Why Modern Movies Suck: No Themes 

Completely agree about Puss in Boots : The Last Wish. When I saw it, my first thought was “This came out in 2022?????”

The Guardians of the Galaxy had so many themes, nothing was ever spelled out directly, but redemption, innocence, familial abuse, and eugenics are all constant. Criminals redeeming themselves, bad friends and shitty fathers redeeming themselves, making up for mistakes. Protecting the innocence of your childhood memories, vulnerable animals, and abused children. The villains are all eugenicists who believe they can perfect the world, or seek some ultimate purpose to fill their emptiness. Half the lead characters were all abused kids who instead of becoming just like what hurt them, become what the movie tells you a hero is, someone who protects the innocent from having to suffer as they did.

Brandon Sanderson once said that theme is part of his rewrite process. At first, don’t think about theme, don’t look at theme, don’t talk about theme. Get the story on paper. Tell the narrative you want to tell. Once you’re done with that, look at your story and ask yourself, what is this story’s theme. There may be a couple there maybe one, it may be obvious, it may be subtle but it will probably be there. Once you know that, look at your story and figure out how to make it more about that theme. Alter characters slightly. Alter appearance. Make the story fit the theme you’ve identified and, even if it ends up being a completely different story, it will be better.

If they do have ‘themes’, they are used to whack you over the head with. They don’t know how to write with subtlety

Or worse. The themes are harmful. Like, “Every failure you experience is someone else’s fault. The world needs to change- because you are perfect the way you are.” (Laughs in David Goggins)

I love that he used the critical drinker’s “the message” lol

I think the How to Train Your Dragon movies all are underrated as far as their writing goes. The first movie in particular shows such efficiency in writing in that every line in every scene serves multiple purposes. This could be establishing a character's point in their journey, acting as a set up, working as a payoff, or advancing the plot.

The lead writers for Game of Thrones said- when explaining why they crashed Jaime's redemption arc into a ditch at 90 MPH IIRC- said "themes are for eighth-grade book reports." Considering they are saturated in the culture of modern Hollywood writers, and could be seen as perfect examples of it, this might be a really common attitude in those circles and would explain much.

Godzilla Minus One is a powerhouse of themes. Such as forgiving yourself, forgiving others, finding a gamily in the bleakest of circumstances, finding something truly worth fighting for, the only way to be courageous is to be afraid and still do what needs to be done. And all of this can be found in a Godzilla movie!

“This paltry picture is pure plot. Plowing past poignant principles, punting premises, plunging personality, and plundering previously prize properties to produce pauperized profits. Then, its proponents purported to paint the public as the provocateurs?? Pitiful.” Instantly dead 💀

I always say this every time I'm discussing modern Hollywood movies. Modern writers seems to always write the ending/message that they wanted first, and then work the rest of story backwards. That's why the scenes always felt forced and unnatural, since it was made to justify the ending/message that they wanted. Compare it to some old movies. Many of them have an unclear or ambiguous ending. Leaving it to the audience to interpret it the way they see it. The result was phenomenal. In modern movies, it was the other way around. The filmmakers forcing the audience to interpret movies the way the filmmakers wanted it.

I just realized at the rock throwing scene. Banner-Hulk casually tossed his rock with one arm. Jen-hulk had to use both arms and exertion. I don't know why she was happy about that "win" Banner wasn't trying.

idk why but modern movies to me felt "mean" like everyone is an asshole to each other for no reason.

The Dungeons and Dragons movie absolutely blew me away and I was fully surprised to find that the themes were not some shoehorned message so many movies are pandering to. They explored the ideas of loss and recovery from loss, what a family is, how do we overcome feelings of inadequacy, redemption, and feelings of belonging. This all led to one of, if not the, best death scare scenes I’ve seen in any film. One of the best character sacrifices. Overall it was an extremely enjoyable film.

