Themes and Style

Theme -
An underlying subject or idea that the film revolves around, acting as a foundation for the film.

In title sequences the theme is often the key theme taken from the film. This is used to give an audience an idea of what to expect from the film. It usually has a similar tone regarding visuals, audio, narrative etc.

An example of this is Dexter. This is a show based on a blood splatter analyst, who is also a serial killer. He is obsessed with blood and cannot controll his urge to kill, so to consolidate this need he attempts to try to make the best of it and hunts down and kills only criminals who have escaped being sentenced for crimes. The main theme of this show is blood, and this is a main of the title sequence also. This is displayed with the use of blood and also other common objetcts which resemble blood, such as ketchup. Throughout the title scene there are uses of things that either look visually like blood, or are commonly associated with blood. An example of this is the cutting of meat and a splatter of ketchup just after which looked like a splatter of blood coming from the incision on the meat.



Other themes can usually be categorised under a few sections. Narrative themes, Location themes, and Genre themes, and occasionally themes of a specific object or idea.


For example, Friends has the narrative theme of friendship, which is evident throughout the narrative of the show.


Grand Theft Auto Vice City has the location theme of Miami, as well as the ongoing theme of a lavish lifestyle and fast living. Criminal activity is another theme throughout.