Since our short film has had a long pre-production process involving some very deep discussions, our group has deliberated which particular themes will be represented in our film. I have highlighted three main themes that we as a group think will define our film and be assessed throughout the narrative.
One theme that we think is very important is masculinity. This is a big part of everyday life for most males –
the struggle to be seen as strong to other people. In our film, the patient is desperate to be seen as ‘normal’ to others. He despises that he has to be in therapy and feels weak because he can’t deal with his life on his own and has to employ the services of a psychiatrist. Because of this he feels the need to dress smart, to look successful to others. He has no close friends, and desperately craves the attention from others so that he can feel human again, and particularly feel like a man. These feelings have not been helped by media encouragement. The media, including in real life, promotes traditional masculinity in our culture. Men are encouraged to celebrate stereotypical ‘male’ activities such as violence, fast cars and alcohol. This is shown in the film ‘Fight Club’ (Dir. David Fincher, 1999) where the characters of the narrator and Tyler Durden create a ‘club’
where men fight each other bare knuckle until someone gives up. Tyler believes this shows masculinity, exemplified in his quote “how much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?” This shows the stereotypical nature of man, and how they seek power by any means necessary. If our film was a full feature length and the patient’s back story was explained, the audience would probably see him struggling to live up to the stereotypical man, and not understanding why every man in a magazine or in adverts look so similar – handsome, tall and well-preserved. Because the patient is not even remotely like this, he feels inadequate and his inner demons are highlighted even more.
Another important theme that will be explored in our film is the definition of identity. This is a consistent theme in thriller films, especially psychological ones. Characters usu
ally struggle to define who they are and try to discover their true self. This is shown in the film ‘Shutter Island’ (Dir. Martin Scorsese, 2010). The protagonist in the film has to thinks he has discovered a diabolical web of lies and seeks to find the truth, but ends up finding out more about himself than he ever wanted. The protagonist (the patient) in our film has a similar problem. Though he knows who he is, it is not the person he truly wants to be. He feels that everything he does is done without his mind agreeing first, as if his body just acts and he has no time to stop and think before. This disconnection between body and mind gives the patient the feeling that he is not in control of his own life and has no sense of where he is going. To know how he wants his future to plan out, he has to lose this numbness to himself that he feels every day. Again, if our film was feature length it would most likely explore why the patient went to therapy in the first place, and would show him embracing therapy at first, believing that it would cure him. Our group have agreed that our film will addr
ess this theme as it will create intriguing enigmas among viewers and give it a dark undertone that we feel will suck the audience into the dilemmas that the patient is facing.
The final important theme that our film will address if the theme of existence and purpose. This is another theme that is quite common among thriller films in general, as characters struggle to find what the meaning of their particular life is and strive to find their reason for existence. In our film, the patient is looking for his purpose. Similar to the theme of identity discussed above, he feels that his life is pointless and that he is just a pawn in an evil game. We as a group have not decided whether the patient believes in God or an afterlife of any kind, but if he did he would most likely feel that he was put on this earth to be laughed at from above. It may seem a bit extravagant, but the patient feels that he should be ordinary, and ordinary people don’t lead the kind of life that he is leading. Every day that he lives, he comes second best and sees people that are far more successful and superior in every way than him. Our group feel that this theme will grab the viewer’s attention, as it is something that all people have felt at some point in their lives. Everyone wants to know why they are here and/or what purpose they have on this earth. We feel that by referencing this psychological state of the patient, audiences will feel more connected to him, though he is an outcast.
Overall, we as a group think that these themes are all interesting and will give our film broader dynamics to be explored. Our film will now hopefully feel and look much more sophisticated than most other low-budget short films and will set us apart from the rest, allowing us to hopefully be noticed and get our film distributed further than expected.
One theme that we think is very important is masculinity. This is a big part of everyday life for most males –
the struggle to be seen as strong to other people. In our film, the patient is desperate to be seen as ‘normal’ to others. He despises that he has to be in therapy and feels weak because he can’t deal with his life on his own and has to employ the services of a psychiatrist. Because of this he feels the need to dress smart, to look successful to others. He has no close friends, and desperately craves the attention from others so that he can feel human again, and particularly feel like a man. These feelings have not been helped by media encouragement. The media, including in real life, promotes traditional masculinity in our culture. Men are encouraged to celebrate stereotypical ‘male’ activities such as violence, fast cars and alcohol. This is shown in the film ‘Fight Club’ (Dir. David Fincher, 1999) where the characters of the narrator and Tyler Durden create a ‘club’
where men fight each other bare knuckle until someone gives up. Tyler believes this shows masculinity, exemplified in his quote “how much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?” This shows the stereotypical nature of man, and how they seek power by any means necessary. If our film was a full feature length and the patient’s back story was explained, the audience would probably see him struggling to live up to the stereotypical man, and not understanding why every man in a magazine or in adverts look so similar – handsome, tall and well-preserved. Because the patient is not even remotely like this, he feels inadequate and his inner demons are highlighted even more.Another important theme that will be explored in our film is the definition of identity. This is a consistent theme in thriller films, especially psychological ones. Characters usu
ally struggle to define who they are and try to discover their true self. This is shown in the film ‘Shutter Island’ (Dir. Martin Scorsese, 2010). The protagonist in the film has to thinks he has discovered a diabolical web of lies and seeks to find the truth, but ends up finding out more about himself than he ever wanted. The protagonist (the patient) in our film has a similar problem. Though he knows who he is, it is not the person he truly wants to be. He feels that everything he does is done without his mind agreeing first, as if his body just acts and he has no time to stop and think before. This disconnection between body and mind gives the patient the feeling that he is not in control of his own life and has no sense of where he is going. To know how he wants his future to plan out, he has to lose this numbness to himself that he feels every day. Again, if our film was feature length it would most likely explore why the patient went to therapy in the first place, and would show him embracing therapy at first, believing that it would cure him. Our group have agreed that our film will addr
ess this theme as it will create intriguing enigmas among viewers and give it a dark undertone that we feel will suck the audience into the dilemmas that the patient is facing.The final important theme that our film will address if the theme of existence and purpose. This is another theme that is quite common among thriller films in general, as characters struggle to find what the meaning of their particular life is and strive to find their reason for existence. In our film, the patient is looking for his purpose. Similar to the theme of identity discussed above, he feels that his life is pointless and that he is just a pawn in an evil game. We as a group have not decided whether the patient believes in God or an afterlife of any kind, but if he did he would most likely feel that he was put on this earth to be laughed at from above. It may seem a bit extravagant, but the patient feels that he should be ordinary, and ordinary people don’t lead the kind of life that he is leading. Every day that he lives, he comes second best and sees people that are far more successful and superior in every way than him. Our group feel that this theme will grab the viewer’s attention, as it is something that all people have felt at some point in their lives. Everyone wants to know why they are here and/or what purpose they have on this earth. We feel that by referencing this psychological state of the patient, audiences will feel more connected to him, though he is an outcast.
Overall, we as a group think that these themes are all interesting and will give our film broader dynamics to be explored. Our film will now hopefully feel and look much more sophisticated than most other low-budget short films and will set us apart from the rest, allowing us to hopefully be noticed and get our film distributed further than expected.
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