When you made the point about moral relativism permeating our current culture it felt like something finally clicked for me, like you finally verbalized something we’ve all been feeling. The reason none of these stories resonate with anyone, the reason every piece of media feels like it has no point, the reason everything is just so cynical and hollow is because there is no objective reality anymore. An opinion is no longer an opinion, it’s now “Their fact”. Everything feels like it’s either gaslighting me because they’re stating opinions as facts or it feels completely pointless because it’s saying that everything is a matter of opinion. Great video, I really appreciate it.

Flashback to Disney's Wish where the message was not only bashed into your skull but was also extremely harmful to the point people consider the VILLAIN to be the hero of the story

The word I’ve always used is “allegory”. Like a child’s story, they often contain a general, life-learning lesson; like follow the golden rule or be kind. I find many great films have a strong allegory. In Spideman 2, Peter embraces the hero to save the day. In animated Mulan, Mulan finds how to overcome her physical limitations to be a great warrior. So on and so forth. I 100% agree with you about today’s films. Their messages either put down groups that espouse a certain belief, or simply ignore allegories and focus on representation (which doesn’t contribute to a plot in any way).

I think the difference is maturity. They ran out any of the older writers (who were probably white and therefore bad) and filled with children who have no life experience. Also diverse characters are just that. Their diversity is their whole character. No depth, no struggle, no flaws. I could imagine asking a writer about their character traits and all you would get is an empty stare and, but they're gay/black/trans/misc DEI Identity. In short they're children with no life experience hired to fill a check box.

13:20, like in the original Star Trek, Captain Kirk and the Romulan Commander repeatedly anticipate each other’s decisions (to the other’s surprise) by simply asking “what would I do if I were him?”

It's funny because themes almost inevitably come with Anti-themes that are inverse to the themes, so antagonists end up better. For an example of anti-themes, the protagonists of Star Wars stand for hope, but the antagonists stand for fear. The anti-theme is "give in to fear and play it safe". The theme is "be hopeful and take risks". But modern themes are so broken, the antagonists end up better written because of what they stand for is more sound. For example, Ken from Barbie was more relatable and interesting specifically because Barbie was written to be neither.

So true about themes. I've been telling friends, when you don't make telling great stories and making a good movie your #1 priority while making "the message" the priority you will fail to make a good movie. Basically, my dumb way of saying that what ever you try to do the most is your most likely outcome.

One of my biggest influences as a writer is Rod Serling (creator of the Twilight Zone and Night Gallery). He was HUGE about delivering messages. However, he recognized that a message is only as powerful as the story and characters delivering it. The only way a message/theme resonates with us is a tight plot line, strong characters and execution. And it works. Some of his greatest stories (“The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”, “Death’s Head Revisited”, “The Obsolete Man” and “I Am The Night-Color Me Black” to name a few) are charged messages but have strong stories/characters to back them up. Writers have lost that connection today. They only want to deliver whatever flavor of the weak social justice warrior cry is popular instead of, you know, telling a story.

Havent seen it yet so heres mine: I LOVE the themes of the Sonic movies. I think they do an excellent job exploring themes of loneliness and finding friendship/belonging, and in the second one, responsibility. In the first one they explore Sonic’s past, running from place to place and how once hes on earth he starts craving connection with those around him to the point hes sneaking into kids baseball games, messing with crazy carl, and spying on tom and maddie, learning more and more about earths culture. Robotnik is in direct opposition to this; he hates people and isnt at all grateful for those around him. He gives agent stone constant abuse even tho stone is the only person in the world who is loyal enough to him to follow through on his insane plans for world domination. I just love the way sonic and robotnik contrast each other, even down to their color schemes!!!

