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John Carpenter on Theme

March 10, 2014 by Scott W. Smith

Erik Bauer: Do you think a great science fiction film needs to have some kind of a social anchor? I mean, a social relevance, a metaphor, or a statement that it makes?

John Carpenter: “It has to have a thematic concern. Every great work has something that’s thematic about it. Not a message, because I don’t think movies do messages very well. They fall flat. Socially, I mean, some great films were made back in the ’30s and ’40s and you can see that they were placed in the time they were made, but their themes are for all time. The biggest thing is the story, but within that you need some thematic element that gets the audience going, that reaches out to them.”

Creative Screenwriting, Volume 6, #1

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Posted in screenwriting | 3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. on March 13, 2014 at 5:13 am John

    Can you hit upon theme for a month and really give the low down? Craig Mazen is all about theme. He charts it separately when he outlines structure.


  2. on March 13, 2014 at 3:19 pm Scott W. Smith

    Thanks John. I’ll work towards that this year. Can string a lot of the ones in the past together in one month. I think theme and emotion are the main things missing of a lot of screenplays and movies.


  3. on March 19, 2014 at 4:23 pm John

    Emotion as in subtext? Sub textual feelings? I think that’s a great point.

    I think the best films boil down their theme to a very simple premise and stick to it throughout until they arc out from it in the end.

    Literally, every scene involving said character harps on said theme.

    Perfect example is the theme of “Faith” in The Exotcist with Father Karras. He’s not griping about a million different issues/themes – the peanut butter, the blinds, the color of the bibles. No, instead it’s a thematic constant complaint – “I got no faith, I can’t do this!”

    In the end, even the devil uses this inner turmoil against him. It’s brilliant. Really, The Exorcist doesn’t get enough credit for being a great work on the page. It’s flawless.



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