Themes

Virtually every form of media comprises of some sort of message being delivered. When media is used for storytelling purposes, that message becomes a theme. Themes are essentially topics or subjects that can be communicated as inherently important and worth the audience's attention. They can be as simple as figuring out that the theme explored in Lil Jon's "Turn Down for What" is to party.

Themes can range from generic topics, such as Love, Family, or War -or they can grow increasingly specific ("Differences in abilities don’t have to be limiting" is a great example of a very focused theme).  Below you'll find a website that lists some common themes found in storytelling and literature:

http://homeworktips.about.com/od/writingabookreport/a/themelist.htm

Their description goes further by describing ways in which themes present themselves -either through a common pattern or motif reoccurring throughout the story, or as a result of a build up of events culminating with the theme. Some are easy to identify almost immediately, others take time to sink in and come to full realization.

Either way, themes are used because they are the common denominator of our lives. We deal with what are essentially themes everyday, broad or specific. It's essential to use themes in a work because they provide a connection with the reader. To say a theme in a work, for example, is Family would immediately resonate with the audience's personal knowledge of families.

As you watch these trailers, try to figure out what themes are prevalent:




Now because themes go back as far as oral history and storytelling, we're bound to come across the same themes throughout various works.

Case in point:

When the movie Avatar was releasing in theaters, everyone was talking about it. This was James Cameron's latest major work since Titanic, and was to be the first major motion picture using using groundbreaking new 3D technology - expectations were high.



As was expected, the results were mixed, but fell short of where most people thought. Primarily, the biggest criticism was the value -with IMAX 3D tickets at 20$ per adult, there were complaints about whether it was worth the price to essentially watch the same movie for the 3rd time. When that argument was thrown around, these were usually the movies they were referring to:



The Last of the Mohicans synopsis: "As the English and French soldiers battle for control of the North American colonies in the 18th century, the settlers and native Americans are forced to take sides. Cora and her sister Alice unwittingly walk into trouble but are saved by Hawkeye, an orphaned settler adopted by the last of the Mohicans."



Pocahontas synopsis: "An English soldier and the daughter of an Algonquin chief share a romance when English colonists invade seventeenth-century Virginia."

When you return to looking at Avatar, you see the same basic trio of themes explored almost to the T,

-Love
-War
-Colonialism

Take a look:

Avatar synopsis: "In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora."


We look at these three very similar works and we ask ourselves: Why are these themes so popular that the basic story is recycled over and over to push these themes forward?

Or, maybe you don't ask yourself that. Either way, it's a message that begs for your attention.

[Magical segway into introduction of course novel] (Lesson from 09/16)

You can find countless examples of stories and theme collections being recycled, much for the same intent of pushing a message that begs to be heard by the audience. One such concerns the collection of the following themes:

- Fortune
- Corruption of morality
- Family

See if you can spot how these themes become prevalent to the story in these works



And while there is no official trailer for The Pearl by John Steinbeck, we can resort to it's synopsis:

"Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the Kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then, on a day like any other, Kino emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull's egg, as "perfect as the moon." With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security.... A story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man's nature, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love."

The idea of fortune, itself, goes back to a medieval concept of philosophy known as the Rota Fortunae, or as we've come to know it as:

This ancient way of seeing the world basically implies that we are all in constant motion on a revolving course of good and bad fortune. We have our good days and our bad days -there are even moments where we experience fits of lucky streaks or the opposite. Either way, this vertical wheel reminds us that what goes up, must come down. In literature, this element of rising and falling is commonly portrayed in a character's status over the course of the novel. Often times, we're introduced to a poor man who comes up big, or a superior individual who loses everything. We see this in our everyday lives as well:

There are of course more underlying themes that push forth throughout the course of reading The Pearl, and we'll address them soon enough. For now though, reflect on this theme of Fortune and Corruption. Is it possible to win big in life and still manage to maintain a sense of integrity?