Talking about Farquad's character flaws over the Red Pill bros clips was a nice touch. It did not go unnoticed 😂

Even the Adam Sandlers movie Click had a theme to it that it hammered you with quite a bit. Don't tune out of the bad or even mundane parts of life because time waits for no one and you could find yourself an old man before you know it and everything you took for granted is gone. Even the stupid dog humping the cotton out of a stuffed animal I had a long comment about Cowboy Bebop and how well it explores its themes in many different ways but this example is funnier and less talked about. I hate you Fae but the writing was so good in Bebop I felt absolutely terrible for her.

9:43, honestly, no movie following the three first Kung Fu Panda movies could ever be as good as they were. They set the bar too high.

I've found that the reason people use themes over messages is because a message is only part of a theme with no real substance, while a theme is taking a message and showing the many ways that that message can effect people weather they choose to go one way and follow it to the ends of the earth, or the other where they would destroy their lives just to avoid it. Consumers are being underestimated when it comes to understanding the message, that Hollywood feels it needs to tell you the message with a character that sometimes fights things then actually utilize the fact that they are in an art medium that can express the depths of that greater message.

Where my RANGO lovers at? Now that's a damn good movies, with a strong theme.

Right at the end you voiced what I think is the largest part of the problem. Too many "modern" writers haven't lived and don't have the experience and maturity to believe in something. Which means their writing tends to lack any real emotional hook. They write scenes they believe will excite people and they hand those scripts empty of any plot or character to soulless accountants who lack any understanding of the audience they are attempting to entertain. Their first few offerings snuck past a bored, but not yet jaded public who were willing to tolerate an initial failure after so many successes that were based on the works of older, far more experienced writers (I can't say more talented, because these new writers haven't had time to demonstrate any personal talents as writers.). Honestly, until Hollywood gives up on its current lust for cheap inexperienced writers who are willing to continually attempt to subvert expectations rather than write a good story about meaningful characters, the problem will continue to get worse. And I shall continue to avoid watching their offerings and enjoy my library of old DVDs which has movies created in an older time before the rot infected entertainment.

Godzilla minus one: explores redemption, kindness and perseverance. Worth the watch

I see "Pulp Fiction" as the video card, I smile and click. You have good articulation and explanation of what works and what doesn't in stories and back it up with relevant examples. Funny how "Shrek" holds up years later. It's a satire of fairy tales, but at its core remains a classic Hero's Journey. He *does* save a damsel from a potential toxic marriage to a bad man, and she saves Shrek from his self-loathing and isolation.

I heard it said somewhere that all great stories are character-driven and even the ones that seem plot-driven are actually character-driven when you dig into them. Whether it's due to writers lacking the skill to create truly great characters or a Hollywood machine that focuses on plot-driven franchise models, there just aren't that many memorable characters in movies anymore.

Modern movies and shows are written and produced by people who are convinced they're saving the world. They think The Message is just too important for them to risk having it ignored or missed.

10:00, honestly I think the idea of Po having to train an apprentice is a pretty good one.

One of my favorite shows of all time is an anime called Dr. stone: it’s a show about humanity’s innovation and perseverance, the inherent value of every single person, and it explores themes I can’t disclose without kinda giving away the show (it’s something I love/hate about anime, they’re so beautifully simple) and it’s also full to the brim with easy to understand science and tons of fun, and even stuff you can try at home. I strongly recommend!

Well said. Modern Hollywood often seems to take deconstruction and subversion, and then do the "when all you have is a hammer" thing. More afraid of being _said_ to be wrong than of actually _being_ wrong. "Godzilla Minus One" is actually one of the first movies that comes to mind, theme-wise, of the last few years.

