What is theme?
"Theme" is a term used by screenwriters to describe the essence of a story. The term is ill-defined and occasionally frustrating to aspiring screenwriters.
Rather than trying to define theme, I am going to direct aspiring screenwriters to this article written by John August. He defines theme as "the underlying idea that informed every moment and every character in the script".
He applies this definition to his own screenplays, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Nines and Go, describing the ideas that informed his scripts. It's a fascinating article written by an extremely articulate screenwriter.
As an aspiring screenwriter, my favourite line of advice was:
"Once you feel confident what your unwritten movie wants to be, you make sure every scene and character and line of dialogue services that ideal."
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