Themes in entertainment are as varied as they are crucial to success. By working with these themes, movies – and every form of entertainment under the sun – can find an audience niche ready and raring to enjoy more content in their favorite genres.
Pirates
Splashing across your screen, pirates are one of the most consistent and recognizable themes in entertainment, and for good reason. These scurvy dogs pioneered one of the most interesting and engaging periods in history. The ocean is a strange and mysterious place and when combined with pirates, there are few things more exciting than the open seas.
Across their many depictions in entertainment pirates have played every role from the flawed heroes of Pirates of the Caribbean to the boogeymen of Peter Pan. In filling these roles, pirates have forged their own themes in popular media and attracted a large audience at the same time.
In fact, when it comes to the entertainment industry the pirate genre is in a league of its own. In iGaming, there are a number of titles for those who play online slots, from Pirates Hold to Pirates Bounty Megaways. When it comes to video games, the pirate genre really begins to shine with incredible games like Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag and Sea of Thieves, both of which are highly-regarded among gamers.
The ubiquitous presence of this theme across entertainment genres really shows how important pirates are in popular entertainment.
Fantasy
Everyone loves a little fantasy in their lives. The chance to get away from the pressures of daily life and to dive into a world of adventure seems an entertaining and attractive prospect to those of us looking for a little escape. However, the fantasy genre has so much more to offer in terms of entertainment than just escapism.
The fantasy genre can provide a viewpoint that is similar but different to our own society. As a result, these pieces of entertainment can hold a mirror up to society, so to speak, in order to allow consumers of fantasy media to see the world in a new light.
The Chosen Hero
The chosen hero has existed as long as narratives and entertainment have. Called the hero with a thousand faces by Joseph Campbell, the idea of a single hero destined to save the world from a dire threat has been a core structure in storytelling for centuries, and contemporary entertainment is no different.
From wizards to war heroes, some of the most popular media of recent years, such as Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games are examples of the Chosen Hero archetypes. This narrative theme speaks to the innate human desire to be special. Everyone is the protagonist of their own story, and everyone wants to believe that they are destined for greatness. The “Chosen One” in popular media gives consumers an everyday hero, one they believe they could be in time.
Overall, these themes – and many more – create a sense of familiarity and excitement that works wonders for media of all stripes, helping to attract more interest in the movies and games that make use of them.