Funnily enough, I think the Sonic movies, all other reasons for success aside, do themes pretty well. The first one is the story of being lonely and feeling cut off in a situation where you can't connect with others/can't reach your full potential. Sonic expresses this as a child who has never been able to connect to others for reasons of his own safety, always watching from a distance. Tom is a man who feels somewhat stifled and cut off because he doesn't feel like he's reaching his full potential in the small town he lives in. Robotnik is so far above everyone else in intelligence (and was bullied for it if we take him at his word) that he doesn't try to connect to anyone, Agent Stone aside. The three main characters help to explore the theme of managing to find fulfillment in your home and importantly, the friends you make and have there. Eggman refuses to do so because he's cut himself off from everyone else and is obsessed with gaining power to make himself his own vision of better. Him and Sonic are both exceptional in different ways, but both take drastically different paths in how they decide to share that exceptionalism with the world. One selflessly helps others and cares about them, while the other disdains others (again, Agent Stone aside) and tries to shove them all down to lift himself up. Tom meanwhile finds new fulfillment in his old life, especially with his new friend. And I think the sequel does a good continuation where it's about finding family and responsibility. Sonic is adjusting to living with Tom and Maddie and isn't really ready to acknowledge that they've become his parents. He learns to be an older big brother figure in his adventure with Tails (one minor nitpick is that they could've had a bit more bonding with Tails, current film is fine but I think one more scene of them playing a game or doing something would've cinched them as brother figures). Knuckles meanwhile has lost his family and is trying to live up to their legacy, which leaves him open to joining Robotnik and puts him at loggerheads with Sonic for much of the film. Sonic and Knuckles are foils and mirrors in that film as two people trying to live up to the legacies of their dead parents, and eventually realize that they have far more in common than different. I won't say this is groundbreaking stuff, but it gives a good backbone to the films and makes then far more wholesome and enjoyable than you would think. I'm very happy and grateful that Sonic managed such a turnaround and is doing so well. I hope they continue this trajectory with the third film. Have Shadow's whole thing (inherited from the games) be him trying to fulfill the wishes of his dead family and how that compares and contrasts with Sonic. I think it could even do better than the game it'll be based on, because Sonic has a much more defined character than in the game.

I disagree fundamentally, but I think you’re correct in spirit. Theme is an emergent property of a coherent series of events (a narrative). You don’t NEED to “have a theme” to make a story with strong themes, well explored. You need to have a narrative thread bound to a point that doesn’t constantly shift around. What modern entertainment is missing is coherence, set aside in favour of clumsy appeals to *THE MESSAGE* . You can’t make something thematically powerful when every setup is left floating, or worse, anti-paid off (what Rian Roundhead calls “subverting expectations). Good artists first practice the fundamentals to the point of mastery, and only then permit themselves to abstract. The current crop have had their entire educations marred by the reverence of abstraction, so they’ve never understood the nuance of the tropes they simultaneously rely upon and reject.

The thing I've realized while endeavoring to write a novel (that'll hopefully see the light of day. Maybe), is that base characters are generally easy, cool setpieces are easy, scene ideas are generally easy, honestly most things when outlining and building base ideas are easy, even themes. It's adding depth to all of the story components that is absolutely brutal. For example, adding actual character to characters. It's easy to write the angsty protagonist that's trying to find a family. It's incredibly difficult to take that character from a flat or mostly flat character to one with deep layers or complex traits, many of which may conflict. Through numerous rewrites and reworks, my characters, locations, and other ideas have started developing genuine depth, and continue to. The same thing with themes. It's really easy to say something. It's really hard to say it well and in a nuanced way that makes the point in a way all people will be receptive to regardless of whether they agree. I've found that constant rewrites are really needed. Make the theme blunt(ish) the first time around, and then really start to refine on the follow up drafts. It's especially difficult when combining themes that seem to conflict (sort of example: God is Good as one theme and the church and Christians can be bad as another). When I watch most modern movies and shows (or watch videos on them instead), it feels like they were given two drafts at most. There's hardly any depth or refining, and if we're lucky to get conflicting themes that could provide depth, instead of working to make them work together, the themes are just dumped in front of the audience and create a terrible dissonance that just feels incredibly lazy and cheap. But by the merit of the themes even existing, the writers seem to want a pat on the back. In terms of themes, I think the How To Train Your Dragon movies are incredible at exploring the ideas and themes they posit. Especially the first one, where Stoick is simultaneously the villain, a caring but seriously struggling father, and arguably one of the heroes given he really is motivated by caring for his tribe and family. And when tribe clashes with family, we get to see just how difficult it is for him to balance that, when he gets it right, and when he gets it very wrong. Hiccup really spoke to me in that movie as the geeky outcast trying to make a difference (and for other reasons I'll skip for brevity), but as I got older, I genuinely think Stoick's character helped me connect with and understand my dad more, because I had to realize that he wasn't just my dad, but a man with a lot going on and who really cared about me and the family. Some days he'd get it right, other days not, but that doesn't change that he loved and cared about all of us (and still does).

