Genre and Theme

[ricther]

Is it necessary that every script, or rather movie, have a theme? Im thinking about movies such Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity(im working on a found footage script) and even lots of comedies that I watch and either see no theme present or just too dumb to realize that there is one.

[mikewrites]

Re: Genre and Theme

Is it necessary that every script, or rather movie, have a theme?

Doesn't every story with a beginning, middle, and end have a theme?

[ricther]

Re: Genre and Theme

Doesn't every story with a beginning, middle, and end have a theme?

What is the theme of Paranormal Activity?

[Mossbraker]

Re: Genre and Theme

I don't even think about it. Just tell the story you want to tell and other people can slap a theme on their if they want. Unless, of course, you're purposely trying to make a statement about something. Don't most stories have many themes? Maybe hundreds, if you really want to break it down. Or you just mean one clear overriding theme? Isn't the "found footage" thing the major theme of Blair Which project, among other things?

For example I just came across this review on Blair Witch explaining the themes of it:

Many of the themes that made the first Blair Witch movie so interesting are still present. The characters rely on video cameras rather than on their own senses. They try to explain away their fears until it's too late. They cling to technology; they use it to try to separate themselves from the unseen menace around them. The unseen and unknown are still the source of dread; much like the first movie, even the very end doesn't answer questions as to exactly what was after the protagonists.

http://attrition.org/movies/blair2.html

[ricther]

Re: Genre and Theme

That reminds me of an episode of Entourage when James Cameron was at sundance and the counter girl asks him if the sinking of the titanic was a foreshadowing of the tech market crash and he replies that he just wanted to make girls cry.

[Mossbraker]

Re: Genre and Theme

Haha, exactly.

[BattleDolphinZero]

Re: Genre and Theme

Eventually you wanna be able to bear down on theme naturally. But if it's not coming to you, just think about some of the things you want to "explore" through your story and characters. That will add a cohesive layer. You'll start to see an added meaning to scenes but you won't be tied up in your head with a specific theme or dramatic question.

[ClintW3]

Re: Genre and Theme

Eventually you wanna be able to bear down on theme naturally. But if it's not coming to you, just think about some of the things you want to "explore" through your story and characters. That will add a cohesive layer. You'll start to see an added meaning to scenes but you won't be tied up in your head with a specific theme or dramatic question.

This is how we tried to develop theme of "faith" in our medievalzombie script.

No, really.

[TwoBrad Bradley]

Re: Genre and Theme

Is it necessary that every script, or rather movie, have a theme? ...

No.

[ChadStrohl]

Re: Genre and Theme

Yes.

But you don't necessarily have to feel responsible for it. It will come out in the way you write it, the way you craft a scene, the way an actor plays a role, the way a director frames a shot, and the way an audience member percieves it. Oddly enough, none of these may actually agree on what the theme is. It ultimately begins in the writer's brain at a subconscious level and sometimes it's obvious, while other times it may be so subtle it's barely visible.

But be warned. Just because it's not something you have to obsess over, it can be something that destroys the overall perception of your story. If your subconscious takes your story in all sorts of random directions, the audience may not be able to pick up on the meaning, and if the audience is anything like me, they will need at least some scrap of meaning in which to lock onto.

As far as Blair Witch, the Theme that jumped out at me was...

"Haha! Sucker. I just made you pay money to watch me. Fool!"

Believe me. I felt that theme all the way through that movie. Every scene reinforced it more powerful than the last.

[AE35-Unit]

Re: Genre and Theme

You can have something without a theme but you risk narrowing your demographic unless it is written so well it can transcend what the audience expects from the genre.

[Rhodi]

Re: Genre and Theme

A man sits in his workshop, busy with an invention of wheels and springs. You ask him what the gadget is; what it is meant to do. He looks at you confidingly and whispers: "I really don't know."
Another man rushes down the street, panting for breath. You intercept him and ask where he is going. He gasps: "How should I know where I'm going. I am on my way."
Your reaction - and ours, and the world's - is that these two men are a little mad. Every sensible invention must have a purpose, every planned sprint a destination.
- Lajos Egri

You might start with a single word or concept you wish to explore - "loyalty, friendship, greed" - but even starting from such a simple premise will make your story far more cohesive and ultimately cathartic for the audience than if you simply start writing a story based on a series of events and actions.

I originally resisted thinking about theme before writing because it is hard work. But I've since found my scripts are much stronger for putting in the effort up front.

[nmstevens]

Re: Genre and Theme

What is the theme of Paranormal Activity?

Both Paranormal and Blair Witch have a classic horror movie theme.

Those who trespass upon forbidden realms (really, those who seek forbidden knowledge) will be destroyed.

The theme of the "trespass" -- the mortal who enters into the realms of the gods or violates some taboo and is then destroyed for it is a classic one.

Often, as in "Paranormal" -- we see that the trespass ends in a revelation from the Protagonist's past that leads to destruction.

Despite the updated epistolary style of story-telling, these works are classically constructed.

NMS

[ricther]

Re: Genre and Theme

Both Paranormal and Blair Witch have a classic horror movie theme.

Those who trespass upon forbidden realms (really, those who seek forbidden knowledge) will be destroyed.

The theme of the "trespass" -- the mortal who enters into the realms of the gods or violates some taboo and is then destroyed for it is a classic one.

Often, as in "Paranormal" -- we see that the trespass ends in a revelation from the Protagonist's past that leads to destruction.

Despite the updated epistolary style of story-telling, these works are classically constructed.

NMS

Well I guess I just discovered my theme. Thanks

[pjc]

Re: Genre and Theme

Both Paranormal and Blair Witch have a classic horror movie theme.

Those who trespass upon forbidden realms (really, those who seek forbidden knowledge) will be destroyed.

The theme of the "trespass" -- the mortal who enters into the realms of the gods or violates some taboo and is then destroyed for it is a classic one.

Often, as in "Paranormal" -- we see that the trespass ends in a revelation from the Protagonist's past that leads to destruction.

Despite the updated epistolary style of story-telling, these works are classically constructed.

NMS

And the theme of the sequels is money, money, money, MONEY! -sing it, you know the words..