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The Village
The Village film is set in Pennsylvania in the Covington village that is surrounded by a forest which the villagers believe is inhabited by creatures. The paper will focus on how the themes portrayed in the film describe a form of social reproduction.
To begin with, for years the creatures and the villagers have coexisted with watchtowers being placed to prevent the villagers from passing the borders, unfortunately, Lucius Hunt requests to be granted permission to enter the forest to retrieve medicine to save a friend; permission is denied. Unfortunately, despite the warning by the elders Lucius while on Patrol duty wanders and enters the forest leading to an attack by the creatures but he is not hurt. Later Lucius tells the elders of his marriage to marry Ivy a blind girl from the village but Noah who also had an eye for Ivy is distraught by the news and he attacks Lucius leading to him being locked up after his found with blood on his hands. The lack of medicine in the village results in Ivy requesting permission to go to the town which is beyond the forest so that he can save Lucius’s life. When Ivy embarks on her journey her father shows her costumes and informs her that the creatures do not exist and when she is attacked by Noah who has worn one of the costumes on his way he makes him fall in a pit where he dies. Later when he reaches the town a stranger helps her get the medicine and she returns back to the village (Ebert).
There are various themes un the film that depicts social reproduction which most scholars believe to be a process that ensures the social structure set in society continues over time (“Themes, Motifs & Symbols in The Village”). The first theme is isolation wherein the film we see Edwin Walker created the village after his father had been killed by the town people. They create the town to protect themselves from this happening on the outside side world, this can also be termed as the people fascination with mortality hence the village. Social reproduction is depicted in this film where we see Edward and the elders’ charade about the structures in the forest, there were not real but they used the stories to prevent the villagers from the curiosity and to protect them from the rest of the world.
Fear is another theme that has been explained in the film where we see the whole village is in fear of the creatures in the forest and they tend to adhere to the restrictions set by the society that requires nobody to go to the village. The fear instilled by the elders describe social reproduction since it ensures that no one can go to the forest without seeking permission, we see Lucius asking for permission twice. Also, when Ivy reaches the town we see her fear does not allow her to go to the town to buy the medicine but a stranger from the town, the social reproduction of what had happened to his grandfather plays a role in instilling that fear and in the continuity of it even after she is back at the village.
Moreover, the is the theme of Innocence whereby creating the town the elders have ensures that the villagers co-exist in not only peace but also that they neither experience or have knowledge of the real-world issues. This is meant to retain their innocence and emphasis the restrictions of going to the forest and the town since they are bound to lose the innocence, the social reproduction is that just the elders have ensured the villagers live in a fantasy world than the reality. This while ensuring that their innocence is maintained also prevents the villagers from their perception of the world being tainted by the outside world which explains the people ensuring that no one going to the reserve and that no airplane flies above the reserve.
Lastly, religion is a theme that is evident in the film. First, we see Edwin leading with a word of prayer and they only allow Ivy to go beyond the forest to get medicine for Lucius who had been attacked by Noah but not when Lucius wanted to heal the sick boy it depicts the fate of others that is evident in religion. The village itself also depicts the religion and the world today where they are various restrictions that must be exercised to ensure that one lives as stipulated, the creatures in the forest also represent the evil in the world that from Christianity we must refrain from. The social reproduction described in the theme ensures that the fear the villagers have of the creatures and the outside world ensures that they refrain from going to the forest and also destroys any curiosity they may have of the unknown.
From the above discussion, the village film despite being set in some centuries behind reflects the theme that the society today strives to achieve for its people, unfortunately with the advancement in the world today this has become harder and harder. Also, the various themes have all described the social reproduction where they have been employed to ensure that the structures the elders put in force are adhered to by the members.
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Works Cited
Ebert, Roger. “The Village Movie Review & Film Summary (2004) | Roger Ebert”. Rogerebert.Com, 2004, https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-village-2004. Accessed 13 Mar 2020.
“Themes, Motifs & Symbols In The Village”. Dreamsofpaprika.Livejournal.Com, 2010, https://dreamsofpaprika.livejournal.com/91762.html. Accessed 13 Mar 2020.
