Ironeye
Cutmaster-san
from SoCal
Since: Jan, 2001
Relationship Status: Falling within your bell curve
Cutmaster-san
#2: Dec 24th 2010 at 1:13:54 PM
This belongs in Yack Fest (if you don't mind derails) or On-Topic Conversations (if you want things to stay focused). Let me know which one and I'll move the thread for you.
I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.
Krayorik
Symbiote Kitty
Since: Apr, 2010
Symbiote Kitty
#3: Dec 24th 2010 at 3:17:36 PM
On topic conversations seems best. Thanks!
Spidercat, Spidercat, sleeps on a spidermat.
melloncollie
Since: Feb, 2012
#4: Dec 24th 2010 at 3:28:29 PM
I tend to be attracted to the theme of hubris. Always a classic (and versatile).
Stories about hubris, if you squint:
- Scarface
- Macbeth
- The Bible (well, it's more like a collection of stories, but yannow what I mean)
- Frankenstein (this should be obvious)
On the subject of Eragon, I'd say there was more wrong about that book than lack of theme :P. It would be interesting to see what it would have been like with a "theme", though.
edited 24th Dec '10 3:29:53 PM by melloncollie
Total posts: 4
Okay, I'm not entirely sure that this is the place to put this, but it doesn't seem like an inappropriate place, so here goes. If there is a better place to move this conversation to, then let me know and I'll move it. Anyway, I've been thinking about this for a few days and I just had to share this. Alright, so I watched [[Inception]] the other day, and I loved it. Easily the best movie I've seen all year. However, earlier that day I had finished the main story for Chrono Trigger, which I also loved. I noticed that they both had something in common, but it wasn't immediately obvious to me what it was. Then I realized; both of them took a theme and ran with it, exploring the concept to its fullest extent. I thought about it some more, and I realized that both of them had distinct, unique characters. I thought about it more, and I realized that all of my favorite series have these same two things in common. I'll list some example series, and what I think their themes are.
Inception- Explores the age old question of whether we are always waking except for when we sleep, or always in a waking dream?
Chrono Trigger- Changing the past to change the present.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker- It was hard for me to come up with the precise theme for this one, but I would say that it's something to the effect of "Do not let the past consume you, but don't completely ignore it either. To truly master the present, you must let the past go, while using what you learned from it."
The Princess Bride- This one should be obvious. True love conquers all.
Age of Reptiles- I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of this particular series, but if you're a fan of comics, shame on you for not reading them! They are a series of dinosaur comics told entirely through pictures. There are currently two of them out, and both of them have the central theme of revenge. However, they portray revenge in very different ways. The first one seems to have a theme of revenge being ultimately destructive, while the second one shows it as the natural course of life.
Now, I'm not saying that these themes were intentional. The authors could have just gotten lucky with the story they told for all I know. However, having a central theme can make or break a story in my opinion. If you ever read the book Eragon, then you know what I'm talking about. There were some really cool ideas in there, but ideas can't carry a story. So, what what do you think that the main theme of your favorite story might be? Or, alternatively, can you think of any stories that could have used one?
Spidercat, Spidercat, sleeps on a spidermat.