Now that you've watched the first half of The Village, what are you taking from the film so far? What symbols and motifs are you noticing? What connections do you see to The Crucible or to any of the articles we've read?
This is a space to pose questions, offer thoughts, and respond to others' interpretations.
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19 comments:
I think that the elders created these creatures to create fear in the community so that they can keep control. Also there is obviously something that they don't want the rest of the people to find or know about so they have to keep them in their village somehow.
I thing that the empty rocking chairs stands for something but I can't think of anything, any suggestions?
Another question that I had was what do the colors that Ivy sees represent and why won't she tell Lucious what color he is?
The Village connects to The Crucible because there has been a fear of the unknown created in both communities. A difference is that in The Village no one is taking advantage of this fear and using it for their own pleasure.
Watching the Village today in class was pretty fulfilling. To me, it was pretty conspicuous that the "unspoken of" things were actually just imitations. I think Kelsey is partially right in the sense that the people in charge of this conspiracy probably just wanted power through fear, but what kind of power? Just to see people running around screaming? I really don't think that politicians are behind this fiasco; they already have enough power by law. Whoever is behind the strange happenings probably just wants to keep people from wandering off from the village...but to where?
Here are a few questions:
Why was Lucius killed by Noah? What were his intentions? Did he secretly love Ive?
The Village and The Crucible are strikingly similar in the sense that they both demonstrate how people lived on their toes in this time period, prone to respond to danger at any moment. Both the societies are governed primarily by fear, but that was the reality of life before the 18th centaury.
I think the most important symbols are the colors, and the blindness of Ive.
I can't believe that the elders would subject their people to that. It doesent make sense to me at all.
I think that they did this as a way of saving themselves and it was purily selfish (sounds like like the Crucible dosent it?)
KelseyL -I think it was more that the elders wanted to protect their community more then anything. I do not really think that they were looking to gain more power. Like Dennis said, they already have enough power by law.
I also was wondering what color Ivy sees Lucius as. Is it red possibly?
I think that the empty chair or rocker symbolizes the absence of a person, or the lose of a loved one. It seems that all the elders have lost someone and I think the film shows this through the empty chairs.
A connection to The Crucible that I made was that there seems to always be that scapegoat or outcast that is easy to blame things on or that the community takes pity on.
So far I really like The Village and I think that it will all come together at the end, which I am really excited about!
So far I have noticed of relized only the common motifs others have found such as the colors red and yellow and and the rocking chairs, though im not sure what they mean yet.
I found it shocking to relise the elders were behind the whole "unspoken ones". I can't understand what is so bad to keep thier people inside thier community, besides an excuse to maintain control. But to me the elders did not come across as people of "control freaks"
The Village is extremley similar to the Crusible in the control people have due to the fear of others and the fear being all to gether of something farse.
I've seen it before so I know the secret already, but I ave caught a lot that I didn't see the first time. I really like the repeating symbolism of holding hands, the chairs, the colors, etc. I also noticed that the outcasts are the main characters. I have the blind girl, the mentally challenged boy, and the shy boy with no friends. It is a lot like The Crucible in this way because the outcasts in Salem were the ones persecuted. This is kind of hard to respond to because a lot of what I could say would give it away, but I have a quick question: Who do you guys see as the villian in this movie? Or is there a set villian in this story?
Like Maddie H I too have seen this before. This time however I noticed several things I hadn't seen the first time. For instance, when Lucius was killed he was rubbing the bottom of the table with his hand. (That's why I was laughing for those of you who noticed I was.) Another aspect I recognized was the symbolism with holding hands.
The Village connects to the Crucible because the societies in which the citizens choose to live are controlled by fear. In the Crucible the fear is God taking his wrath on you and your inability to please God. However in the Village their fear is the evil in the outside world.
Maddison M- why do you think Lucius' color is red?
One thing I noticed in The Village was hands. There was a lot of shots of just the charachters hand and nothing else. I think that it might represent that hands are the way you connect yourself with people, and they could also represent helping others maybe? Also, when Ivy was holding her hand out when the "creatures" were attacking, it reminded me of the Michaelangelo painting of Adam and God when they are reaching towards each other. I dont know if this was intentional or not, it was just a connection I made.
Kelsey, Maddison, and Kalyn: I agree with Maddison and think that Lucius's color is red. I think she won't tell him that because she is afraid of his reaction, he might embrass the fact that he is the evil color, or he might become even more depressed and shy than before.
Dennis: Lucius didn't die, he was just severely injured and has an infection, that is why Ivy is going to the town to get medicine.
Themes/Motifs:
I noticed the chairs, the colors, the holding of hands, (like many of you), the berries popping up, the boxes that they kept locked in their houses, and the woods. I have a few hunches about what they could mean, but I want to wait a little longer till I make conclusions.
Questions:
How could the boys have seen one of the creatures, if the creatures are really the elders, and the elders were all at the wedding?
How did the little boy in the begining die?
Didn't Ivy's dad say that a couple of the creatures really live in the woods?
How did they choose their town's location? Why is it so isolated, and why did they leave the town in the firstplace?
