Film Studies: Thematic Elements

Chapter 2
The Art ofWatching Films
Joseph M. Boggs
DennisW. Petrie
Thematic Elements
 THEME refers to the unifying central concern of the film,
the special focus that unifies the work.

 Ideas
 Plot
 Emotional Effect or Mood
 Character
 Style or Texture

All five are present in ALL film; but in any given film, one is
predominant.
Thematic Elements: PLOT
What happens in the film?
 Adventure stories
 Detective stories
Gladiator
Spider-Man
Hidalgo
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Titanic
The Fast and the Furious
Thematic Elements:
EMOTIONAL EFFECT or MOOD
The director creates a highly specialized mood or
emotional effect. In such films, it is possible to
identify a single mood or emotion that prevails
throughout the film.
The Shining
40-Year-OldVirgin
The Piano
Psycho
Thematic Elements: CHARACTER
The focus in this type of film is mostly on the character. Although
plot is important in such films, what happens is important
primarily because it helps us understand the character being
developed.
What sets these characters apart from ordinary people?

A Beautiful Mind
Cinderella Man
Raging Bull
Elizabeth
Frida
Ray
Thematic Elements: STYLE or TEXTURE
OR STRUCTURE
These films have a quality that sets them apart—a unique look,
feel, rhythm, atmosphere, tone, or organization that echoes
in our minds and senses long after we leave the theater.

Waking Life
The English Patient
Fargo
Pulp Fiction
The Road Home
Thematic Elements: IDEAS
In most serious films, the action and characters have a significance
beyond the context of the film itself—a significance that helps to
clarify some aspect of life, experience, or the human condition.

1. Moral Implications
2. The Truth of Human Nature
3. Social Problems
4. The Struggle for Human Dignity
5. The Complexity of Human Relationships
6. Coming of Age/Loss of Innocence/Growing Awareness
7. A Moral or Philosophical Riddle
Thematic Elements: IDEAS
Moral Implications
Fight Club
Being John Malkovich
Crash
The Truth of Human Nature
Lord of the Flies (1963)
Groundhog Day
Requiem for a Dream
Social Problems
Mississippi Burning
Dead ManWalking
Do the Right Thing
Thematic Elements: IDEAS
The Struggle for Human Dignity
Million Dollar Baby
Rent
Schindler’s List
The Complexity of Human Relationships
TheWar of the Roses
Broke
Terms of Endearment
A Moral or Philosophical Riddle
Fight Club
Thematic Elements: IDEAS

Coming of Age/Loss of
Innocence/Growing Awareness
About a Boy
Finding Nemo
Sixteen Candles
Billy Elliot
Thematic Elements: IDEAS
 Billy Elliot (2000)
 Director: Stephen Daldry
 Jamie Bell…Billy Elliot
 Jean Heywood…Grandma
 Jamie Draven…Tony Elliot (brother)
 Gary Lewis…Dad (Jackie Elliot)

Setting: The 1984 Miners Strike in England

Brief Synopsis: A talented young boy becomes torn between his

unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.