Best Answer
The first thing you need to do is understand what a theme is. A theme is an idea in a movie. Many people think of themes as the main idea, but a movie may have a central theme and several other themes. If you are not sure how to identify a movie’s theme, think about the things in a movie that you want to talk about after you watch it or that leave you thinking about the movie. While themes can spur a number of different discussions, you should be able to describe the them concisely, generally in a sentence or two.
Next, you need to select the movie that you want to watch. While any movie should have at least one identifiable theme, some have themes that are easy to understand, which makes them easy to write about. If you want to write about love, choose a movie known for its romantic themes like Romeo and Juliet or Titanic. If you want to write about war, Apocalypse Now is a wonderful example of a war movie. Thelma and Louise is a great movie if you want to write about friendship, while To Kill a Mockingbird addresses the idea of justice. If you do not get to pick your movie, but have to write about the theme of an assigned film, googling the film and the word “theme” can help you identify themes in it and what to look for as you watch it.
If you are having a difficult time identifying the theme of a movie, you may want to think about some of the recurring themes that occur in movies. They are also themes you are likely to encounter in literature. These themes include: love, death, justice, friendship, sacrifice, coming of age, good versus evil, survival, power, courage, prejudice, war, and individualism. Think about the movie that you have just watched. Did you notice any of these universal themes in the movie? How did the movie treat that theme? You can take that to try to create a theme statement.
