As explored in The Art of Filmmaking understanding theme is crucial for directors to craft a coherent visual language. Let’s delve into a case study on theme from one of my own films, The Devil’s Harvest. While my subtextual focus for this project was rooted in Freud’s psychoanalytic work on the uncanny, the approach I outline here is adaptable to any theme and its connected ideas.

“…the sense of the uncanny would derive not from an infantile fear, but from an infantile wish, or simply from an infantile belief.” (Freud, 1919)

As a filmmaker focused on psychological horror, I initially struggled to define the precise tone and subject matter I was drawn to. While I could list films and artworks that resonated with me, I couldn't cohesively group them into a recognizable genre. This all changed when I encountered Freud’s essay on the uncanny. It was a lightbulb moment. Finally, I had a term that encapsulated my artistic interests. The challenge then shifted: how could I channel this fascination with the uncanny into my filmmaking? More importantly, how could I evoke that same eerie mood and unsettling atmosphere in my films? Before digging into the backstory, take a look at the film:

Doing the research

Any work with theme - as the foundation of your visual subtext - should first involve research. That research can take a number of forms but should centre on a two part process:

Reading up on specific concepts and ideas connected to your film.
Gathering visual materials (films, artworks, photographs, etc) in relation to those concepts and ideas.

Freud described the uncanny as that which is both strange and familiar (using the German word unheimlich which translates as unhomely). This concept, often linked to oedipal desires and childhood beliefs such as magical thinking and animism, seemed a strong component in successful folk horror films - the genre I wished to place my film within. My goal was to create a narrative around the ‘return of the repressed,’ representing the eruption of childhood trauma into my adult protagonist’s life, disrupting the adult laws of reality.

After settling on this concept, I sought story sources, starting with the Readers Digest Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain. Despite being out of print for many years, this book has become a cornerstone of the folk horror revival, recommended to me by Drew Mulholland, an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow and musician known for Mount Vernon Arts Lab.

Finding folk horror didn’t quite address the tone I was going for, Instead I aimed to incorporate a folktale style, adopting the form into a modern story. Inspired by suggestions in Writing the Short Film (Cooper & Dancyger, 2005) I looked into fable structures which traditionally combine a moral framework with fantastical elements. However, I couldn’t find a suitable existing tale in the Reader’s Digest sourcebook that fit the ‘return of the repressed’ theme. Additionally, I wanted to avoid a moralistic approach, as the uncanny thrives in ambiguous, gray areas. Nonetheless, the book served a dual purpose: it provided a macabre tone that influenced my screenplay’s sensibility, and, as an artifact from the 70s aimed at children, it provoked strong emotional memories, inspiring me to tell the story from a similar perspective.

Developing the idea

In keeping with the ‘repressed’ theme, I decided the plot would involve an adult protagonist forced to revisit forgotten childhood events through a confrontation with a magical element from the past. This narrative required a significant portion of the story to be from a child’s perspective. To develop this further, I researched psychoanalytical interpretations of fairy tales in The Uses of Enchantment (Bettelheim, 1976). Bettelheim argues that monstrous entities in fairy tales often represent parental figures, helping children navigate conflicting feelings toward their parents.

“The fantasy of the wicked stepmother not only preserves the good mother intact, it also prevents having to feel guilty about one’s angry thoughts and wishes about her…” (Bettelheim, 1976)

I found this a rich area to explore. Though Bettelheim focuses on the ‘wicked stepmother,’ I was more interested in the ‘bad father’ archetype, feeling that the monstrous feminine, particularly the witch, was overexplored. More importantly, the bad father archetype resonated with the rise of right-wing populism with it’s simplistic moral certainty, appeal to traditional values, fear of the other, and underlying threat of violence.