As for connections, mine are pretty much the same as everyone else.
Some connections I have seen are that in The Crucible they use religion to keep the towns people afriad so that they don't do anything wrong. In The Village they basically do the same thing but make up creatures to scare them into not leaving their society.
I've also seen a lot of connections to the philosophies we took notes on. When the main elder guy was talking about his father he was saying how he was a good man but money and society made him do some evil things, which made me think of the one that said a man can be good even though he has commited evil acts. Also, the one that says all societies need a scapegoat and in The Village they use the "creatures they do not speak of" as a scapegoat.
I think the elders are trying to control the village through fear. They clearly do not like the tainted outer world and want to keep their village an ignorant place. Just like in the Crucible, the village is controlled by fear until a few brave people realize some things are more important to them than fear.
I noticed the empty rocking chairs and also just the blank stares of the townspeople. It seems like the people themselves are empty. I think the colors red, yellow, and the ones Ivy sees have significance too. Yellow is supposed to be cheerful, but that seems like the exact opposite of the village. In a way, the people in The Village almost seem barbaric. They are ruled by their emotions and instincts. The people are all just trying to survive. By trying to do what the elders think is best for the village seems to be having the opposite effect.
I am really interested to see how this all pulls together in the end.
Major symbols I'm noticing are the colors (red and yellow), holding hands, the locked boxes, and the rocking chairs. I really agree with maddisonm's interpretation of the empty rocking chairs. The movie has given a couple of examples of the elder's loved ones dying from acts of random violence, and the chairs symbolize that loss.
I think the fact that Ivy is blind and Noah is mentally challenged may represent the fact that their community is not free from hardship even when they are so removed from the "wicked" towns. Other examples of this are the boy's death at the beginning and when Noah stabs Lucius.
The Village connects to the Crucible because both societies needed scapegoats for an outlet of their fear of the unknown.
What color do you think Ivy sees for Lucius?
Who was the 'thing they do not speak of' who was in the town during the wedding?
How did the boy die in the beginning?
Where do you think Ivy is headed? (What's the nature of the towns?)
What is in the elder's locked boxes?
I had a couple of questions.
Who moved the rocking chair while Lucius and Ivy were talking? Obviously, it represented Ivy's turn to lose a loved one.
How can Ivy maneuver a forest blind when she can only see colors?
Aren't red and yellow both fall colors? Does this have any significance? I noticed that everything but red and, to some extent, yellow was sort of faded during most scenes.
Has anyone noticed the abrupt transition between scenes that Shyamalan uses in this film?
well I've realized that both of the towns seem to be unbalanced in some way. Also, I've seen that both of the towns expect everyone to follow the rules and laws, and the people are not. Which also has to do with the philosophy statements. I also agree with Kelsey and how fear is is creating disaster in the communities.
One of the major connections that i see with this film is this one particular book that i read. I'm sorry to say that i don't remember the name of this book, but The Village and this book had so many same ideas. In the book they were a puritan society banned from going outside their community.
Kelseyl- I think the rocking chairs might represent the emptiness that the secrets create in their society.
Helenp- Instead of yellow being a cheerful color, in the villages eyes I think they see it as a peaceful color.
Some questions that i have is that is there a sign or motif for Noah? In your eyes, if Noah evil?
I really am enjoying this movie so far!
1) I think that the elders did not make this up but instead he told her that just so that she would be brave enough to go. I also think this because why would they have one, hanging in the shed with the pig thing in it!
2) the pig thing reminded me of the lord of the flies!
3) Kelseyl- I think that the empty rocking chairs signify unexpected events
4) I think that Lucious has a color of yellow, just because I think he is the best bravest character ;-)
One thing I have been wondering about the village is about the creatures.
Why would Ivy's father tell her about the creatures being fake? Is it to make her stronger? Maybe they are actually real, and her father was just trying to make her unafraid.
The main sililarity in the crucible is that the two societies live in fear of either these creatures or the indians.
symbols
yellow- peace, truce between monster and village, safety
underground basement- death lurks upstairs
ivy- blindness to the truth
empty chair- innocence and emptiness of sorrow (retarded kid does not sit in the chair until he stabs L. he lost innocence there. the one old guy sits in chair while describing how sorrow will always find you.)
holding hands- announcement of love
not touching\not holding hands- love that has yet to be confessed.
retarded kid- the elder's plans do not work perfectly and has its problems
red- the lies the elders must keep up with, monsters
the box- secrets (sorrows of their pasts) not wanted to be remembered or known.
dead, skinned animals- warnings from monsters
red marks on doors- places the monsters attacked
ivy's light colored clothing- true innocence
people
elders- use violence and fear to protect the village from the outside world of violence and fear.
retarded kid- loves ivy
R.K.(^), L., and blind chick = outcasts. = main people in movie.
village- all about preserving innocence and avoiding sorrow.
villagers- happy going, have truce with beasts, hate red, always talk about "those we do not speak of"
women- seem to have more authority than men
you notice that people speak for others? except ivy; she speaks for herself.
setting
dead trees and gray, cloudy skies in the beginning. you hear crows throughout movie.
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