He is usually just going against the norm of our reality, by bringing out the side of things that other mainstream directors do not. His characters ooze goth. But they are usually really nice, friendly characters on the inside. His characters are just usually outsiders to the normal, mainstream people of society
“The expressionist art form distorts reality to produce an emotional effect. It comes from difficult social times, usually during recessions or immediately after wars. Created to express inner emotions, Expressionism began in Germany, spread throughout Europe, and eventually reached America.” (Chambers, 2007)
I think Burton definitely has influence from expressionist art. His realities in his films are definitely distorted from the true reality that we all live in, and it almost always has some kind of emotional effect on the viewers of his film. The inner emotions of his characters always come out in one way or another, and you are shown this by his way of distorting reality and then bringing his characters back down to a more un-distorted reality, one that many of his viewers can relate to more.
Elements of Gothic Style
“Burton’s films contain the visual and emotional elements of Gothic nature but do not encapsulate the modern ideas of the genre of horror or gore. Even though the topics of death and the slight over tones of the morbidity come out in his films he does not fit the contemporary horror genre. The German Expressionists were not about the horror but more about the emotional content of the terror.”
(Chambers, 2007)
“The Expressionists, who liked to call themselves “apocalyptic adolescents,” display an almost childlike love of youth; they abhor old people, those representatives of a chilly conformism, which reproves their unbounded high spirits.”
(Eisner, 1965)
I definitely think that Tim Burton has a childlike love of youth. I think he finds comfort in death, but does not associate death with only old people. I believe Burton appreciates death as something that we should look forward to in many ways. I don’t think he wants it to be something to fear, which is why I think he has death, or some form of death, whether it be skeletons, grave yards, the two worlds of reality and the after-life, you can definitely see the fascination that he has with the world that comes after our passing.
Work Cited:
Chambers, R. (2007). Tim Burton’s Advancement of Dark Gothic Art.
Eisner, L. H. (1965). The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt.
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