Analysis of the Artistic Style in the Film Big Fish 大鱼的艺术风格

题目: 浅析电影《大鱼》的艺术风格Analysis of the Artistic Style in the
Film Big Fish
A paper submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the
degree of Bachelor of Arts
May, 2013
Contents
摘要 (i)
Abstract (ii)
I. Introduction (1)
II. Analysis of the Artistic Style in Big Fish (2)
2.1 The Narrative Style (2)
2.2 The Gothic style (5)
2.3The Fairytale Style (7)
III. The Enlightenment in Big Fish (12)
IV. Conclusion (13)
Bibliography (14)
Acknowledgments (15)
摘要
美国著名导演蒂姆〃伯顿以其黑色幽默和独特视角而著称。

《大鱼》中，活泼明亮的元素取代了其一贯的怪诞、恐怖和阴暗，展示了一个温情美丽的成人童话世界。

本文将从三个方面来分析该影片的艺术风格。

首先介绍蒂姆〃伯顿及其成就；接着从叙事风格、哥特式风格和童话式风格展开分析；然后探讨影片所展示的人文情怀以及对人们的启迪：唤醒久违的用童话式纯真思维进行思考的能力和积极乐观的生活态度。

关键词：大鱼；艺术风格﹔分析
Abstract
American famous director Tim Burton is noted for black humor and special point of view in his works and productions. In Big Fish, he employs lively and bright elements to take the place of his weird, gothic and dark quirk, and creates a beautiful warm adult’s fairy tale world. This paper will analyze the artistic style in Big Fish. It will firstly introduce Tim Burton and his achievements; then focus on the analysis of artistic style from the narrative style, the gothic style and the fairy tale style; Finally, it will discuss the human nature and the enlightenment embodied in the film: activating the ability to think in an innocent thinking way and taking an active and optimistic attitude towards life.
Key words: Big Fish; artistic; analysis
Analysis of the Artistic Style in the Film Big Fish
I. Introduction
Tim Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer, artist and animator. He is famous for his dark, gothic, macabre, and quirky take on humor and fantasy style movies, such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorshands, Park Shadows and Frankenweenie, and for blockbusters such as Peevee’s Big Adventure, Batman, its first sequel Batman Returns, Planet of apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland.
Born on August 25, 1958 in Burbank, California, Burton grew up a lonely and isolated child who quickly became disenchanted with his homogenized suburban surroundings. Burton's withdrawal from his home life --- particularly from his father --- led him to spend time daydreaming, watching B-movies and pouring through issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland. Eventually, his inability to communicate --- coupled with his fascination with the macabre side of Hollywood --- sparked an interest in drawing and animation. As a preteen，Burton would make short films on his backyard or on the streets. He made the famous movie The Island of Doctor Agor at the age of 13. He was not a particularly good student but a very introspective person, and found his pleasure in painting, drawing and watching films.
Later, Tim Burton attended the California Institute of the Arts to study character animation，when Burton made the shorts Stalk of the Celery Monster and King and Octopus. In 1982, Burton worked in Disney and showed his splendid talents---producing hits with low budgets. This ability impressed studio executives, and he received his first big budget film, Batman. When the film opened in June 1989, it was supported by the biggest marketing and merchandising campaign in film history at the time. Also the film won countless prizes. The success of the film helps establish Burton as a profitable director; also a huge influence on future superhero films, not so glorious but darker and deeper.
With his roots in drawing and animation, Burton crafts over his career distinctly designed films that reflect the gothic horror influences of his youth. Once considered an eccentric outsider, Burton has, without a doubt, evolved into one of Hollywood's most admired and successful film makers with an instantly recognizable point of view.
In recent years, with the popularity of Tim Burton’s films, his films have become a hot topic of research for graduate students and scholars. The existing research results show that the researches into his films mainly focus on the gothic style, his skillful employment of this style in his films and the reasons for the formation of this style. However, little research has been made into his innovation in the gothic style, the human nature and the social enlightenment embodied in his films which will be analyzed in this paper.
