The movie’s main idea is its theme. The theme is what drives the movie. People go to the movies because of the theme. It has nothing to do with the story, characters, plot, cinematography, or genre. The theme sets the rules for all of these things. They show how the theme is shown, but most moviegoers and people who talk about movies afterward don’t know or understand the theme.
The theme is chosen by the producer, who hires and fires people and gets the money to make the movie. When a movie’s producer decides on a theme, they will hire a writer to come up with the theme and a director to show how the theme will be shown on film. Or, the producer can look through scripts that have already been written to find one with the theme they want.
The script will have a story or action and a plot when the theme is completed. When you put these two things together, you get character development, which leads to or shows the theme. Basically, everything in the movie comes back to the theme.
The theme allows the audience to connect with the specific subject matter of the movie. Strong themes also make you remember a movie long after seeing it. The theme is the main idea and guides the filmmakers as they work.
You can’t say enough about how important the theme is. When the theme changes, a movie’s whole point and point of view change. A movie’s time period or decade can be used to help figure out some of its themes. Themes and the movies that come from them often reflect the time’s social, economic, or political climate. Below are the top movie themes of the 2000s and why they were famous.
Good Vs. Evil
People often say that forces at odds with each other work well together, whether through light and dark, love, or the way magnets attract each other. In movies, characters with good morals are often put next to characters with bad morals. This usually happens after a turning point in their lives. From a viewer’s point of view, a story isn’t enjoyable if only one force, good or bad, rules the whole time. Instead, the movie shows how these two platforms work together through the contrasts of protagonists and antagonists, rising and falling action, and the figure of speech “oxymoron.” Lord of the Flies is the best example of the “Good vs. Evil” theme because it shows, through the character of Jack, how the influence of one’s environment can turn an otherwise good person into a villain.
Revenge
Revenge tragedy is a literary genre in which the main theme is vengeance and how it often leads to death. The second part is usually left out of most movies. The genre of revenge stories is often one of the most interesting ways to tell a story in movies. If the story is personal to the main character, it becomes unique to the audience. Good or bad, no matter what decisions are made, they are easier to understand. Most revenge movies are probably more of an action type. They usually start with a person with a past and a mission, and even though the hero causes a lot of damage and kills many people, they typically end on a happy note. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie Commando is a great example.
The best films about revenge make people feel and think. Whether the main character feels cheated, betrayed, or attacked, getting revenge changes them in some way. To get revenge for the death of a wife or to save a kidnapped child may change a person so much that they do things they never thought they could do. Sometimes, what they do can hurt more than help, leaving the audience to wonder if it was all worth it.
Money And Value
A strong and deep desire for something is one of the most important things that make stories and characters enjoyable. So, it’s not surprising that one of the main themes of some of the most exciting movies ever made is money and the acquisition of it.
Whether it’s the movie’s central theme, like in Casino, or just one of many complex ideas, like in Jurassic Park, exploring how to make money has helped make some exciting movies. Casino is a story about how a mafia enforcer and a casino executive, who are best friends, compete with each other over a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite. Greed, lies, money, power, and murder play a role in the story. There are casino-related well researched websites aplenty that you can check out to learn more about how casino works.
Sacrifice
The very definition of sacrifice is selflessness. Whether you’re showing your love for God, your country, your family, your fellow humans, or a worthwhile cause, it’s undeniably an outward, often painful act of strength.
Making a sacrifice is hard in this modern society. Maybe it’s because everyone’s so entitled these days or because relativism rules and love have become so entangled with people’s fickle emotions that it’s no longer seen as anything worth giving up for.
Storytelling has always included sacrifice as a recurring theme. Sacrifice is a common theme in many of the stories we hold dear, whether it be the external, physical offering of one’s life or the internal, psychological letting go of some part of one’s identity. It can add interest to a story and help a character grow and change in exciting ways. All of us are moved by the sacrifices shown in fiction, both in books and movies.
Just consider the highest-grossing film of all time, Avengers: Endgame. Which are the two most memorable parts of it, and why? Both probably involve some sort of giving up on something valuable. One that immediately comes to mind is the film’s climax, in which Tony Stark/Iron Man must wield the full power of the Infinity Gauntlet, despite knowing that doing so would result in his own death to beat Thanos and save the universe. But he does it anyway, giving his life for the greater welfare of everything in the universe. His passing is universally mourned, and it has profoundly affected the subsequent releases of Marvel movies.
