Tim Burton y la construcción del universo fantástico

This doctoral thesis studies the characteristics of Tim Burtons cinema. It relates his work to his life, examines his situation into the contemporary Hollywood industry and considers the constant elements that form his visual poetic. It studies the question and contradictions of film genres and the Theories of Authorship. It examines the characteristics of Postmodern culture and the particular intertextual practice in Burtons films. It contemplates the fantastic phenomenon, that is best regarded as an artistic mode from which a number of related genres emerge. It considers Tim Burtons cinema to be the heir of what is denominated the Gothic-expressionist Tradition, a movement whose spirit, aesthetics and vital position are in opposition to the rational attitude of Classicism. It discusses the way Tim Burton creates the fantastic space through a careful stage design and the music composed by Danny Elfman. The films Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas are analysed in depth in order to prove that Burtons emotive storylines, and the complexity and entity of his themes and characters, shift his films away from being mere exercises in style.