Edward Scissorhands is amazing

I've never before has a movie felt like it was made for me. The symbolism of his hands isn't exactly subtle but there are so many things you could replace his hands with. This will be a bit disorganized but that's how I write best.

The way Edward doesn't speak, the way he served others, the way his hands allowed him to create beautiful things but also make things difficult and even harm others, the way people used him and he didn't say anything, because he was happy to be helping others. Edward Scissor hands is better mental illness and neuro-divergent representation than anything else I've ever seen. The things that supposedly hold him back grant him also such talents. The way people talked about being able to "fix" him, the way people turned on him, even the disabled veteran who previously related to him, because of misunderstandings and fear is such a perfect allegory for Autism, and many other mental conditions.

The fact the movie doesn't have a happy ending was another thing that is so realistic about it. In the end, he was chased away, and had to isolate himself. This exact thing has happened to so many of us, not all of us get happy endings. Edward was demeaned and called "Not human" when he was more human and more kind than any of the people who hated him.

The only unrealistic thing is the police officer being kind to him.

Ultimately, the greatest disability of Edward's was not the hands themselves but the way people perceived his hands, something he couldn't control. He could cope well enough with the things he couldn't do alone or had difficulty doing himself, but he couldn't control the way people saw him. That's what makes his and many of our stories a tragedy.