Research: Themes (Miss B)

Themes

What are themes? Themes area prominent or ideas that reoccur  within a film, or an idea that is continuously repeated in a script or narrative.

Why are they important to identify for the audience? The audiences have expectations, and anticipate these expectations, when they are vaguely aware of what the film has to offer. Audience needs the ability to respond accordingly to a film depending on which theme is being exploited. Also, viewers can create meaning from the general iconography of a theme - for example, a married couple indicates love, trust and loyalty. Also, themes act as an advantage to the audience for they can learn from them.

Themes & Genres

Themes are dependant on genres - meaning that, a certain theme will only apply to a certain genre. (Generally, for some themes commonly overlap, for example both action and war will include the theme of violence). For each of these few genres, there are themes that will almost always be included in any movie of that genre. Viewers can become familiar with these themes and rise their expectations.

ROM-COM | breakups, love, conflict, humour, plot twist, loyalty

ACTION | chases, fighting, money, revenge, death

CRIME | drug/alcohol abuse, violence, death, institutions/the law, vengeance, rape

SCI-FI | abnormality, experiments, science, catastrophe

Other groups of themes could apply to multiple genres. FIGHTING, BATTLE, LAND, OWNERSHIP, HIERARCHY could describe a war movie, a historical movie, an apocalypse movie.

THRILLER movies widely revolve around the themes of crime, good vs. evil, conspiracy, obsession, psychological, death, evangelical/religion, mystery, weapons/violence and medicine.

more specifically, to name a few...
Psychological thrillers typical of madness/mental instability, mystery/puzzle, controversy
Conspiracy thrillers typical of religion, evil vs good, controversy, society, history
Techno thrillers typical of action, science fiction (sci-fi), technology, future
Legal thrillers typical of law, politics, upper class, crime, conflict

Thriller Themes & Why

In this trailer of Black Swan, we see the themes of competition/rivalry/passion. This is evident in the fact that she is a dancer and she is up against other dancers in the same show. We see leadership; the dance mentor directing all of the girls' movements. He also has power, which is a theme separate from leadership. These themes may not seem so typically thriller, but, as the trailer progresses, there is a strong sense of psychological conventions - ultimately she is fighting against herself, she has a split-personality; everything is in her mind. Jealousy against her friend, a fellow dancer, is also significant. It runs so deep that she imagines things. There's love and lust included too, between the 'black swan' and her dance master, also with her friend.

Impact of themes on audience

The psychological aspect of thrillers will always interest the audience, because to think that there could be a world outside of 'normality' encourages us to explore it. How? By watching movies which demonstrate things and people we might never experience. Viewers find it exciting or even funny to see madness and insanity, or just mere 'brain-juicers' which get you to think (obviously, being as Psychology is a study on the brain/mind).

The theme of jealousy can provoke and encourage the audience to pick sides which greatly engages them in the characters, creating an emotional response. 

Love also offers the chance of judgement of characters, depending on the way the love is exhibited. Between black swan and her dance master, audience may respond in disgust. On the other hand, between the black swan and her friend, the audience may be excited for whether the character's friendship will remain, or if it was always more, or if it ever even existed and this is all a part of the competition. 

Conclusion 

I want to use psychology in my thriller because I think, as part of an audience myself, that deluded characters are the most interesting. Love is common, but I think a thriller can be a success without that theme, depending on the plot. There are also different kinds of love, not just romantically. I'll have to consider this if I do decide to include the theme of 'love' in my opening. Will it be friendship or a relationship? Could it be forbidden, or obsession?  Also, leadership could tie into psychological - making the audience think someone is the most important character when actually someone with a lesser part has a bigger meaning.