Introduction:
A general approach to the interpretation of movie content is as follows: 1
(1) We have a set of concepts and propositions from dynamic psychology (e.g. those having to do with Oedipal conflicts).
(2) These suggest a number of variables that can be illustrated in film content (e.g. father-son relations).
(3) A particular way of handling such a variable in a film constitutes a theme (e.g. the father figure attacking the son figure).
(4) Such a theme may be interpreted by applying propositions of dynamic psychology. We formulate a hypothesis about the derivation of the theme from underlying psychological motives (e.g. the son's hostility is projected onto the father).
In practice our observations and interpretations do not necessarily follow this logical sequence. We may observe a theme and subsequently attempt to relate it to variables derived from our psychological presuppositions. We may also be led by our observations to enlarge or modify our general psychological formulations. In other words, there is interplay between observations and general ideas; the movement between them is in both directions.
To elaborate further on variables and themes, a variable indicates a general area to be observed, such as father-son relations, mother-son relations, father-daughter relations. A theme is the way in which a particular variable is repeatedly concretized in the productions of a particular culture.
Thus, for instance, the moral superiority of a son (or son figure) to a father (or father figure) is a theme of American films; the moral superiority of a father (or father figure) to a son (or son figure) is a theme of British films. These two themes represent different positions in relation to the variable of father-son relations. Their relation to a common variable provides a basis for comparison. 1
Different Ways of Analyzing Movie Content and its Effects:
A theme is a unit that recurs. That we look for recurrences is not a peculiar point of film analysis, but is rather a requirement of scientific method, which is concerned not with the unique instance but with regularities. In the preliminary
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