M. Night Shyamalan's "the Village"

Are you really free if you live in a society controlled by fear? In The Village, M. Night Shyamalan illustrates a small society of people who are protected and free through the fear that they have because of ignorance.

The village is a small group of people who have isolated themselves from society out of fear; fear of the evil of this world. Only the elders of the village know the truth, everyone else is captured by the fear that the surrounding woods are filled with violent creatures. While the actual world is set in the twenty-first century, the people in the village live as if it were the 1800s. They do not use money, because money is the root of evil. Each of the elders had a loved one who had been killed because of money and greed. Together they started "the village" in an attempt to evade evil.

Obviously they had to have some way of keeping everyone inside the village. The only way their plan could work was to totally isolate themselves. To do this a false fear of Those We Do Not Speak Of was instigated within the hearts and minds of the youngsters. Supposedly the forbidden woods which surrounded the valley in which the people dwelt were inhabited by mysterious and dangerous creatures. The society free from fear was in itself sustained by fear.

Amidst the fear, one young man named Lucius Hunt seemed fearless. Lucius was very wise, yet he remained quiet and too himself. Instead of thinking of what might happen, he thought of what needed to be done and he did it. He especially used this way of thinking when it came to the safety of Ivy Walker. Throughout the movie, Ivy and Lucius fall in love and in the end something peculiar happens.

At the climax of the movie Lucius is stabbed and struggles for his life. After he lays in bed for a few days clinging to the little bit of life he has left, Ivy, who is blind, makes a request to travel through the treacherous forbidden woods to the towns. In doing this she would be able to purchase medicines much needed for his survival. Ivy still had fear of Those We Do Not Speak Of, but it was over powered by a stronger fear - the fear of losing love. Ivy's father who was an elder explained to her the myth about the creatures and gave her permission to go. With the fears still lingering in her mind, Ivy made the seemingly impossible journey through the woods and returned with medicines to save Lucius's life.

Fear is a very