{{Short description|Connecting theme or plot in a narrative work}} {{About|the literary term|the NPR podcast|Throughline}} {{Distinguish|Railway line}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}
A '''through line''' is a connecting theme or plot used in media such as films and books. It is sometimes also called the 'spine', and was first suggested by Konstantin Stanislavski as a simplified way for actors to think about characterization. He believed actors should not only understand what their character was doing, or trying to do (their objective), in any given unit, but should also strive to understand the through line that linked these objectives together and thus pushed the character forward through the narrative.
Through line is increasingly being used in other contexts as substitutes for words like ''thread'', as seen in the following excerpt from an article by Alex Knapp: "There is a constant '''through line''' we see starting with ''A New Hope'' and running through to the end of the ''Return of the Jedi'' of the Emperor consolidating more and more power into his own hands and that of his right-hand man, Darth Vader."<ref name=AlexKnapp/>
==References== <references>
<ref name=AlexKnapp>{{Cite web |last=Knapp |first=Alex |date=13 February 2012 |title=Five Leadership Mistakes of the Galactic Empire |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/02/13/five-leadership-mistakes-of-the-galactic-empire/ |work=Forbes |access-date=16 July 2023}}</ref>
</references>
== External links == * {{Wiktionary inline|throughline}}
{{Stanislavski system}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Through Line}} Category:Acting techniques
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