This paper will focus on the artistic style by analyzing the narrative style, the gothic style, and the fairytale style in Big Fish. Then it will discuss the human nature and social introspection so that the viewers can make a better understanding of the meaning and enlightenment of this film.
II. Analysis of the Artistic Style in Big Fish
The American famous director Tim Burton，with rich imagination and childlike innocence, is a master of telling stories full of tender feelings under exaggerated weird background. Tim Burton's 2003 film Big Fish is a touching story of acceptance, imagination and the power of storytelling. The film is rich in fantastic images, meaningful symbols, impossible adventures and larger-than-life characters. Thrown into the mix is a very realistic portrait of the modern family.
The story revolves around a dying father and his son, who is trying to learn more about his dad by piecing together the stories he has gathered over the years. The son winds up re-creating his father's elusive life in a series of legends and myths inspired by the few facts he knows. Through these tales, the son begins to understand his
father's great feats and his great failings.
This paper will make an analysis of the artistic style from the follow aspects.
2.1 The Narrative Style
2.1.1 The Narrative Point of view
Big Fish is a literal narrative, told from the perspective of the main character, Master Storyteller Edward Bloom (D.M. Wang 12). The film follows the life of Bloom, as a series of exaggerated stories he tells to his son, Will, as he is growing up. Will resents the stories his father tells because he is sick and tired of hearing them over and over again, and because he sees the stories as his father is always trying to get attention. He thinks by telling the stories repeatedly his father is making a fool of himself. Will is upset that his father will tell him anything concrete and "real" but instead keeps insisting on telling these wild and crazy stories.
From Ed's perspective, actual relaying of events tells "facts, but not the flavor." One scene in the movie is where Ed tells young Will about the events that happened on the day Will was born. The story is that he was fishing and used his wedding ring as a lure to catch a legendary, huge catfish in the river, which then spit up his ring to give it back to Ed. As it is later learned in the movie, Ed was actually away on business, selling his wares on the day Will was born. Will appreciates the "real" story more than the elaborate one (G. Wang 21).
The storytelling is poetic at times, and at other times humorous, and always moving. Much of the movie focuses on the love affair between Ed and his wife Sandra. Ed describes that the moment he first laid eyes on Sandra time stood still, and with every view of her in a subsequent story showing her with a soft lens to make her appear more magical and perfect. This love affair, and the love he has for his son, is the driving force behind the emotional response in its viewers. As the viewers watch, they want so badly for Will to accept his father.
Meanwhile, the son Will is bewildered when exploring his father’s past from the reality. Not all the stories his father tells are true, but not imagined by his father. Ed was an ordinary man, with an ordinary job, but he wants to be larger than life for his son. Will never believes any part of any story Ed ever told, but later on, in the film he
finds out that virtually every story has its root in fact. This completely surprises Will because he is sure that everything his father ever told him is a lie.
One of the final scenes in the movie is where Ed is dying of a stroke. He is in the hospital bed with his son Will by his side, and he asks Will to tell him how he dies. At first, Will is completely confused by this request and starts to call a nurse and has no idea what to do. Finally he is confronted by the realization that he has no choice but to play along and give his father his dying wish: that he tells his own exaggerated story to ease his father's passing away（Cao 11).
Old Edward Bloom is a devoted storyteller who believes that true stories could use a little fiction for entertainment purposes (Augustine 10). On the day his only son, Will, was born, he was out of town selling home appliances. Not a very exciting story for such a very momentous event. When Will is set to be married, his father shares with everyone the false account of how he caught a really big fish with his wedding ring the same day Will was born. This draws smiles from his listeners, but not from Will, who has heard the same lie repeatedly throughout his life. He walks away. And he does not return until old Edward becomes confined to his bedroom.
