Tuesday, January 6, 2009

All Movies Have 4 Themes Theory

Another interesting idea I took from Generation Me, from last post, was this idea of pop culture that Jean Twenge introduces. Since our culture is so repetitive, trying to reach this target audience of GenMe'ers, a lot of the themes and plots of movies are really all the same.

Twenge poses a theory about films that I think is pretty funny:

"Movies have latched onto the 'never give up on your dreams' with a vengeance. I like to say that modern movies have only four themes: 'Believe in yourself and you can do anything,' 'We are all alike underneath,' 'Love conquers all,' and 'Good people win.' (Do try this at home; almost every recent movie fits all of the four).

All of these themes tout the focus on the self so common today; in fact, it is downright stunning to realize just how well movies have encapsulated the optimistic, individualistic message of Western culture. [...] No one wants to watch a movie more like real life, where people try hard but fail more often than succeed" (84).

I think it's a pretty funny concept. It's something to ponder and quiz yourself. See if you can find an exception.

You know, this is just as hard as thinking of a movie that didn't have romance or love of some kind in the plot (in a sexual way). The only one I could think of was Saving Private Ryan. That's another riddle to think about.

So, what do you think?

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