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Studying themes.
I like analyzing writing techniques. It seems to me that the best way to learn about the importance of things like theme and structure are to examine their use in the stories you admire and to figure out how they do or do not contribute to the meaning of the work or to the audience's experience. Today, I looked at uses of common thematic model in television. It was more for my own study than anything else, but I know some of you enjoy this type of metatextual discussion, and I'd like to hear other people's analyses if anyone has any. Spoilers for Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The model: The theme of the work is tied to the basic concept of the protagonist. Both the plot and the protagonist's development are influenced by the theme, and the motivations of the primary antagonist run counter to the theme.
Example 1: Angel, whose titular character struggles for a redemption he can never achieve. The unending nature of his struggle is reflected in the structure of the series; unlike its sister show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the season arcs of Angel are not wrapped up with neat victories but instead bleed into each other. The primary antagonist is the same unbeatable power for the whole run, and even when the credits roll for the last time, the fight isn't over. Angel never achieves his happy ending because the happy ending isn't the goal. "If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do," etc. His redemption is in his ongoing struggle.
Example 2: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, whose seventh and final season explores what it means to have power. The titular protagonist has a great deal of power. "Conversations with Dead People" examines what having power means for her psychologically: a superiority complex and emotional isolation. "Empty Places" points out that power can be granted arbitrarily, and that those who have it did not necessarily earn it. By "Chosen," Buffy realizes that power has to be shared. The antagonist, The First, wants power but actually has very little of it. Team Buffy doesn't need to destroy The First; they just need to destroy its weapons. I'm not sure how thematically relevant or effective The First's relationship with power is. A larger theme for the whole series run is that all people, especially women, have power, though not in obvious ways. (Men also have power, but the show does not emphasize this point because it is obvious.) In early seasons, Buffy is assisted by a gang of largely non-mystical allies. Some allies gain power through study and practice, e.g., Willow becoming a witch (although that is anything but a smooth ride) and Dawn becoming proficient with a sword. At the end of the series, Buffy empowers a large group of girls both metaphorically and magically. The misogynistic preacher has to split, and the First goes back to being just a figment.
Example 3: The new Doctor Who, which asserts time and again that "everything ends." Which is ironic, considering it's a show that has been around for fifty years, whose protagonist is now over 1100 years old, and which includes an immortal character brought back from death by a friend's love (although it should be noted that if Captain Jack Harkness is, in fact, the Face of Boe, even the Face of Boe dies). But the Big Bad of the first series aspired to immortality, only to be cut down by Rose, who says, "Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies." The theme is revisited in "The End of Time," when the Doctor tries to avoid and then rails against death, finally accepting it with the words, "Live too long..." The theme also sort of surfaces in relation to companions and how each has his or her time with the Doctor and then must move on (except for Rose, who is a special flower, and except for Donna, who "died," but I am counting Sarah Jane and Jack, who each must come to terms with the end of their time with the Doctor). This theme might only appear in the RTD era; Moffat seems to have a running theme of the Doctor being dangerous, but I'm unclear on how to extrapolate a broader and more useful or universally applicable theme from this idea.
Example 4: Avatar: The Last Airbender, a show about living in harmony, both in a spiritual Buddhist way (the character-specific interpretation) and with oneself and others (the broader application). The Avatar, who initially has a very "airy" personality, must learn to discipline himself in different ways in order to master all four elements. The antagonist is the despot of the imperialist Fire Nation, whose lifestyle is the opposite of harmonious. He is so egotistical and self-serving that he betrays his brother by taking the throne from him and scars and banishes his son for speaking out of turn.
The model: The theme of the work is tied to the basic concept of the protagonist. Both the plot and the protagonist's development are influenced by the theme, and the motivations of the primary antagonist run counter to the theme.
Example 1: Angel, whose titular character struggles for a redemption he can never achieve. The unending nature of his struggle is reflected in the structure of the series; unlike its sister show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the season arcs of Angel are not wrapped up with neat victories but instead bleed into each other. The primary antagonist is the same unbeatable power for the whole run, and even when the credits roll for the last time, the fight isn't over. Angel never achieves his happy ending because the happy ending isn't the goal. "If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do," etc. His redemption is in his ongoing struggle.
Example 2: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, whose seventh and final season explores what it means to have power. The titular protagonist has a great deal of power. "Conversations with Dead People" examines what having power means for her psychologically: a superiority complex and emotional isolation. "Empty Places" points out that power can be granted arbitrarily, and that those who have it did not necessarily earn it. By "Chosen," Buffy realizes that power has to be shared. The antagonist, The First, wants power but actually has very little of it. Team Buffy doesn't need to destroy The First; they just need to destroy its weapons. I'm not sure how thematically relevant or effective The First's relationship with power is. A larger theme for the whole series run is that all people, especially women, have power, though not in obvious ways. (Men also have power, but the show does not emphasize this point because it is obvious.) In early seasons, Buffy is assisted by a gang of largely non-mystical allies. Some allies gain power through study and practice, e.g., Willow becoming a witch (although that is anything but a smooth ride) and Dawn becoming proficient with a sword. At the end of the series, Buffy empowers a large group of girls both metaphorically and magically. The misogynistic preacher has to split, and the First goes back to being just a figment.
Example 3: The new Doctor Who, which asserts time and again that "everything ends." Which is ironic, considering it's a show that has been around for fifty years, whose protagonist is now over 1100 years old, and which includes an immortal character brought back from death by a friend's love (although it should be noted that if Captain Jack Harkness is, in fact, the Face of Boe, even the Face of Boe dies). But the Big Bad of the first series aspired to immortality, only to be cut down by Rose, who says, "Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies." The theme is revisited in "The End of Time," when the Doctor tries to avoid and then rails against death, finally accepting it with the words, "Live too long..." The theme also sort of surfaces in relation to companions and how each has his or her time with the Doctor and then must move on (except for Rose, who is a special flower, and except for Donna, who "died," but I am counting Sarah Jane and Jack, who each must come to terms with the end of their time with the Doctor). This theme might only appear in the RTD era; Moffat seems to have a running theme of the Doctor being dangerous, but I'm unclear on how to extrapolate a broader and more useful or universally applicable theme from this idea.
Example 4: Avatar: The Last Airbender, a show about living in harmony, both in a spiritual Buddhist way (the character-specific interpretation) and with oneself and others (the broader application). The Avatar, who initially has a very "airy" personality, must learn to discipline himself in different ways in order to master all four elements. The antagonist is the despot of the imperialist Fire Nation, whose lifestyle is the opposite of harmonious. He is so egotistical and self-serving that he betrays his brother by taking the throne from him and scars and banishes his son for speaking out of turn.