| Joseph Campbell claims fairy tales, legends, and myths are phrases from an image-language that express metaphysical, psychological, and sociological truths. My thesis presents a study of Tim Burton's films using the hero's monomyth identified by Campbell. Burton believes fairy tales, legends, and myths are an important part of our culture. My study examines the Burtonesque hero and his mythic adventure as depicted in Burton's films. Primary sources include Burton's films, his books of poetry and artwork; and an assortment of his concept drawings and character sketches. Secondary sources include criticism and scholarship on film theory; technical analyses of Burton's films by industry professionals; and feature articles from popular media. Published interviews with Burton provide additional material concerning the director's filmmaking philosophy. My study traces the Burtonesque hero's journey, which is an inversion of Campbell's monomyth, and considers the significance of this literary character type within postmodern culture and mythmaking. |
