{"id":228,"date":"2017-02-02T11:47:44","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T11:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/montyake.pirat.uk\/?p=228"},"modified":"2018-01-19T11:50:47","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T11:50:47","slug":"what-is-meant-by-theme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montyake.pirat.uk\/?p=228","title":{"rendered":"What is Meant by \u2018Theme\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first hand-in for a 1st-year-undergrad university course on Creative Writing I took in 2009. I couldn\u2019t bring myself to read all of it again, it\u2019s so badly informed (notice the complete lack of critical perspective in my bibliography). I assume that I\u2019d rushed this last minute; choosing instead to dedicate the weeks I had in preparation to partying and playing megadrive. That first line even \u2013 eurgh! \u201cEVERY<\/em> film and play has at least one defining theme\u201d?! What tosh. Past Monty is, and always will be, an imbecile. Well, enjoy\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Every film and play has at least one defining theme, if not more. The theme of a piece is a topic, term, or moral that runs through the course of the play, book, or film; like an invisible backbone. Although the theme of a piece may be obvious, there is no restriction on just how many themes an article may have, and there are limitless possibilities to what the themes of a piece are. The theme of a piece can guide the action of the characters, or it may more likely be a reflection on them. The theme can be enlightening to the audience, even cathartic in some cases. A brief example may be in the Disney film \u201cLilo and Stitch (2003)\u201d, wherein a girl befriends an alien who later becomes an adopted member of the family \u2013 the \u2018importance of family\u2019 is the prevailing theme of this film, and it is obvious through the plot, the dialogue, \u201cOhana means family; family means noone gets left behind, or forgotten\u201d, and the fact that the girl herself has been orphaned and lives under the care of her older sister. Disney films are excellent at letting their themes show \u2013 they are constructed to imprint moral lessons onto children, and thus must be simple to understand, and to easy remember; Disney films are practically themes that the characters, plot, and dialogue adheres to, which is why I am comfortable in using Lilo and Stitch as a brief example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The theme of a piece is not always there to educate, but the better themes that surface are the ones that demand thought on the audience\u2019s behalf. If the theme of a piece was \u2018betrayal\u2019, the audience must travel through the stages of firstly questioning what betrayal is, whether it is ever justified, and what in the show they are witnessing is an act of betrayal. Having witnessed and considered the term, it is possible that the audience member relates to some of the content, or can recall past moments where they have experienced either betrayal or being betrayed \u2013 the stronger the theme, the greater the catharsis. This link is one reason why people enjoy watching things that are positively entertaining, like sitcoms, or sketch shows \u2013 comedy in general. Fairly obviously, the themes of comedic pieces will stir more positivity within the audience member\u2019s mind. I do not wish to flatly suggest that all comedy has comedic themes, Chekov\u2019s \u201cThe Proposal\u201d, for instance is a comedic piece with such themes as \u2018pride\u2019, \u2018selfishness\u2019, \u2018arguments\u2019, and \u2018marital unrest\u2019. Once again, I am not suggesting these to be the only themes of the play, and of course I am not suggesting that they are the most important themes of the piece. Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d includes death threats, drug abuse, fighting, seduction, and much adult content, which contribute to such themes as \u2018mortality\u2019, \u2018deceit\u2019, and \u2018sex\u2019 \u2013 all very adult for a comedy widely considered so suitable for children.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Likewise, many Disney films contain questionable themes and morals \u2013 the prevailing theme of \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d (1994) is \u2018Beauty\u2019, with the lesson that regardless of everyone\u2019s exterior, it is the beauty on the inside that truly matters. This is all well and good, but all things considered, the Beast\u2019s transformation into a handsome prince completely detracts from this lesson, replacing it with some loose message that you can change someone you love to better suit you, and that this takes place after the Beast has actually murdered a human character. More themes can be \u2018Love\u2019, \u2018Winter\u2019, and with most Disney films, \u2018Magic\u2019 \u2013 and at the other end of the spectrum, there are \u2018Prejudice\u2019, \u2018Deformity\u2019, \u2018Hatred\u2019. Plays and films can have a wide mixture of mature themes as well as childish ones \u2013 it is just more noticeable to an adult whenever a mature theme is present.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>There have been many occasions of a series of pieces that present a shared theme throughout, for instance the first three \u201cStar Wars\u201d films all explore the themes of \u2018Defiance\u2019, \u2018Power\u2019, and \u2018Relationships\u2019, and they play as a coming-of-age story for the protagonist, Luke Skywalker. Similarly, there are occasions of a series of pieces that, although related, explore very different themes each time, though this is more so the case for television serials than films, for instance the popular television show \u201cSkins\u201d (2007) breaks each episode of its first season into stories concerning, or at least mainly focusing on, just one character, and their troubles at the time. One episode would show the themes of \u2018Betrayal\u2019 and \u2018Loss\u2019, where another one would deal with \u2018Revelation\u2019 and \u2018Forgiveness\u2019.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Films can be split into sections that each explore a different theme; the 2006 film \u201cCandy\u201d is split into three sections, \u201cHeaven\u201d, \u201cEarth\u201d, and \u201cHell\u201d. Following the love life of two drug abusers in Australia, the first segment is concerned with the themes \u2018Love\u2019, \u2018Youth\u2019, and \u2018Success\u2019. The second segment deals with \u2018Pain\u2019, \u2018Addiction\u2019, and \u2018Unhealthy\u2019. The final segment covers \u2018Loss\u2019, \u2018Defeat\u2019, and \u2018Morality\u2019. Though many themes are present, the overlying theme of \u201cCandy\u201d could well be \u2018Addiction\u2019, as it is a tale of addiction, both the roots, and the results of it. And in the way that these themes are lesser to a main theme, with my previous example of the original \u201cStar Wars\u201d trilogy, each film itself has separate themes, episode IV about \u2018Discovery\u2019, episode V about \u2018Trial\u2019, and episode VI about \u2018Persistence\u2019.