Choi Sweeney Todd

There has been numerous version of Sweeney Todd, none of which are identical to others. Likewise, Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd, while maintaining the similar central plot as the theatrical version of Sweeeny Todd, is also quite different as it is thematically less far-reaching than on-stage version of the same story. However, no matter the version of the story, they all send a coherent message about cannibalism, urbanization and industrialism.

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Before investigating into those themes, it is best to first look at how Tim Burton justifies Sweeney’s heinous act of murder. Burton presents Sweeney as a victim of corrupt legal system, whose wife and daughter have been abducted by a corrupt official. Presenting that point of view of the character provides room for the audience to sympathize and empathize with such morally unsettling character.

Despite slight modification in Sweeney’s history, Burton didn’t lose hold of the themes of cannibalism and industrialism, effectively drawing on several issues that come with urbanization and industrialization. One of the very important issues addressed in the movie is social inequality, which can be seen at several different points of the movie. Right off the bat, Sweeney himself is a victim of social inequality, as Judge Turpin has taken Sweeney’s family away from him through abuse of his power. This idea of social inequality is further enforced through Burton’s use of mise-en-scene. Mrs. Lovett’s house is located on a dark and filthy alley, with almost colorless, roach-infested interior, which creates stark contrast with Judge Turpin’s pristine, spacious, well-furnished house. This visual contrast of the two households, though subtle, effectively communicates the theme of social and monetary inequality.

The idea of industrialization is further enforced by the use of cannibalism. In different versions of Sweeney Todd, Sweeney explicitly imposes the grotesque parallel between the nature of industrialization and cannibalism: “The history of the world/ Is who gets eaten and who gets to eat.” This line not only is a strong reference to the social inequality, but also is a criticism of disproportionately competitive nature of capitalistic industry, where people constantly have to step on others’ foot to climb the social hierarchical ladder. This concept of symbolic cannibalism is later expanded into more literal sense of cannibalism, as the lower class people literally start feeding off the people above the social ladder, which introduces a twisted, grotesque sense of vengeance and justice.