Script Analysis: “BlacKkKlansman” — Part 4: Themes

Read the Oscar-nominated screenplay and analyze it this week.

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule:

Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways

Today: Themes

I have this theory about theme. In two parts. First, a principle: Theme = Meaning. What does the story mean? Second, while there is almost always a Central Theme, there are multiple other Sub-Themes at play in a story. Therefore the question, What does a story mean takes on several layers of meaning?

Time to ponder themes in BlacKkKlansman. You may download a PDF of the script here.

Screenplay by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee, based on a book by Ron Stallworth

IMDb plot summary: Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.

Writing Exercise: Explore the themes in BlacKkKlansman. What is its Central Theme? What are some of the related Sub-Themes?

Major kudos to Julianna Hartke for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown. Julianna is a DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts senior getting a B.F.A. with a concentration in screenwriting and took time out of her busy academic schedule to read the script and do the breakdown.

To download a PDF of the breakdown for BlacKkKlansman, go here.

To read my in-depth interview with the screenplay’s co-writers David Rabinowitz and Charlie Wachtel, go here.

For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here.

For Part 2, to read the Major Plot Points discussion, go here.

For Part 3, to read Characters discussion, go here.

To access 72 analyses of previous movie scripts we have read and discussed at Go Into The Story, go here.

I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this week’s script: BlacKkKlansman.

Onward!