Title Creator Date Era City Country Emotional Sum (Sense of Life or emotional World View) Theme
Ardabil Carpet Classical Persian School 16th century CE sumptuous eye candy.
Monster, The Director: Benigni, Roberto 1994 1991-2010 Just laughter and more of the same.
Rob Roy Director: Caton-Jones, Michael 1995 1991-2010 Life is a struggle. The life you make for yourself can be difficult, but living it with strength and morality is the way to live. Happiness is possible in romance.

Heroism in everyday life leads to heroism writ large. A man works hard to lead his life and those of his extended clan in an honorable, productive, honest way. This is the everyday heroism. But dishonorable, evil men seek to steal from him and ruin him. This leads to a life of larger-than-life heroism to vanquish his mortal, and stronger enemies.
System of Architectural Ornament, A Designer: Sullivan, Louis Henri 1922 1900s United States The world is a place of infinite, ordered, geometric, fluid possibilities.
National Farmers' Bank Architect: Sullivan, Louis 1907 1900 - 1950 Being able to breath freely -- expansively, and feeling that there are no limits to what man can do.

The world is expansively, infinitely rich.
Love Actually Director and Screenwriter: Curtis, Richard 2003 1991-2010 Romantic love, family love, filial love, and the love of friendship are of central importance to human existence, and are possible to achieve.

Wonderful experiences of love are found in many forms and places.
The New Colossus Author: Lazarus, Emma 1883 1800s Benevolent celebration of liberty as a beacon to a troubled world.

A marvelous land of liberty offers welcome to the oppressed of the world.
Owl and the Sparrow Director: Gauger, Stephane 2007 1991-2010 A child shows sweetness and strength and determination.

Searching for family, for soulmates.
Hyacinths to feed thy soul White, James Terry 1911c 1900s United States Hopeful. Even in poverty one can have beauty.

Beauty is a form of sustenance
Much Ado About Nothing Playwright: Shakespeare, William 1993 1991-2010 United States Sweetness and light and beauty are what the world is made of.
High Noon Director: Zinnemann, Fred 1952 1951-1970 There is palpable evil in the world. There is heroism in the face of evil in the world. The movie is full of fear and foreboding and betrayal.

Civil Society is the ideal, and worth fighting for. Doing what is right is the right way to live. Don't let the evil bastards win. The theme is expressed repeatedly in the movie via the contrast of the Marshall who grimly faces the need to do what he lives for, despite the death facing him, vs. the mealy mouthed town folk, many of which who won't fight for their civil society, and vs. the deputy marshall who portrays the sellout who will give into evil force in order to "get along".
Octopus Schaefer, Taf Lebel 2005 United States Playful.
Godfather Director: Coppola Francis Ford 1972 1971-1990 United States Life demands death; life is a horror of killing and retribution. Life is tragedy and malevolence

Behind beauty and success lies corruption and death.
3 Idiots Screenwriter: Chopra Vidhu Vinod 2009 1991-2010 United States Life can be fun and productive and exciting. As is true in some other Bollywood features, this story and the ideas behind it about pursuing the good life, has an honesty and clarity and benevolence that is not part of the U.S. movie scene.

Be what you want to be; follow your passion in life
Chocolate Pitcher and Butter Dish Villeroy & Boch 1930 United States Friendly warmth (arising from the simple graceful lines, and the unadorned simplicity of the colors without ornament)
A Few Good Men Director: Reiner, Rob 1992 1991-2010 United States Justice should be fought for, needs to be fought for and can be fragile.

Commitment to a moral code is central to a good man's life.
Two Family House Director: De Felitta, Raymond 2000 1991-2010 United States Feelings of benevolence and optimism about life. Happiness comes from making choices for your own good.

Going after what you want in life; Don't be stopped by conventional standards of the people around you. It takes courage to be selfish.
City Island De Felitta, Raymond 2009 1991-2010 United States Anxiety and pain from all the lies and mistaken motives. Catharsis from the climax, leading to feelings of wanting to be truthful in life!

Lying is not the way to live.
Trees Alexander, John 1899 1900s United States A sense of the world as dynamic and strong.

Nature is wild and dynamic.
Repose Painter: Alexander, John White 1895 1900s New York United States Life is extravagant and lush and sensual.

Feminine Sensuality is a main theme, though one can argue that a related (equal theme or sub-theme) is: The Lushness of the Material World. The dramatic draped womanly figure pressing against a divan, whose figure is clearly oulined, shares the visual dominance of the painting along with the magnificent sweeps of her dress and the giant pillows, the massive backrest, and even the strong elements of the floor material and the golden back wall. All together a remarkable composition.
Her Face to the Wind Painter: Hosner, William 2006 2000s United States One gets the feeling that the young woman is able to stand strong in the world, with panache and beauty all at once.

Facing life in a fresh, strong, vivacious way.
Greystoke Director: Hudson, Hugh 1984 1971-1990 United States Life is Loss -- life is grim and culture is grim and the jungle is grim. All is grim.

The other important feature of the film emotionally is that Tarzan has been crippled by his circumstances of being brought up in the jungle -- he cannot live as a man, so the great tragedy of the story is that he has to return to the jungle, which is below primitive -- it is an isolated hell in which death is at every corner, and at best the companionship of apes. Given that the story partly portrays civilized men as brutes who relish killing animals, perhaps the emotional intent is to make the choice to return to the jungle as positive, but for this reviewer it is unutterably tragic and ugly.

Loss, Loss, Loss. Man as metaphysically alien from human culture.
Laocoon (Laocoön and His Sons) Sculptor: Agesander 1st century BCE to 1st century CE 500 BCE - 1 CE United States Life is a desperate, agonizing struggle.

The heroic but agonizing defeat of Men. This sculpture certainly represents at the same time the heroic nature of men but cast into an impossible situation that can only be tragic.
Cyrano de Bergerac Playwright: Rostand, Edmond 1897 1900s United States Life can be exciting. Life can be grand, literally.
There is also some great sadness about consummated love, since it is portrayed as unreachable.

The importance of independence and independent thought. Compromise is deadly to one's soul.
Sub-themes: a) Doubt of one's goodness because of an incidental fact (physical feature) is terribly damaging and tragic. b) Helping someone by faking reality is damaging and can come to no good.
La Gomena (Towing a Boat) Painter: Tito, Ettore 1909 1900s Roma Italy There is great effort in life, and a woman can be the master of it.
This painting is a curious combination of romantic heroism and 19th century genre naturalism. It has a visual dynamism and dramatic content that is strongly romantic, yet the subject is the prosaic task of pulling a boat out of the water.

The will and the power of a woman. Implacable determination.