Media Term Thursday #22
/Motif
A recurring theme.
Any significant repeated element in a film is a motif. It could be an object, colour, place, sound etc. For example, the recurring image of the ring in the horror film The Ring (2002).
Our recognition of these motifs contributes to our enjoyment of the film.
A famous example is the word ‘Rosebud’’ in Citizen Kane (1941); a common Hollywood thematic motif is humankind vs nature in Armageddon (1998) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004) reminding us of our fragile existence as a species in the universe.
