Theme, Message and
Symbolism in Pay it Forward
Learning Objectives
To be able to:
• To identify theme, message and symbolism in
Pay it Forward
• To understand how to construct a film
review using religious interpretations
Symbols: what do the following mean to us?
Key Words – In pairs, try to come up with
definitions for the following key words:
• Theme
• Message
• Symbol and symbolism
• Allegory
Key Words
• Theme: main ideas in a piece of fiction or a
talk
• Message: an important moral or political idea
that a film maker or author is trying to
communicate to his audience
• Symbol and symbolism: images or objects that
represent something that is often abstract or
intangible
Allegory = Story with an underlying meaning
• What are the allegories in the following
books/films?
The Chronicles of
Narnia
• Can you think of any other films/books which
are allegories?
The Jesus Allegory
Allegory = the symbolic expression of deeper meaning through a story
or scene acted out by a human, animal or mystical character
Pay it Forward
Continue watching the film from scene 1hour
(Scene 20) until the end of scene 29 (1 hour 33
mins). As you watch and listen, think about and
discuss:
•
•
•
•
•
Themes
Christian teachings
The music and lyrics
The images and symbols
Camera techniques