Aspiring screenwriters are usually aware they need a screenplay theme but don’t know how to express it…
In this post, we’re going to demystify the confusion about screenplay theme and show you exactly how to show it in your script. We’ll do this using three different methods. But first…
What is a script theme?
Put simply, the theme in a screenplay is a dramatic question. It’s the writer’s point of view that they wish to express about a specific subject. Whether that’s love, money, human nature, or whatever.
For example, in When Harry Met Sally, the theme is not just ”love” but the dramatic question: Can men and women ever just be just friends?
The writer’s personal answer to this question forms the screenplay theme. In this case, that men and women can’t be friends, which is shown at the climax when Harry and Sally finally become a couple.
You may have heard that a screenplay theme can be expressed in many different ways. Maybe through imagery, dialogue, setting, etc. But these explanations are usually pretty vague.
So, here are the three most powerful ways to include a script theme in your screenplay.
Screenplay theme method #1: Express it through your characters’ actions.
When learning how to express a screenplay theme through characters, it’s important to first understand that the three most important ones are the protagonist and antagonist and stakes character.
Each character represents a side of the writer’s argument and, therefore, the screenplay theme.
• The protagonist represents the “unknown” side of the writer’s argument, the side that still has to make up their mind.
• The antagonist represents the “bad” side of the argument.
• The stakes character (often the love interest) represents the “good” side of the argument.
Throughout the film, it’s up to the protagonist to choose which side of the thematic argument he or she wishes to fall on.
Then, at the climax, either the antagonist or the stakes character prevails, winning the thematic argument.
Screenplay theme example: Fargo.
The theme to Fargo can be expressed in the argument:
Is money necessary to be happy?
If we apply the above formula using each character as an expression of the screenplay theme, it breaks down like this:
• Jerry is the protagonist.
• The kidnappers, Carl and Gaear are the antagonists.
• The policewoman, Marge, is the stakes character: the only character who already knows the answer to the thematic question.
With Marge’s simple outlook on life and uneventful but cozy marriage, Marge represents the argument “No, money is not necessary to be happy.” And all the unnecessary carnage in the film backs up her point of view.
At the end, the Carl and Gaear are either captured or killed and the protagonist, Jerry, also loses when he is caught. Again, this backs up the stakes character’s side of the argument.
Overall, however, the protagonist is the most important character in the script. This is because they’re the one who usually changes the most, which they do by learning the lesson of the theme.
Screenplay theme method #2: Express it through dialogue.
The second most powerful way to express a screenplay theme is through its dialogue. This is usually done by making each of the three main characters—the protagonist, antagonist and stakes character—express their opinion on the theme.
However, it’s important not to go overboard and let your characters talk and talk about the theme, or their dialogue will feel unnatural.
Let’s use Fargo again as an example. Right after the climax, Marge asks Gaear if all the killing was worth it “just for a bit of money.” The theme that money is not necessary to be happy is stated like this at key moments throughout the movie.
3. Screenplay theme method #3: Express it through objects.
Here’s a slightly more advanced screenwriting tip on how to convey a screenplay theme: give your protagonist an object that they carry around and/or identify with. This should symbolize themselves and/or their struggle through the movie.
Think of this object as a visual motif. It can be anything, from a necklace to a burrito, and should be highlighted in selected scenes as a symbol of growth, and consequently the screenplay theme.
For example, at the start of the dramedy, Lonesome Jim, Jim (Casey Affleck) arrives at his parents’ house, depressed having run out of money. As they fuss around him, he tearfully asks for some water.
Then, throughout the film there are several key references to Jim and water, as he rebuffs the local nurse Anika (Liv Tyler) while waiting to leave town.
[Spoiler alert!] In the last scene, having decided to stay and make a go of his relationship with Anika, her son gives him a bottle of water. We then see him drink heartily for the very first time.
In other words, the thematic object for Jim in this film is water, which represents his “life force” or “spiritual energy.” At the beginning of the movie, his dehydration symbolizes his “emotional dehydration.” He’s worn out, physically, mentally and emotionally.
But when he drinks the water at the end, this is an expression of the screenplay theme saying he’s been “revitalized” by finally making the right choice in life.
Adding a symbolic object to your protagonist’s world, like Jim’s water, or Ryan Bingham’s suitcase in Up in the Air adds an extra layer to your script theme.
These kinds of thematic details are usually added after quite a few drafts when your screenplay is beginning to really take shape.
Expressing a script theme: conclusion.
When considering your screenplay theme, it makes things much easier to think of the theme as a tug of war between three opposing points of view on the same subject. And at the climax, the winner is the writer’s own personal point of view.
Setting it up this way should give your screenplay theme a clearer direction. It should make it easier to drop in the extra nuggets of thematic dialogue and objects that elevate the script above the competition.
We recommend you start considering your screenplay theme soon after writing your concept and logline. It could save you a lot of work further on down the line. This is because you can only make your characters act a certain way once you know why they’re acting that way.
In other words, once you know what their opinion is on the script’s theme.
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What do you think of these three ways of expressing a screenplay theme? How do you get across what your script’s really about thematically? Let us know in the comments section below.
Enjoyed this post? Read more about theme and how to write a script…
Character Arc: The Secret Sauce to Demonstrating Your Hero’s Growth
How to Write a Screenplay: The Secret to Elevating It Above the Ordinary
16 Essential Screenwriting Tips to Make Your Script Stand Above the Rest
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