I can just click “Like” right away on Greg’s videos. They never miss!

This is exactly correct. If your core philosophy sucks, there is no way for you to write anything correctly. There is no truth, there is only your experience, and there is very little about the experience of a bubble wrapped adult child that people find compelling. Cit. UCLA's new campsites

I'm just patiently waiting for the day you finally go on Open Bar. Great video, Greg. I love when you bring up Shrek as a point of comparison for your subjects. Such a great movie.

Culture is so divided. If you want to make a movie that reaches the largest audience, you can’t make a movie with a theme like “traditional family values matter” without upsetting millions of ticket sales

0:51 it’s true you don’t miss 😂

So many writers and directors focus on one idea, and everything has to bend around it. It cannot be challenged. It cannot be questioned. Everything has to serve it, and it is the end goal. A good theme is a medium that a writer uses to create a good story, even better if you can interweave several together and show interplay between opposing and/or similar ideas. A good story is not made in service to an idea, with the express desire to push that idea as the right one, but rather made up of ideas that push the story forward.

Dude, that assembly of articulate alliteration awed and amazed an oft viewer of all your aspirational assemblies of acting. Well done!

Worth noting as a Swedish university student is that in our very active comedy theatre scene - where *everyone* is a woke lefty - we still manage to maintain the theme that conflict can be resolved through communication. All of our "spexes" end with the villain realizing the error of his ways and reconciling with the hero, it is a (rhyming, musical) comedy after all. Meaning that the members of a Swedish university theatre group are better at maintaining a compelling narrative than Disney is...

I always think of it in terms of how your story or idea should be the star and the theme helps keep your story focused. First you find out what your story’s about, then you find out what your story’s ABOUT. My favorite example is Disney’s original Aladdin movie. The story on its sleeve is a fantasy action romance about a poor swindler who suddenly has the power to have whatever he wants. The movie’s theme, however, is freedom and the cages we all have. The core of what bonds Aladdin and Jasmine is (as stated by them in their meet cute) feeling trapped. Genie desires freedom, Jafar feels stuck in a position adjacent to power without actually having any (which ultimately influences the irony of his defeat) even Sultan make small reference to feeling bound by the law and decides to throw that shackle off for his daughter’s sake. I could legit go on, but the TL;DR is, a story should be about characters and a world that feels like the writers cared about it. The theme is what happens when you zero in on what specific aspect of the (already defined) world and characters you want to focus on.

Nimona absolutely blew me away and brought me to tears, this movie was so good

That was edutainment at its finest. Puss in Boots really is as close to a perfect movie as I've ever seen.

Wicked little letters is a good example of no themes, message being bludgeoned at you and historical accuracy thrown out the window.

I was going to hypothesize why these films don't have themes and you took the words right out of my mouth in the last two minutes. It makes me worry about my generation. These films are hollow because we're hollow. I'm an atheist myself, but I feel a return to spiritually of some kind would really benefit my generation. Filling that hole with the Cult of Identity Politics makes miserable, empty husks of people and it reflects in our art. The Orville! Seriously, go watch the Orville. Heck, I disagree with some of the themes in the Orville and I still love it. They're ballsy enough to show both sides of some really hot-button modern issues as well - kind of like old Star Trek.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. There are so many movies that are blaming the audience (or the obvious not target audience) for performing badly. So many are predictable and almost becoming parodies. You talk about a movie that's delivering a message and doing it through storytelling and solid theme would be Dancing With Wolves. Perfect example of what a lot of "the message" movies today want to convey, but Kevin Costner actually delivered it in a not only palatable way, but in a way that actually tugged on various emotional chords.