2.1.2 The Narrative Method
Other than the tale about Big Fish, Edward has shared more of his past experiences with Will, which he starts to recall in great detail. A series of flashbacks begin, and the viewers are introduced to the mysterious memories of Edward, which gives an opportunity for director Tim Burton to indulge in his obsession for all things weird. Edward narrates as nostalgia kicks in, but it is Tim Burton who supplies the imagination.
Each flashback explores a specific section of Edward’s life; they function like episodes, and every one of them has something different to say. Views of love, life and death are seen through a world full of optimism and energy. When young Edward, played by a vigorous Ewan McGregor, convinces himself that he has discovered how he dies in the future, he develops a kind of foolish valor that deserves applause only from the most committed of masochists.
The past and present become intermingled as Edward once again spins his tales.
The viewers meet Edward as a young man, and Sandra as a young woman. As Will struggles to separate fact from fantasy, the viewers follow the younger Edward on his magical exploits.
He becomes a local hero in his town of Ashton. One of his many valiant services includes a moment where he charges into a burning fire without a protective suit. Edward makes the firemen look overpaid as they stand outside and watch him rescue a poor puppy. Later on, he enters a dark and dangerous forest even though a safer route is available. Because Edward has advance insight regarding his demise, he approaches life at lightning speed and with a positive soul. When he goes all in to pursue Sandra, the girl of his dreams, viewers can only wish that they possess the same kind of determination.
As Ed Bloom repeats his many stories to Josephine, Will has never told her these things, seeing them as a complete fiction. Though a flashback-narration style plot seems as if it would be too disjointed and abrupt to really dig into, this film pulls off the technique perfectly. With narration that tugs the viewers’ right inside the story being told, it is difficult to stop and make them consider the utter impossibility of the events.
Edward, “a big fish in a small pond”, often blurs the line between reality and fiction, and we are left guessing which aspects of Edward's life actually happened. Similarly, he is trying to show Will that, though what he tells him are stories, more truth about himself is revealed than if he were to tell him solid facts.
Through the way that Edward tells his stories, and through the things present--- or otherwise--- it is easy to tell what kind of person he is. One example is the story he tells at Will's wedding, of the “uncatchable” fish that he caught the day Will was born. According to the doctor, on the day of Will's birth, Ed was actually away on business. By replacing this fact with a different event, Edward makes the point that, though he was absent, the day was still incredibly important in his life. It is only in the end, when Will tells the story of how his father saw his death in the witch's eye, does he realize that it was only through telling stories that Edward could reveal truths about himself (Wallace 38)
By combining spectacular cinematography, an incredible original score and a crowd of extremely lovable characters--- including, but not limited to, a werewolf, a giant and Siamese twins--- Tim Burton's Big Fish expands from just the story of one man's life to an extremely moving series of adventures.
2.2 The Gothic style
Tim Burton is recognized as a genius director, almost every film he directs is branded with gothic style, and in the practice of gothic style, he blends a variety of weird elements with gothic style, combining the previous gothic culture and the background of that time, and injects new factors into the gothic genre, like the phoenix nirvana in the gothic style (Zhang 6). Gothic is the adornment of the garment and ornament of mysterious thriller or evil, the inner beauty of the soul in bloom is the pure light in the film.
2.2.1 The Features of Tim Burton’s Gothic Films
Among Tim Burton’s films, most of them fall into the category of gothic films, so they share some features as follows:
(1) The Characters. In gothic films, most of the characters are vampire, skeleton, demon or witch; The director is mostly good at using color contrast, light and shade contrast to create atmosphere, using black or gray color as the main shade, setting more theatrical effects, sometimes using gothic painting background, and abandoning real scenes. The boundless darkness that fills the screen with rich gothic style of architecture or a deep dark clouds can be seen everywhere. High and low music symphony, mingled with plots presents something congenially chill.
