Comparing Themes From Movies Past and Present

Throughout the history of cinema, themes of movies have remained virtually unchanged. There have been some adjustments by filmmakers to better reflect the sentiments of the times, but, generally, there are common threads that continue to weave through each decade of film.

Early films focused on human history up to that point, which themes of war or struggle to achieve independence. This has remained a common theme in film up to the current state of cinema. Adjustments have been made to present more accurate depictions of war or struggle, but the general theme is the same. Politics was not always a theme in early films, but it quickly became entrenched in cinema as filmmakers discovered that they could use the medium as a resource for change and commentary. Following times of war, political themes took a back seat to more escapist cinema, but it never truly vanished. In fact, political movies such as “The Manchurian Candidate” have been remade multiple times with very few changes.

Classic cinema such as “Gone With The wind” and “Casablanca” combined multiple themes of romance, war and politics to present viewers more sophisticated storytelling. These early pioneers in cinema have served as blueprints for films today.