In the movie "Edward Scissorhands," Tim Burton focuses on the sociological points of social norms, innocence, and exploitation. It starts when Peg Boggs visits the mansion where Edward lives. She finds Edward alone and offers to take him home with her. When Peg introduces Edward to her family, it is considered to be the norm for them to be uneasy with Edward's presence since he has scissors for hands, and especially when Kim finds him sleeping in her bed at night.
All of the neighborhood wives see Edward walk into Peg's house and again are curious to see who Peg has brought home, also following the social norm in their community, which is neighborhood gossip. The Boggs throw a barbecue to show the other neighbors that Edward is harmless and only innocent. At said party, the majority of neighbors are fascinated by Edward and believe that he is also innocent and harmless.
However, his innocence becomes a liability. When Edward shows them all his trimming talent, that's when he begins to be exploited. Edward grooms the neighbors' dog's hair and styles the hair of the neighborhood women. The women exploit Edward's talents for their own personal use and only repay Edward with food and different kinds of sweets.
One of the neighbors goes even further than that. Joyce tries to get a salon of her own, with the help of Edward's talents of course. While scouting a location, Joyce attempts to seduce Edward but scares him away. With her exploitation plan foiled, Joyce tells the neighborhood women that he attempted to rape her, reducing their trust in him and diminishing his sense of innocence. As sad as it is for Edward, the normal reaction of the neighborhood women is to alienate themselves from Edward.
Kim's boyfriend, Jim, begins his attempt to use Edward's innocence for exploitation. Jim tells Edward to pick the lock on his parents' home to obtain a van for Jim and Kim. Edward agrees, but when he picks the lock, a burglar alarm is triggered. Jim flees, and Edward is arrested. Edward's reputation is completely ruined, along with his innocence. The social norm the neighbors are expected to follow is to shun Edward, for he lost all credibility and trust with the neighbors.
In the end, besides being a movie about a guy with scissors for hands, "Edward Scissorhands" shows us the assumptions of community social norms and the exploitative greed of others when someone presents a unique talent.