Tim Burton is keen to build the strange looks, such as sewer, cemetery, eerie scene, metropolis in the night, through the strange looks and weird characters in the film, his unique movie styles are always remembered. Tim Burton spares no effort to eulogize the true and the good; he has room to jump with some gorgeous cold gothic dance. At the same time, a strong whiff from the romantic touch shakes up the audience in the extreme opposite characteristics.
(2) The Elements. Dark room for Tim Burton is not the nature of things but the appearance of things, in the form of ghost’s veil. Tim Burton creates another world,
where audience can experience full of black humor and melancholy of the world. He always deals with such a strange and sad mood. These become a new symbol; the dark lonely and sad pain brings an aesthetic pleasure, hitting people's vision and mind.
Creatures in Tim Burton’s films live in the darkness, escaping the human world where darkness spreads out of the desire, avoiding the light under repression, and money, power and position are so secular that they seem filthy. Tim Burton's film, there exists some very deep misunderstandings, some people think his works are evil, scary, shocking contents with filthy ideas. The loneliness and darkness are a special kind of cynical noble temperament. This kind of movie tells the story that the hero cannot correspond with the reality, the noble heart, the black romantic love and the desire to spiral out of control.
(3) The Theme. In Tim Burton's films, gothic films based on death theme are definitely not a black comedy, gangster movies or horror movies. Although the darkness and loneliness is the theme of the film presenting apparently, it also contains the majesty and beauty of the deeply lonely souls, due to abnormal identity that unable to communicate with people, and the darkness of it is fear of the unknown.
In addition to the darkness and the terror of characteristics in Tim Burton's gothic films, they also contain rich emotions or heartbreaking grief. On the surface, it is the gothic, but its romantic touching in his films walks on the life and death in the world. The plot is saturated with infinite deep feelings. Burton's films always involve fraud and heart injury. However, the characters still believe in the existence of the truth. No matter how much bitterness and hardships they have suffered, they are still grateful. This belief conveys Burton's creation concept and a strong personal idealism color.
2.2.2 The Innovation of the Gothic Style in Big Fish
In Big Fish, the viewers can still find Tim Burton’s gothic style, and the gothic elements.
On the design of space and time in the film Big Fish, there is a grassy road that does not need to wear shoes to the specter city, and the way to the city is a secluded path in the eerie forest, people who visit the city must pass through the thick cobwebs, dancing but dead branches, and a terrible beast- infested swamp, the most
eye-catching logo in the city is lines of shoes hung on the gate of the city, each one who venture out into the world must take off their shoes from then on, and most of them are no longer willing to go out of the city.
From the above description, the viewers can sense the gothic atmosphere. The other Gothic Elements in Big Fish, including the foggy dry thick trees in the forest of the thicket, cold tonal, white light, the hums of the mosquito flies and crows’ cry create a terrified scene.
Unlike in many of Burton's previous movies, there is no cynicism here, and hardly any darkness. The film retains the director's trademark quirkiness, which resides somewhere between Terry Gilliam and David Lynch, but is entirely optimistic. Unless you count the disease that has numbered Edward's days or the antagonism that has developed between father and son, Big Fish has no villains, nor does it require any. And, although there is a bittersweet quality to the ending, it is ultimately uplifting and optimistic. Burton has grown with this film, but without really expanding the envelope too far.
2.3 The Fairytale Style
Generally speaking, in the fairy tale, there are a lot of typical supernatural characters, such as talking animals, elf, fairy, giants, witches, and so on, the fairy tale endings are usually happy: They live together happily and forever. In time and space, fairy tales are fictional; the narrative begins with “a long time ago” rather than a specific real time. In space, it sets up a country that does not exist, like a fool city, a golden island, the kingdom of darkness and so on, as the background of the story, rather than the real towns and villages, so the conclusion is that superpowers, fictional time-space, happy ending are the three characteristics in the fairy tales (Liu 12).