That actually explains a lot :0 It's hard to have a good movie without any themes, and sometimes you don't realize a movie needs one until it's not present 🤷‍♀

Mine probably Nightcrawler (2014). It shows how far would you go to achieve your goal. The writing is so good that despite the lead character is a horrible sociopath, we as the viewers can't help but to root for him in a strange way.

"A thousand years of longing" was an awesome movie.

I loved "Across the SpiderVerse". My favourite theme it explores is self-worth, but it also talks about choices, acceptance, leadership and power, the importance of principles and beliefs

The first of the recent dune movies was excellent. 'everything everywhere all at once' was amazing.

Saw the Fall Guy over the weekend. It was pretty well written with well-fleshed out characters. The wife said it was the best big budget movie she had seen for several years.

To me, Planet of the Apes' reboot series is also one of those exceptions like The Last Wish, the themes are very interesting. Might have started over ten years back but even this year's entry, which I was worried would hurt the legacy of the trilogy, proposed new themes which were really interesting to watch/discuss, the villain has certainly stuck in my mind as a very good one. This is talking like, Hollywood/blockbuster stuff anyway. Studios like A24 are amazing pretty often. Themes are definitely what lead to stories sticking in general, as you said, doesn't even have to be themes the audience agrees with, simply go in with them, tell a good story with heart, and it sticks.

"Migration" was a surprising recent film that nailed it on the theme.

The problem with subverting expectations is that it only works once. Game of thrones for example, you had to watch every week hoping your favorite character would live and then even after Jon is killed you have to keep your arching because now resurrection is a thing so just because they’re dead now doesn’t mean they’re dead for good. But once the show ends there’s not much rewatch value because the “subvert expectations” has been done. Meanwhile lots of the rings trilogy is 20 years old and still fondly looked at because of its story telling

Godzilla Minus One had great themes of sacrifice, fear and redemption. The main character was unwilling and afraid to sacrifice himself for his country despite the cultural stigma for failing to do so. He also let everyone on the island die due to again his fear of the monster. Flash forward to the end. He volunteers to sacrifice himself to stop Godzilla. Not for his country but to protect his family. He overcomes his fear of the monster not just because the plot says he has to but because his fear of dying pales in comparison to the fear of what will happen to his daughter if he fails again.

The message, the message, the message is the reason why nobody wants to spend money on theater movies anymore. Hollywood keeps doubling down on it, too.

Shrek is clever because it subverts story tale themes while at the same reinforcing them. It mocks knights and fairies and damsels in distress, but at the end of the day Shrek did save Fiona from a castle and a brutal villain and ended up marrying her. The second movie mocked the Prince Charming person, but not the idea. Shrek saved Fiona again. It does deeper by reinforcing the tropes against a deeper subversion of theme: Prince Charming might be evil, but there are prince charmings out there. The man who saves you may not be perfect, but he might be good and he might still save you.

This video was so good I had to go back and watch it a second time. *chef's kiss* Also, I have no idea how you got through that tongue twisting rant at 14:10. I was out of breath just watching you do it. Cheers sir!

I agree with you about Shrek. This movie works on so many levels! He's not a villain, but others have perceived him that way, except for Donkey and Princess Fiona. They've learned to see only the good in him. The true villain is Lord Faarquad, who is consumed by greed and corruption. It's a wonderful lesson about how we shouldn't judge others based solely on appearance. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is excellent. It's about facing the inevitable: Death. But Death must be faced with bravery and courage, instead of fear. Today's movies need more depth and nuance.

