Title: Movie Themes: Examples of Common Themes for Screenwriters
Headings: Movie Themes: Examples of Common Themes for Screenwriters
Movie Themes: Examples of Common Themes for Screenwriters
Theme in film
What is a movie theme?
Movies Themes • Equipment for Living
THEME DEFINITION
What is a theme in film?
Movie Themes #1
God and Philosophy
Are the Coen Brothers Obsessed with Desks? • Subscribe on YouTube
Coin Toss Scene • No Country for Old Men
I Feel Overmatched • No Country for Old Men
Themes in Coen Brothers’ films
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Movie Themes #2
Survival
“There’s something inside they can’t get to”
“I guess it comes down to a simple choice.”
Ending Scene • Shawshank Redemption
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Movie Themes #3
Virtue and Values
“It’s creepy! Let’s go home!”
Judgement, Courage, Loyalty
SPIRITED AWAY
Movie Themes #4
Love
“You are our last hope.”
Judgement, Courage, Loyalty
CASABLANCA
Movie Themes #5
Social themes
Mookie and Pino
Death of Radio Raheem
DO THE RIGHT THING
Movie Themes #6
Good vs. Evil
The hottest spot north of Havana
“Why did you do that!?”
GOODFELLAS
Movie Themes #7
Discovering Self-Knowledge
Contempo casual
Cher’s new project
All by Myself
CLUELESS
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Theme: Definition and Examples
Showcase your vision with elegant shot lists and storyboards.

Content: McKee refers to movie themes as “controlling ideas,” which are “the purest form of a story's meaning, the vision of life the audience members carry away into their lives.” Here's McKee with further explanation. Movies Themes • Equipment for Living
As seen with McKee’s “controlling idea,” theme can be defined in a number of ways. Often, people define film themes in one, or perhaps several, words. Examples include: Love
Death
Justice
Coming of age
Man vs. nature
But strictly speaking, these are story topics or subjects, not themes. As we define it in our article on theme, a theme in film is actually “the inferred stance taken on a topic of a story.” THEME DEFINITION
What is a theme in film? A theme is the inferred stance taken on a topic of a story. Everything that happens within a story should reference back to a theme.