Many characters in Big Fish are monsters that have the remarkable ability and transvestite images: a naked mermaid swimming in the river, a half man and half wolf circus boss, a giant, a witch with glass eyes, these are in line with the style of fairy tale characters.
Tim Burton creates a beautiful fairy tale world by his fantastic imagination, forthright and sincere childishness. His use of light and color constantly makes the
film picture beautiful and sweet. When Edward walks into a town like an arcadia, a quiet beautiful picture unfolds: a sunny day, a green world and lines of white houses, the picture polishes the audience's eyes, one of the brighter spot are golden blonde women with bright hair and dressed in a long white dress, people happily dance together at night with warm and lively soundtrack, lively and noisy scenes, life here is so happy and carefree，Big Fish with a bright color builds a quiet and warm town for us, which is different from Tim Burton’s other films .
At the very beginning of Big Fish, a big fish appears on the screen; just then Edward begins to tell the story about the fish in a dreamy voice,
“There are some fish that cannot be caught. It is not tha t they are fast or stronger than other fish. They are just touched by something extra. One such fish was the Beast. And by the time I was born, he was already a legend.”
The introductory remarks are simple and direct. It not only brings out some fantasies, but also makes suspense so the viewers’ curiosity is aroused. The features of the fairy tale can be seen from both the film title and its script.
2.3.1 The Plots in Big Fish
The plot in the Big Fish is complicated. Will worshiped his father when he was a child, because his father often told his full of adventurous and fantasy life experiences, his legendary adventures is like a relish that attracts Will, the one-eyed witch that can predict the future of children, the terrible black forest, the same small town arcadia, the highest giants, the half-wolf circus owner, as well as conjoined twins. But as he grew up, Will doubts about these entire all, because the reality is not like what his father described, anger is growing bit by bit; the contradictions finally broke out in his wedding day, after a heated debate. Will insists that their reality is right in his eyes, and his father is like a child, sticking to his so-called real experiences, which is almost impossible, so for three years they does not talk to each other, until one day, he tells his pregnant wife that he needs to hurry back home, because his father is terminally ill to death. And during his stay, Will decides to explore his father’s life experience, he gradually find that his father’s story is not entirely imaginary; the facts are just exaggerated a bit. In the process of searching for the truth, the son begins to
understand his father, so before his father dies, the son helps him finish the end of the fairy tale, in many friend’s farewell, his father turns into a big fish, transcendentally swimming into the distance, a vast expanse of the heavens.
There are countless exaggerated plots in the film. For instance, the catfish, Edward’s adventurous journey, the joined sisters and specter town, narr ations for these take a large scale of the film, serving the reality as a clue to introduce Edward’s life. Tim Burton inserts a magical power by exaggerating what people have known and showing his extraordinary imaginative power, thus leading the viewers to understand the true meanings in life journey along with Edward.
In Tim Burton’s film world, we are like the son of the Big Fish, it is difficult to distinguish whether Edward’s life is illusory or true, and we do not know his eventful life is a myth or a reality. Because his life is filled with exaggerated bizarre plot, such as that Big Fish, skinny weird witch, tall monstrous giants Carl, the film features magic realism due to these surreal images, and that is why Tim Burton is called one of the most iconic movie style director. With fantasy style of light, shadow and eerie sounds are applied, his film presents a mysterious and fantastic world .Edward breaks a path into a dream-like world ---the fairy tale town, along the way, the foggy dry thick trees in the forest of the thicket, cold tonal, white light, airy peculiar music combined with the hums of the mosquito flies and crows’ cry, all create a scene full of magic, and they are also the images of Big Fish.
2.3.2 The Images in Big Fish
Big Fish is a cosmic gallery of gothic inventions and magical wish fulfillments. Edward may as well be an apostle sitting on top of a mountain, compulsively relating stories about the founding of a man and, much larger, the founding of a nation. What with its many intertwining subplots, his life is a collection of Bible stories that engage in people’s spiritual curiosity, asking to entertain and cultivate myth over reason. When the young Edward finally wins the young Sandy, they stand in a field of yellow daffodils and the war zone where Edward defeated a familiar competitor resembling a crop circle in the shape of a sperm cell. These are the evocative images that perpetuate Edward's personal and Burton's aesthetic myth-making.
