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.