Suburban Conformity Live on Screen
by Tim Griffiths
an analysis from Film Studies class

Setting is an important part of movies. It shapes the overall theme and how it can relate to the plot. In the movies Edward Scissorhands and The Stepford Wives, the setting is used to portray a theme of conformity. Both plots revolve around characters that either resist trying to fit in, try to fit in, or are forced to fit in. The setting in both is a peaceful small suburb where nothing important seems to happen. They are stereotypical settings where the men come home from work at 5:30, the women take care of the kids, and the grass is always green. In these movies, an agent is used to disrupt this quiet, peaceful, and conformed society. The plots deal with a simple question: "What would happen if we put an unordinary person in an ordinary place?"

The movie Edward Scissorhands introduces us to our setting in a calm and peaceful way. The sun is out, the grass is green, and oddly enough, the houses are all the same colors (usually pastels). The way the houses are painted make them all seem the same, even if they are different colors. Their intensities and hues all blend together. But, one thing in the setting sticks out like a sore thumb: the old mansion on the hill. It is black, obnoxious, and cold. It is in fact, separate from the town. This setting shows just how conformed the town they live in is. There is practically no individuality.

When Peg brings Edward to town, he immediately becomes partial to this town. You can tell by the look on his face that he enjoys this society and its customs. Edward desires conformity, even though he doesn’t know what it entails. At first, he is praised by the way he acts from his own heart. He is himself. But, as soon as he tries to go along with someone else's plans, he is harmed or he harms others. This is evident in the scene where he helps Jim and Kim break into Jim's house. He does not want to do it, but he does it to feel more a part of the crowd and to not be excluded from everything. Seeing the families, friends, colors, and actions of this town makes Edward want to change his previous loner lifestyle and become part of the crowd. But, the crowd wants nothing of him and eventually pushes him out of town, back to his mansion. It is unfortunate that Edward wanted to be like everyone else because he simply couldn’t be that way. Ever since day one, his scissorhands made him an outcast.

The Stepford Wives begins the same way as Edward Scissorhands, with a unique individual person moving into a town where everything is the same and everyone is like everyone else. In this town, again the houses are all nice and close to the same color, the grass is green, and the gardens are large. Every single woman is wearing the same style of dress and does not care to complain about any aspect of their life. They rather enjoy the monotony of it. Joanna, our main character, is dragged to the suburbs by her husband and she cannot grow accustomed to suburban ways. She objects to her husband joining any men's club or to her being a housewife who bakes all day and does laundry, as many of the wives do. Joanna wants a life where she can take photography and be herself. But, the people in the town force her into conformity. Her husband most of all pressures her to stop being "crazy". He is simply saying this because she is an individual and she can't be like everyone else.

The town is like a prison for Joanna. She cannot express herself and how she feels. As soon as she gets some good photography, she does not even consider showing it to Stepford people. She takes it right back to New York where she feels she is accepted. Joanna's main wish is that people will "remember" her, so she says in a photo gallery. In a town such as Stepford where the wives are all the same and none of them care for diversity, Joanna has no chance of being remembered in a unique way. If she is a drone like many others, then no one will remember her. Eventually, Joanna is made to be like all the other wives. She is forced into conformity by the town.

The two movies, Edward Scissorhands and The Stepford Wives are both examples of conformity and how unique people deal with it. In conformed societies, these people are often labeled as freaks and cast out from the rest of the group, as are Edward and Joanna. Joanna is never truly a part of the group until a robot replaces her. Edward never does fit in. These movies stretch far to truly achieve the look and feel of a society that revolves around conformity. From the houses, to the behavior of the people, to the gardens, the director of each film really had a vision of a society where no person was an individual. The ensuing plot in each was how a person who is totally unique reacts with a society that won't stand for uniqueness.