In fact, Edward himself in the story is shaped into many different images, and the image of lover is the most magical effect (Fraga 2). When he was attracted by his love at first sight in the circus, time stops. In order to win his love, he works in the circus, and finds out the circus boss is a half-wolf man, the most amazing thing is that daffodils bloom overnight at his love's apartment. Through the depth of field lens, through the window of his love, the world becomes yellow; father standing among a sea of flowers with a smile of sunshine is so much standing out. At this point, how beautiful the scene is, how proud the father's mood is, and this kind of feeling can not be expressed specifically in addition to cashing out the magical practices.
2.3.3 Happy Ending in Big Fish
The ending of the film, also the sublimation of the film, all the people father mentions in his story show up in the father's funeral. The viewers cannot help but feel surprised again how it is possible. However, Tim Burton tells us that this is the fact, they actually appear, depressive black originally can make us feel sad, but we do not have a sense of sadness, perhaps because the viewers assume that it can also be true in everyone's heart that father became a big fish in the sea. Tim Burton uses the expectation to sublimate fantasy style again and the beautiful fairy tale pictures get perfected.
It is no doubt one of the climax in the film is that the son ends his father's life story as his father expects, but the climactic part to the interpretation of reality and fantasy is the scene in the end of the funeral: when Will accompanies his mother to attend his father's funeral in red, the main characters in the story, finally meets father, the giant comes, though not so tall as father said, the circus boss comes, and conjoined twins come, the fact is that they are twins, former naive girl comes, just have become a white hair witch, poet of Ghost town comes, of course, he is the man who later earns the first bucket of gold and sends Edward one million. People talk about father in high spirits without sadness on their faces. Although the audience can not hear what they are talking about, they can certainly guess that they are talking about the hero Edward's life. F rom their excited expression, the viewers can feel that the hero’s life must be more colorful than what the film presents. In the end, the dream-like blue
haze hangs over the river, and a big fish suddenly leaps from the water with full of vigor, unlimited freedom. And the endless river flows continuously to move forward with infinite silence. Viewers have been completely lost in the labyrinth of magic, and they no longer cross-examine the fact. The search that Edward's legendary experience is true or not is not important, what matters is that audience feels the true meaning of life from the movie.
2.3.4 The Theme in Big Fish
Big Fish is about a son trying to reconcile with his father. Will Bloom never got along with or understood his father. Ed enjoyed telling stories of his youth, grand stories full of witches, giants, Siamese twins, and love at first sight. Now, Ed is dying, and Will's wife Josephine is pregnant. Will wants a true picture of his father before his death, so he can tell his son who his dad 'truly' was.
Big Fish is also a compelling look at the relationships between fathers and sons, and the child’s coming to terms with the parent's mortality.
Tim Burton also deals with mythic themes in Big Fish. Apart from the surface story of the generational tension between father and son, he explores the metaphor of the big-fish –in-a-small-pond by examining the impact Ed Bloom has had on the lives he is touched in his workday contacts with colleagues, customers (he is a traveling salesman), and people in the same towns across the South. Not exactly “It’s A Wonderful Life,” he still manages to show how all of the viewers --- even the little fish--- have profound effects on the people around us. And of course love--- unrequited and reciprocated --- control almost all of Ed’s many adventures.
III. The Enlightenment in Big Fish
Tim Burton is a real softy. Lurking within the dark images of his movies are sentimental human themes, and it takes a movie like Big Fish to strip away the monochromatic color schemes and twisted imagery to reveal a nice, warm, heart, wrapped in beautiful yellows and reds. The Ed character is something of a superhero.。