McCurdy- Anchor Baby by Tim Burton

Photo from Anchor Baby by Tim Burton.

       Many of Tim Burton's poems deal with autobiographical elements from his childhood and draw from Jung's traditional archetypes. Though many of them are concise pieces of work, much can be interpreted from their language and illustrations. Many are up for interpretation, but the theme of abandonment and rejection is apparent and common to lots.

       Anchor Baby centers around a woman who lives under the sea but is pining for a man above ground. She wants to find a way to stabilize her relationship with him and decides a baby is the best way to do so. However, the anchor baby ends up burdening their relationship and sinking her to the bottom of the ocean once again. The fact that she is abandoned by her lover parallels with Burton's feelings of abandonment he felt as a child. He did not connect with his parents of the kids around him and often felt very alone. Since she spends her life in the sea, she is also an outsider, just as Burton was. She can try as hard as possible to be like her lover on land, but their differences will never allow their relationship to work out. This takes a toll on the anchor baby's life as well. His mother basically rejects him since he tore her away from her lover, thus he feels abandoned by her. They are both suffering from a loss of contact, but in different ways. Burton suffered from his suburbial life when he came in contact with no one similar to him. Luckily, Burton is in the real world and has a creative outlet through art and film, but the sea woman is stuck in a story underwater. 

       This story puts a twist on the Great Mother archetype, since the woman who so longed to be a mother ended up being a terrible one due to the depressing circumstances. The poor anchor baby ends up feeling abandoned and alone. Even though he was created to stabilize her life, he ends up burdening it and they end up both at a loss. Traditionally, the Great Mother is nurturing and kind, but she shys away from her baby.

McCurdy Carnival/Mardi Gras

Craziness in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras.

       Carnival is a festive time of year that occurs right before Lent. It is a time when everyone can let loose and have fun before it is time to buckle down and "live a modest lifestyle" after Fat Tuesday. In New Orleans, carnival takes its place in the form of Mardi Gras. As a freshmen here at Loyola, I had never experienced Mardi Gras before. After this week's festivities, it is safe to say that I can't wait until Mardi Gras comes around again next year. New Orleans has so much pride as a city itself and it is expressed even more so during the parades. I attended quite a few and they got crazier each time. The main problem I face now is where to stash all the beads I acquired over the past week. My favorite catch prizes I got from the floats are a stuffed pig, a Saints mini football, a stack of cups, and the official Krewe d'Etat bead. I was rather disappointed that I didn't get a shoe from Muses, but there's always next year! I learned that you have the most fun and gather the most throws if you're right next to the float on the parade route. You almost must be prepared to do some serious walking if you don't want to pay a fortune to get to a parade. There's no telling how many miles I walked from school for Mardi Gras, but it was  well worth it. Mardi Gras is definitely an experience you have to live to understand. It actually lives up to all it's wonderful expectations though.

       Tim Burton's films takes elements from the idea of carnival and twists them into his own movie molds. Many of the characters like Beetlejuice, Penguin, and Edward Scissorhands are all costumed creatures that could easily be paralleled to people participating of the carnival. The Joker may be the strongest supporter of this notion, considering his trickster antics, vivid costumes, and colorful contraptions.The crazy costumed villains in Burton's films also display the idea of underlying chaos in the carnival. Though they seem colorful and fun on the outside, they actually have evil motives and are duping society majority of the time.

McCurdy Edward Scissorhands

Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands.

           Edward Scissorhands contains many elements of a fairytale, but in no way does it end "happily" like most children's tales do. The people of the town are immoral and Edward is quite the opposite, even though he has much to learn. He is a benevolent creature among the harsh, cookie-cutter people that inhabit the town. Even though Edward is the one with weapons for hands, the people around him are more caustic and evil than he could ever be. The acts of violence he commits are all accidental and without harm. However, once the townspeople turn against him, they do not shy away from terrorizing him. They will do anything to run him out of town and regress back to their normal  drab lives. Kim's boyfriend Jim, in particular, is openly violent toward Edward and is one of the most ethically twisted characters in the film. Everything he does is for himself. He uses Edward just to get what he wants and turns on him when Kim falls for Edward instead.

          Unlike traditional fairytales, the violence in the film doesn't lead to Jim or the townspeople learning a lesson. Instead, Edward is isolated even more and thus has no happy ending. He is torn away from Kim, his "princess," solely  because of society. The town isn't as picturesque and squeaky clean as it initially appears. The colorful pink, blue, yellow, and green homes are actually just housing the harsh townspeople. Generally, we associate vivid colors with positivity, but it is just the opposite in the film. Oddly enough, the character who possesses the most kindness is dressed in all black.

          Edward is a victim and the unmoralistic citizens take advantage of him. At first, they find him new and exciting. With his talents, they use him to create topiaries in their yards and do their hair. However, the second he doesn't abide by their rules anymore, they reject him. They are too immature to deal with real change and people that differ from them. The film encompasses the twisted morals of modern society with a twist on the ordinary fairytale.