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The theme of a piece needn\u2019t be just one word either. Many themes are expressed through a phrase or sentence, and these can be more focused that the universality of using just one word. Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d is thematically about \u2018Love\u2019, \u2018Loss\u2019, and \u2018Law\u2019, but it could be more accurate to suggest the theme to be \u2018The power of forbidden love\u2019, or \u2018The disastrous effect of young love\u2019 or \u2018Tragedy in Love\u2019. If one attempts to make a theme too relevant to its piece, then it loses all its universality and goes from being a theme to being a summary of the plot, or story. For example, I could have suggested that \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d is about \u2018Star-Crossed lovers meeting with tragedy\u2019, but that would be plot; I might even have gone on to say it is about \u2018 Star-Crossed lovers in Verona committing suicide for what turns out to be no reason at all\u2019, but that would be story. As we regress backwards through these past few examples, it is clear to see that only \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d could have that story, whereas quite a few plays or films could share the plot \u2013 \u201cTitanic (1997)\u201d, \u201cThe Lion King 2 (1998)\u201d, for instance \u2013 and literally thousands of films, plays, books, radioplays, and other media could include the themes, with an even greater scope for the one-word themes.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cEquus\u201d by Peter Shafer (1993) covers many themes \u2013 mostly mature themes however, considering the events of the play. The blinding of horses, the trial and mental instability of a teenage boy, praise of a horse-god, and recollection of passionate memories with horses; the play is about \u2018Sexual Awakening\u2019, \u2018the Influence of Religion\u2019, \u2018Lust\u2019, \u2018Power, \u2018Psychotic behaviour\u2019, and \u2018Analysis\u2019. These key themes tell us the content of the story, and in terms of the plot, which may be summarized as \u2018The sexual awakening and tragedy of a troubled individual\u2019. My interpretation of the plot contains multiple themes in the one sentence \u2013 \u2018troubled individual\u2019, \u2018sexual awakening\u2019. Plots can be created through the considered process of combining themes of the play. For examples\u2019 sake, I consider the play \u201cMother Courage and her children\u201d, wherein different themes include \u2018Loss\u2019, \u2018Wartime Profiteering\u2019, \u2018Negligence\u2019, \u2018Ownership\u2019, and \u2018Pride\u2019 \u2013 from these I could suggest the plot of Mother Courage to be \u2018The loss suffered by an individual through negligence and pride\u2019. One must be careful though, as it is easy to choose the wrong themes when writing a plot, and thus skew the intention of the play or film completely \u2013 if I were to have suggested the plot to be \u2018Loss of Ownership through Wartime Profiteering by an individual\u2019, then it would have sounded completely incorrect. The inclusion of \u2018Ownership\u2019, despite being vague to someone ignorant of the play, is a direct reference to Mother Courage\u2019s children, and so this \u2018plot\u2019 has lost its universality and become a description of the story. The overlying theme of the play, through my interpretation, is \u2018Loss\u2019, and that includes loss through ignorance, loss of business, loss of status, loss of morals, loss of her children, actions that result in loss, and the loss of one side in the war from which she is making her living. Mother Courage does not show any regret, so she does not display a sense of loss \u2013 which I feel is important to the play \u2013 but she does nonetheless lose a great deal over the course of the play. I now reflect on my comment and suggest that \u2018Loss through ignorance\u2019 could be a description of the plot. Other films and plays feature it as a plot, \u201dDownfall\u201d (2006) coming to mind, or even just a s a subplot, as with most villains or antagonists \u2013 \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d has the character Gaston, whose ignorant pride in himself and ignorant opposition to Beast lead to his downfall, and eventual demise. This aspect of the plot adds \u2018Ignorance\u2019 and \u2018Pride\u2019 to my list of the themes in \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>To suggest every play or film has only one theme is ridiculous, but there will always be some themes that are more relevant to the piece \u2013 returning to the phrase that the theme is the backbone, the themes of higher importance would be the large vertebrae, and those of lesser importance would be smaller vertebrae. Shared themes among plays and films suggest the theme to be a topic of great discussion \u2013 with multiple productions addressing a similar theme; it both suggests the importance of that theme, and the universality of it. The stronger the theme, the greater the interest in the piece, with audiences preferring to view \u2018Passion\u2019, \u2018Deliverance\u2019, and \u2018Genocide\u2019 over \u2018Liking\u2019, \u2018Biking\u2019, and \u2018Drink Spiking\u2019. Theme must always be addressed in the creation of a piece, and discussed after the presenting of it \u2013 where a play may be dropped or forgotten, the themes will continue in many other plays and films.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Bibliography<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cEquus\u201d Shafer, Peter. London: Longman 2007.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cLion King 2\u201d, \u201cLilo and Stitch\u201d, \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d Disney, USA 1994-2003<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d, \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d Shakespeare, William. \u201cWilliam Shakespeare: Complete Works\u201d Bate, Jonathon. London: Macmillan Publishing ltd, 2008.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThe Proposal\u201d Chekhov, Anton<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first hand-in for a 1st-year-undergrad university course on Creative Writing I took in 2009. I couldn\u2019t bring myself to read all of it again, it\u2019s so badly informed (notice the complete lack of critical perspective in my bibliography). I assume that I\u2019d rushed this last minute; choosing instead to dedicate the weeks I had in preparation to partying and playing megadrive. That first line even \u2013 eurgh! \u201cEVERY<\/em> film and play has at least one defining theme\u201d?! What tosh. Past Monty is, and always will be, an imbecile. Well, enjoy\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

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