GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “Gladiator” — Themes

By way of introduction, let me say I think this subject — Theme — is one of the most misunderstood areas in relation to screenwriting and probably as a result of that one of the least discussed. Yet we all know in order to write a successful script, it is critical for us to understand and handle our story’s thematic elements.

There are two ways I’ve most often heard the term theme used:

* Theme as the moral of the story: As in “Rome and Juliet” — Great love defies even death. Or “King Lear” — Blind trust leads to destruction. Or “Macbeth” — Ruthless ambition leads to its own destruction.

* Theme as the “essential idea” of the story: The best version of this take I’ve read is by John August here where he talks about theme as a “story’s DNA.”

There’s merit to both of these descriptions. I wish to propose a slightly different spin on the concept of theme as it relates to a screenplay:

Theme is about the emotional meaning of a story.

Theme is not so much an intellectual exercise — e.g., “absolute power corrupts absolutely — but rather something personal, human, affective. A story’s thematic elements should, in my view, connect to a reader or viewer’s very soul, they should feel the themes, not just think them.

In the screenplay paradigm I use — Narrative Throughline — there are two parts of the screenplay universe:

The External World where we see and hear characters through their Actions and Dialogue. I call this the Plotline.

The Internal World were we interpret and intuit characters through their Intention and Subtext. I call this the Themeline.

External World — Action / Dialogue — Plotline

Internal World — Intention / Subtext — Themeline

If this is right, then themes are grounded in the Themeline, what we may think of as the story’s emotional plot.

The Plotline answers the question: What is the story about?

The Themeline answers the question: What does the story mean?

Hence this idea: Theme = Meaning.

So what are the themes in play in the script we read for “Gladiator”? For the last two days in comments, we have touched on the concept of Rome as having thematic significance. Today let’s really crack that one open and dig into it. And there are other themes as well. What did you see at work in the script? And what is your takeaway as to the story’s emotional meaning?

For Day 1 of our analysis of “Gladiator,” a general discussion, go here.

For Day 2 of our analysis, focusing on structure, go here.

For Day 3 of our analysis, focusing on characters, go here.

If you haven’t had the chance to read the 10.22.1998 draft of “Gladiator, you may go here to access it.

[Remember next week’s genre is comedy. The script: Bridesmaids.]

NOTE: THIS SERIES AND THE USE OF SCRIPTS IS STRICTLY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES!

Comment Archive