0:18 because the people making them are dull, lifeless, gray..

Within the last ten years, Arrival would have to be a good example. The themes of grief and loss and the question would you do something beautiful even if you knew it would end unbearable pain (and if you have the right to make that decision for someone else as well) was perfectly executed. The protagonists in conflict were complex people acting in good faith and the audience could relate to everyone's perspective. Plus, a nice little twist at the end that made discussing the movie all the more interesting.

Banger critique.. 😎👍 How to train your Dragon is another underrated Classic Trilogy. TRON: Legacy is another gem I absolutely adore with its amazing visuals and themes of growth, fatherhood and sacrifice. Hollywood today is that proverbial boiling frog that has cooked itself in its own moral hubris and is now almost devoid of true creativity. Now they are stuck with Spreadsheet Bean Counters and completely out-of-touch idealogues scrambling to remake, live adapt or sequelize all their Classic Films of the past, further poisoning the legacies that laid the foundations of their success with post-modenist subversive, deconstructive drivel. Away with them... 💁

"That feeling" says so much. Not even being sarcastic, if you say; "you know that feeling you get from watching a good movie". I know exactly what you mean. It's just a hard feeling to describe. It's like excitement, satisfaction, child like wonderment, and focus, all wrapped into one. I just feel like I'm always missing an extra emotion when trying to describe it. It's like a deep fulfillment from the visual and story aesthetic. Or I guess it's just the deep passion and love for great movies and story telling.

Good movie first (coherent plot, understandable characters, and character development) once you get people to actually care about the story then people might be open to writer message. Writers write what they experience, in the "age of instant information" the characters they write are treated the same way, I can't wait for movies to have "Hey Alexa/Siri/Cortana, who do I overcome 'insert plot point here'?" That should really speed up the movie making process and decrease run time. How needs a 120-minute movie, when the characters can just have pocket AI do the thinking, discovering, and growing for the characters.

This is why the few good modern films in 2023 (i.e. Nimona, Across the Spiderverse) are as amazing as they are! They have strong themes that are carried throughout the story! Also, the “we’re not so different” trope you mentioned (13:10) reminded me of the Nausicaä manga series! No, not the movie, the manga! Please read it! Although the movie is good, the manga has significantly more depth and nuance to its themes and characters!

Yeah I feel you! Until only recently when I read Fahrenheit 451 (great for conveying the theme of this video btw) did I realize why everything I wrote felt so bland from an emotional standpoint. I’m good with characters, I can do plot, world building etc but I usually forgot to add theme. And in fact, I found out that I’m really good at it! There are SO many things that I’ve wanted to share with the world, but I wasn’t quite sure how. It’s the perfect opportunity.

A rly good series with themes is "Blu Eye Samurai". I also rly liked "Sweet Tooth"

@14:30 excellent alliteration

Yet modern writers want us to care when they go on strike. If you can't even deliver a mid tier script while being paid more than the average joe then you deserve to be replaced by an AI.

Yeah I think a lot of the times in the last 5 years they focused too much on the theme. Things like Hazben Hotel may have themes that I don't necessarily agree with but the way they weave it into the story doesn't hit you in the face. So you can just appreciate the show itself

Great essay. On the one hand, it would seem that Hollywood’s biggest problem is not that their movies lack theme, but that all they are are themes. They’re sermons, not stories. On the other hand, movies like Damsel or The Marvels, the themes are all about representation. As long as Kamala Kahn is a Muslim girl, she is making the point of having a Muslim girl on a movie screen. She doesn’t need to have a character arc, as long as she represents some sort of “marginalized” group, she’s meting the requirement. No actual effort needed to write a script.

