through-line

British  

noun

1. a theme or idea that runs from the beginning to the end of a book, film, etc

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Example Sentences

The abdication of curatorial responsibility here might have been at least partially forgivable if the show were stuffed with so much engaging work that finding a unifying through-line proved nearly impossible.

From The Wall Street Journal

"You find your way in and the through-line, and it becomes easier to learn."

From BBC

“World War IV,” published in 2007, was a propulsive argument about the nature of post-9/11 geopolitics that sorted through a crowd of headlines stretching back decades to highlight an important through-line of militant hostility to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

Divided into three sections hinged together by a through-line of humanism, Elizabeth Alexander reminds the reader that Jordan “was a prolific poet whose lyrical voice linked political struggle with an ethic of love.”

From Salon

How do you see grief as a through-line in all your films?

From Los Angeles Times