Responsibility
Responsibility—the state of being accountable and upholding moral obligations—is a major theme in San Andreas. The theme arises with protagonist Ray Gaines's first line: When the journalist in Ray's rescue helicopter asks about the connection between his past military service and the job he now performs with the Los Angeles Fire Department, Ray says, "I'm just doing my job." Ray's understated reply reveals the responsibility he feels toward using his abilities to help others. As the film progresses, the audience sees Ray prioritizing others over himself, such as when he cancels his plan to drive Blake to college so he can assist with earthquake recovery efforts in Nevada. Responsibility is also key to the secondary plot line, in which Dr. Hayes does everything he can to alert the public of further earthquakes to occur along the San Andreas Fault. To underscore the virtue of characters who take their responsibilities seriously, Peyton contrasts their behavior with the cowardice of Daniel, who leaves Blake trapped in a collapsing building so that he can save himself.
Rescue
Alongside responsibility is the theme of rescue. As a helicopter pilot with the Los Angeles Fire Department's search-and-rescue division, Ray dedicates himself to saving the lives of people who find themselves in dangerous situations. The film's opening scene depicts Ray maintaining calm as he navigates his helicopter into a narrow ravine to rescue a young woman whose car dangles over the edge of a cliff. When Ray's coworker becomes pinned under the car, Ray takes control of the increasingly dangerous situation and rappels down himself, saving both the woman and his colleague. The scene foreshadows the selflessness and competence Ray showcases throughout the film as he travels north to San Francisco to rescue his daughter from the devastated city. The theme also arises in Blake's parallel plot line as she returns the favor of being rescued by Ben and Ollie by using survival skills to bring the brothers to safety. Peyton also emphasizes the theme in the film's final scene, which depicts volunteers flooding into San Francisco to help victims of the earthquake rebuild.
Ingenuity
Ingenuity—the quality of being inventive and clever—is another crucial theme in San Andreas. Peyton introduces the theme with Caltech seismologists Dr. Hayes and Dr. Kim's discovery that their newly developed instruments for earthquake detection are functioning correctly, and have identified previously unknown tectonic fault lines. When the first major quakes strike California, Dr. Hayes relies on the ingenuity of media students at Caltech to hack into the nation's major broadcast networks to get the message out about further earthquakes. Ray also relies on ingenuity to make his way to San Francisco, which requires that he crash land a helicopter, hot wire a truck, parachute out of a plane, and drive a stolen boat over a tsunami before it crests. When Ray and Emma land at the AT&T Park stadium and another earthquake strikes the city, Ray is quick to warn everyone around him to take shelter against the stadium wall, which he understands to be the sturdiest object in the vicinity. Meanwhile, Blake also uses ingenuity—much of it learned from Ray—to rig up a means of phoning her father's helicopter when cell phones aren't functioning. Ultimately, ingenuity is key to the main characters' survival.
Natural Disasters
As a film about the world's most destructive earthquake striking the West Coast of the United States, San Andreas is centered on the theme of natural disasters—natural events that cause major damage or loss of life. Peyton introduces the theme with the short scene of Caltech seismologist Dr. Hayes lecturing his students about the history of earthquakes. In his lecture, he cites the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the most powerful earthquake ever recorded: Chile's 1960 Valdivia earthquake, which was an estimated 9.4-9.6 magnitude event. These historical disasters are precursors to the extreme seismic activity shown in the film: a series of earthquakes and a tsunami caused by tectonic movement along the San Andreas Fault, which extends the length of coastal California. Peyton uses CGI to imagine the immense destruction that could result from earthquakes of magnitude 9 and higher striking San Francisco, which is at the epicenter of the fault line. Alongside the dramatic leveling of the cityscape, Peyton underscores the need for early warning technology to save lives.
Grief
Grief—deep sorrow caused by loss or death—is another important theme in San Andreas. Peyton introduces the theme early in the film when Ray is visibly disturbed to learn that he can't have dinner with his daughter Blake and ex-wife, Emma, before Blake heads to college because they already have plans with Emma's boyfriend, Daniel. In the same scene, Ray opens a mailer of divorce papers, then goes to his daughter's room to look at photos of himself smiling with his daughters and wife during a trip they once took to San Francisco. Ray smiles for a moment before a grave expression crosses his face as he is hit again with the sorrow he feels over Mallory's death and the dissolution of his marriage to Emma. Later in the film, Ray admits to Emma that his grief over Mallory was bound up with guilt, as it was his idea to take her rafting—a decision that led to her drowning. Ray's grief also caused him to repress his emotions and refuse to talk to Emma about his sorrow. At the end of the film, Ray rescues Blake but it seems he cannot revive her. The sight of their other daughter lying drowned before them provokes Emma and Ray to relive the trauma of Mallory's death. Ray is compelled to try CPR again, and he manages to revive Blake. The experience of nearly losing another daughter allows Ray and Emma to accept the loss of Mallory. In the process of working through their grief, they also repair their marriage.
Emotional Repression
Emotional repression—the suppression of feelings—is a major theme in San Andreas. Peyton introduces the theme with hints early in the film. When Ray hears from Blake that he can't have dinner with her and her mother because they already have plans with Daniel, Ray acts as though he isn't hurt by the news. Ray's tendency to repress his feelings also comes up when he meets Daniel for the first time and learns that Emma is planning to move in with him. The suppression of his emotional pain leads Ray to act out by being short with Emma as he drives off. Eventually, the audience learns that these minor incidences are indicative of Ray's self-destructive tendency to suppress strong feelings and pretend as though he isn't bothered by things—a habit likely brought about by the traumatic work he undertakes as a military serviceman and rescue pilot. While driving north, Emma tells Ray that she left because he would never let her in to how he was feeling, particularly after their daughter Mallory's death. Ray eventually apologizes, explaining that he didn't know how to express his grief.
Cooperation
Throughout San Andreas, Peyton shows how cooperation—working together toward a shared goal—is necessary to ensure the mutual survival of the film's main characters. Peyton introduces the theme with the opening scene in which Ray and his crew work together to rescue a stranded driver from falling into a deep ravine. The theme also arises when Ben and Ollie locate Blake in the parking lot and use their combined intelligence and strength to free her from the vehicle before she is crushed. Cooperation continues to be a key element of what keeps Ben, Ollie, and Blake alive as they navigate the devastated city. Meanwhile, Ray and Emma also work together to make their way north to Blake. Daniel, by contrast, rejects cooperation, choosing to go his own way and abandon Blake to die. When a wave of debris threatens to knock him down, Daniel pulls a stranger away from a drainpipe so he can cling to it—a cowardly, callous act that results in the man being blown away. Daniel, however, winds up dying alone when he is crushed by a container on the Golden Gate Bridge, while the characters who work together survive the earthquakes with a greater sense of appreciation for each other.