Modern movies suck because they either have no themes, or they focus too much on the themes they try to "represent" that they lose sight of the core of the story that's supposed to be the one to carry those themes and give them weight. As you, good sir, have said with Shrek; "It's a comedy first, and the themes add more layers to it." After all, movies are stories, and stories are a balancing act of various aspects; characters & their conflicts and developments/arcs, worldbuilding & lore, etc. But these days? "Modern filmmaking" forgets those aspects, only using the story as a vehicle for political messaging rather for artistic exploration and creativity.

Excellent analysis. Themes are so important to a story. Something we all learn in grade school

14:10 Alright, I'm gonna give you the Like for that absolutely absurd, and awesome assault of aggressive alliteration. Amazing, amigo. o7

Not every movie needs a theme. Just give me something that doesn't make any sense and I'll still love 😂😂😂

Kung Fu Panda 4 obviously was meant to have the theme of "change", but they didnt seem to put much thought into that in general. They just wanted "change" to be a theme and went from there. Which, progressives being short sighted as they try to preach about change with very little thought? That never happens. The first three movies where a perfect trilogy, because essentially the themes where body, mind, and spirit. I cant remember exactly what was said to be the inspiration for that being the theme, but it does wrap it up in a bow. I immediately picked up on this though. Because like, you start with the idea of change "oh lets make the bbeg a chameleon because they change" and then "what would be changing about poe though?" "Maybe he changes from being the dragon warrior to not" "oh then we need a successor" "the successor could change from being bad to being good" "So they would be a twist villain with a change of heart!" "and then poe would have to change his location, in order to get to his goal" And you know, basically taking the easiest thought from each concept from there, basically slapping the "theme" keyword into concepts. edit - by the by I typed this before watching 10:34 I was spot on it seems.

Kung Fu Panda 4's only real theme to take away is "This franchise is still profitable, so we're gonna begin the process of changing over the guard to a new, younger lead for the sake of keeping things going and this film is going to be the clumsy start of it." Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the lack of Furious Five in this film is going to be changed later to say they were searching for their own replacements.

14:20, nice use of alliteration

Damsel felt like a 2013 movie

7:50, honestly that could work if it integrated the S. Morgenstern jokes from the book even though it’s something difficult to adapt to the screen.

FINALLY!! Someone who recognizes the genius that is Shrek

I actually look forward to the "pro youtube move" Well done

Hollywood has eliminated the theme of redemption from movies. The "diverse" characters don't need redemption because they can already do no wrong. The "non-diverse" characters are hopeless and weak because of their immutable qualities and therefore CAN'T be redeemed. So there can be no character growth for anyone, and it seems static and stale, even if there are awesome special visual effects.

Any movie that starts with a voice over saying something like “this isn’t the story you think you know!” Is going to be terrible. Because all the writers now are young 20 somethings with 0 experience and their knowledge of reading is tumblr fan fiction

Galaxy Quest has a great theme revolving around fandoms and the actor's duty to those fans

14:09 I love that you made a full P speech reminiscent of the V speech from “V for Vendetta.” Marvelous 👏🏻

Who else hates King Fu Panda 4?

I'm a Christian and I watch Hazbin Hotel, not because I believe or agree with it, but because it is so well made that I can suspend my disbelief and enjoy the show for what it is

I'll just put this question out there for consideration: What about escapism? What is there to be said for something that doesn't aim for deeper themes or messaging, but is just entertaining for its own sake?

Can you believe the executive director didn't even imagine giving the Lizard and the Fox a backstory in the first place, and added the Furious Five at the last second? The co-director was not on equal terms with the main director, and wished she could have given a satisfying ending to Shifu and Tailung but was brushed off for a more 'fun' movie. The theme could have been about redemption, at least for Tailung and the fox, since Shifu was supposed to be kidnapped in the original ideas.

KF4 is the highest quality tv movie. The largest disservice is always- constantly- treating Po as just a comic relief. The best part of the movie was the dads, they were very cute

2:33, true. Oppenheimer did a great job and I say this even though in real life, it honestly was right decision to remove Dr. Oppenheimer’s security clearance