Screenwriting - Exploring a theme - Here's how...

Theme = Elusive?

There are different ways to talk about Theme.  One way is to frame it with two contrasting states of being.  "To be or not to be"  "To run or not to run"  "To hide or not to hide"  "To trade or not to trade"  Etc.

Let's breakdown a scene and look at this type of Theme.

Two parts to a scene:
1) is the character trying to get something, taking a step towards, an overall goal.

2) is the "busy work" - the actions characters are doing in a scene.  This is also an area to show the different sides of a Theme.

EXAMPLE of "To lock or to unlock" Theme at play:

BRUCE leaves his car unlocked and the stuffed TEDDY BEAR in the backseat is stolen.

Bruce heads back into the store, explains to an exiting security guard what happened but the security guard says "should have locked it"  and they'll review the tapes in the morning and locks up the building.

Bruce goes back to his unlocked car and finds a ransom note for the Teddy Bear - $10,000 in cash

Bruce at his friend LEO's.  Leo is making dinner for his two kids, He has the stove "locked off" with baby barricades.  Bruce is begging him to lend him the $10,000.  Leo refuses.  Leo's kids come running in and bounce off the barricade which is keeping them from the open flames.  (example of how locking something is good)

Bruce grabs Leo's keys and "leaves", walks around the house, climbs the porch with Leo's unlocked ladder, and finds an upstairs window unlocked.
He slips back into Leo's house.
He goes into Leo's closet and opens leo's safe using Leo's key. (example of how locking something doesn't always mean it's protected)

Leo catches him and kicks him out of the house.

Bruce walks into a bar - tries to convince his father to give him the money - his father is trying to drink himself to death and keeps reaching over the "unlocked" bar to pour himself shots.

Father finally agrees - Bruce helps his dad back to his locked apartment and end up breaking a locked window because the old guy can't find his keys. (Here is an illustration of an argument to leave something unlocked.)
They discover his father's stash of cash in the shoe box under his bed is gone.
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As you can see, if you want to explore a theme - you can do so by having the end of each scene, the completion, tap into the theme.  Show times in which locking helps your character and locking hurts your character.