Joyet 2006 Genre vs. Theme. Joyet 2006 Genre vs. Theme What’s the difference? Let’s first look...

Joyet 2006

Genre vs. Theme

Joyet 2006

Genre vs. ThemeGenre vs. Theme

What’s the difference?

Let’s first look at genre…

Joyet 2006


Genre is a category of artistic composition marked by a distinctive style, form, or

content.

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Think of genre as a category in literature.

Can you think of any?

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tragedy, comedy, farce, mystery, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, etc…

These are all genres.

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In film there are similar genres such as tragedy, comedy, farce,

westerns, science fiction, fantasy, documentary, etc…these are all

genres.

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Now let’s look at theme.When asked to look at

theme think of “message.”

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What life lessons can be learned by watching the character handle

the conflict?

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Theme is defined as a topic of discussion; subject of artistic representation; an implicit or recurrent idea; a motif

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Theme can be issues of loyalty, vengeance,

unrequited love, redemption,

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There are universal themes. You’ll find these themes

reoccurring over and over again.

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Universal themes come from emotions

and transcend (cut-through) culture, gender, age, geography,

historical period, and genres.

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Universal themes come from such topics or as:

-Acceptance -Beauty-Betrayal -Death-Deception -Despair-Education -Envy

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More topics from which we get universal themes:-Fear -Family -Faith -Freedom-Friendship -Greed-Hatred -Hope

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Even more topics from which we get universal themes:

-Honesty -Identity-Innocence -Justice-Law -Love-Money -Nature

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…and more topics from which we get universal themes:

-Peace -Poverty-Pride -Revenge-Sacrifice -Time-Truth -War

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Remember genre?Let’s think about genre again.Think about a story you know.

Got one?

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What genre would you place your story in?

What was the theme? These are separate things and we

need to know the difference.

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Let’s look at genre again.

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Star Wars belongs to agenre. Can you guess which one?

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That’s right!: Science Fiction.

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Harry Potter belongs to agenre. Can you guess which one?

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That’s right!: Fantasy.

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The Simpons belongs to agenre. Can you guess which one?

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We call it satire, which is usually

loaded with social commentary.

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Now let’s look at theme using the context of our last

examples.

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Star Wars has many

theme topics. Can you

guess some?

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That’s right!: love, loyalty, persecution, freedom, and redemption,

just to name a few.

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Harry Potter has several

theme topics. Can you

guess a few?

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That’s right!: family, loss, love, community, and

friendship, just to name a few.

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Even the Simpsons has theme topics.

Can you guess some?

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You guessed it: love, loyalty, persecution,

freedom, redemption, family, loss, community,

friendship and even corruption.

.

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Figuring out THEMESFiguring out THEMES

Brainstorm theme topics by using the strategy, “Most

Important Word”.

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Figuring Out ThemesFiguring Out Themes After reading a story, think about concepts.

These are words that cannot be experienced with your senses, but are ideas.

Ask yourself… “What is a most important word of this story?”

Then, create a brainstorming tree and jot down the concept words.

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Developing a Theme StatementDeveloping a Theme Statement Themes are not one word topics. Themes are messages about the one word topics.

For example: Acceptance In Freak the Mighty, the characters, Kevin and Max,

learn that acceptance of each other’s strengths and weaknesses deepens their friendship and helps develop stronger self-confidence and abilities.

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Developing a Theme StatementDeveloping a Theme Statement Themes are not one word topics. Themes are messages about the one word topics.

Example: Perseverance Cinderella perseveres even though her life is filled with

unfortunate difficulties. She remains hard-working and kind. As a result of her perseverance, she is visited by a fairy god-mother who rewards her. As a result of perseverance, the prince finds his “lost” love.

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How to develop your theme topicHow to develop your theme topic

Ask yourself what was the result (of your most important word) for the main character.

How does the character develop and grow?

What is the universal message that a reader can apply to his or her own life? What was the author’s purpose?

Joyet 2006 Genre vs. Theme. Joyet 2006 Genre vs. Theme What’s the difference? Let’s first look...

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