Visual Research

Alongside Bettelheim, I examined visual references connected to UK folk practices, such as photographs of men dressed as Jack-in-the-Green, mummers, and straw men in Arcadia Britannica (Bourne, 2015) and also European shamanic customs in Wilder Mann (Fréger, 2017). These images were fascinating, showcasing strong visual representations of European animistic characters, reflecting irrational drives. Visualizing a central ‘monster’ character early on was crucial for establishing the visual tone and subtext of the piece.

*Arcadia Britannica, Henry Bourne, 2015*

*The ‘Rotten Man’ from The Devil’s Harvest, 2019*

Combining ideas from Freud and Bettelheim with these visual folk references, it was easier to develop something with more thematic weight behind it. The next stage was to get a draft written. Writers work in different ways but I find going back and forth between meticulous investigation and intuitive automatic writing - usually in short story form in hand written journals - works for me.

Clarifying theme

While working on the short story, I encountered difficulties regarding theme. Whilst I had a better sense of what my ideas were, I was still struggling nailing down the theme itself. There’s a lot of talk on theme in screenwriting theory books but not a great deal of clarity. Some advise firmly establishing the theme before writing whilst others feel that theme emerges during the writing process itself. A lot of writing on theme is simplistic and reduces theme down to single overarching words: love, honour, revenge, etc. More helpful are Christopher Vogler’s distinction between ‘premise’ and ‘theme’ in Memo from the Story Dept (2011) and Linda Aaronson’s distinction between ‘theme’ and ‘message’ in The 21st Century Screenplay (2010).

“…a theme is a one-word statement of some human drive or quality that runs as a unifying factor all the way through the story. And let’s say that a premise is a more developed articulation of that theme…” (Vogler, 2011)

“Theme is part of message. My definition of message is deliberately wide: ‘anything and everything in a film connected with a philosophical comment about life’” (21st Century Screenplay Aaronson, 2010)

These insights clarified that theme could evolve during development. Vogler’s idea of premise and Aaronson’s definition of message both extend from the basic theme. Vogler encourages changing your mind about the story’s true theme and premise during development.

Linda Seger’s Advanced Screenwriting offered further encouragement, noting, “...most themes are, in some way, about identity.” (Seger, 2003). Identity was central to my ideas around the return of the repressed and Freud’s notion of the uncanny. Seger states that theme is expressed through “...dialogue, story, character choices, and images”. This emphasis on expressing theme through images became central to my approach to visual subtext in both the writing stage and my Director’s pre-production mood book.

Using these ideas, I refocused my story theme to ‘toxic masculinity’ and my premise to ‘Can a man ever truly escape the shadow of his father?’ This clarity enabled me to move forward confidently.

Bullet Point Summary of Tips for Filmmakers:

Research Thoroughly: Read specific concepts and gather visual materials related to your theme.
Incorporate Personal Insights: Draw from your own experiences and emotions to deepen thematic exploration.
Utilize Archetypes: Use established archetypes to explore complex ideas and societal issues.
Visualize Early: Develop strong visual references early on to guide the visual tone and subtext.
Iterate on Theme: Allow your theme to evolve during the writing and development process.
Express Through Images: Emphasize the expression of theme through visual elements.

Additional Points on Using Theme Practically:

Interdisciplinary Approach: Utilize insights from various disciplines such as psychology, literature, and cultural studies to enrich your thematic exploration. This approach not only broadens your perspective but also introduces new dimensions to your theme. For instance, integrating Jungian archetypes alongside Freudian concepts can provide a more nuanced portrayal of characters and their internal conflicts.
Symbolism and Motifs: Develop a system of recurring symbols and motifs that subtly reinforce the theme throughout the film. This technique can enhance the audience's emotional engagement and intellectual connection with the film. For example, in The Devil’s Harvest recurring imagery of decay and the breakdown of time and space symbolises the protagonist's deteriorating mental state and the inescapable past.

By implementing these strategies, filmmakers can create a richer, more cohesive thematic experience that resonates on both intellectual and emotional levels.

If you want to understand more about how theme integrates with visual subtext and directing, check out The Art of Directing course.

Theme Development: Case Study