1. The Village is premised upon a myth that involves creatures referred to as "those we don't speak of," the forbidden woods these creatures are presumed to inhabit, and "the towns" beyond the village. The function of this myth is to keep the members of the village within the village limits and to discourage them from attempting to discover what lays beyond the village. Its stabilizing power is in the fear it instills in the villagers - the villagers adhere to the confines of the village because they have been taught to fear what lays beyond it. Through the fear it creates, the myth is able to control and orient the members of the community. Each of the "elders" of the village experienced a loss through death before the village was formed, which caused them to create a safe environment away from the dangers of the outside world. The myth, then, was made to ensure this safe environment remains completely disconnected from the outside world, and the losses the elders have experienced are what cause them to uphold the myth.
2. The Walker family had money and could have constructed any kind of lifestyle they wanted for themselves. Mr. Walker chose the pastoral, simple, working life of the village for his family because of his father's murder. Like the other elders of the village, the loss Mr. Walker suffered affected him so deeply as to elect to live in the safe environment of the village as opposed to continuing life in the real world. Mr. Walker says to Ivy, "There is no one in this village who has not lost someone irreplaceable, who has not...questioned the very merit of living at all. It is a darkness I wished you would never know." This demonstrates that Mr. Walker felt his father's death was so tragic that choosing the simple, working life of the villagers was a better choice for himself and his family than to construct any other kind of lifestyle in the outside world, where the elders believe murder, death, and loss are abundant.
3. Ivy tells Lucias, "Some people - just a handful, mind you - give off the tiniest color. It's faint, like a haze. It's the only thing I ever see in the darkness." According to Ivy, both her father and Lucias have a color. Ivy is blind and can't see anything else but the "colors" of Mr. Walker and Lucias. This is indicative of the relationships Ivy has with the two men. She is very close both with her father and with Lucias, who takes on a very protective role over her. Ivy's close relationships with these two men have caused the presence of both to become familiar to her. The familiar presence of both Mr. Walker and Lucias to Ivy are what create the "colors" that Ivy "sees" in them. The "colors" that Ivy sees are her way of identifying her father and Lucias without actually seeing them, through the familiar relationships she has with them.
5. In the village, red is the "bad" color and yellow is a safe color. Red is emphasized as a "bad" color throughout the movie, through the color of the cloaks of "those we don't speak of" and through various conversations about the color by the characters. When Noah hands Ivy red berries and Lucias tells her she is holding the "bad" color, Ivy immediately responds by saying, "This color attracts those we don't speak of. We must bury it." The village has been conditioned to fear the color red and to associate it with "those we don't speak of," which further reinforces the village's fear of and adherence to the myth. Yellow is generally known as a calm, neutral color. The members of the village refer to it is a "safe" color and wear yellow cloaks near the borders of the forbidden woods. The association of behaviors and feelings to the colors red and yellow are representations of the impact the myth has on the village and its members.
6. Mr. Walker tells Ivy the story of the death of his father - her grandfather - in the towns, before the creation of the village. He tells her that his father was the wealthiest man in the town. Mr. Walker says, "Money can be a wicked thing. It can turn men's hearts black. My father could not see this, for all his gifts, he was a poor judge." He then goes on to say that his father was shot in the head in his sleep. These comments by Mr. Walker mean to say that money has the ability to severely cloud a person's judgment. Having more money than one needs to survive can cause a person to confuse his/her priorities and can create a great deal of problems more than their worth. Mr. Walker relates the story of his father's death to money in his conversation with Ivy, which leads viewers to believe that his father's death was a direct result of his money. Mr. Walker said his father was a good man, but a poor judge, and his story tells that bad consequences can come of wealth, if that person lets his/her wealth consume him/her.
7. Ivy learns that "those we don't speak of" - and the entire myth, as well - is only "farce." Learning this must have caused a great deal of psychological, intellectual, and emotional consequences within Ivy's entire perspective on life. She learns that the whole foundation of the village she lives and was raised in is based on a myth. It is made up. This knowledge no doubt caused Ivy to mistrust everything and everyone she knows. Ivy suddenly has reason to question every single thing she believes to be true, because the myth that controlled the lives of everyone in the village was exposed as "farce." She asks her father, "The screams from the woods?...The ceremony of meat?...The trails? Are they farce too?...What about the animals? The skinned ones? Are the elders responsible for that?" It is apparent that Ivy places blame upon the elders, and that she is now skeptical of their motives. Why have they been enforcing this lie that controls the lives of everyone in the village? Ivy tells her father, "I am sad for you Papa. For all of the elders." She feels a separation of herself from her community, and she pities the elders for believing in and enforcing this way of life.
8. Each one of the village elders experienced a great loss during their life before the village, which prompted them to take a "sacred oath" never to return to the towns. They were all deeply hurt, and each placed complete blame for that hurt on the societies they lived in. The elders came together and formed the village in order to rid their lives and the lives of their future children and families of the dangers that society presents to each of its members. It is the hurt each of the elders felt from the losses they experienced and the absolute belief that society was to blame for these losses that bonded them together and caused them to take a "sacred oath" never to return to the towns. The elders adhere to their "sacred oath" even at the cost of the lives of sick children who could have been saved by medicines brought from the towns, Ivy’s eyesight, and even Lucias’ life because of the hurt they felt and their blame of this hurt on "the towns." This is a very deep adherence to a promise made, and I believe this is mainly attributed to fear. The elders fear "the towns" so much that they forbid any of the village's members to enter it, even when circumstances arise that could be easily fixed by doing so. This says a great deal about fear's ability to control and manipulate people. The elders are so scared of the idea of fear and loss that they are willing to risk their lives and the lives of others to steer clear of real life.
9. When Mr. Walker says, “yes I have risked everything and I hope I am always able to risk everything for the just and right cause,” he is saying that Ivy's reasoning for traveling to the towns - to obtain medicine to save Lucias' life - was reason enough to break the "sacred oath" each of the elders made. Ivy's reason presents "the just and right cause" to "risk everything" because Lucias' life was at stake. Mr. Walker is saying that breaking the oath - telling Ivy the truth about the myth and allowing her to travel to the towns - is "risking everything." By saying this, Mr. Walker is saying that a reason as great as a human life at risk is reason enough to "risk everything," break the oath, and get help from the outside world. Mr. Walker, in saying, "I hope I am always able to risk everything for the just and right cause," is encouraging the other elders to recognize that some things are more important than the oath they made and the fear that surrounds their lives.
10. After watching The Village, the extent of adherence to oaths, rules, principles, and promises that the characters possessed seems extremely ridiculous. Clearly, there are certain situations that may arise that are reason enough to break a promise or oath made. This is not to say that oaths and promises are to be taken lightly, or that rules and principles are unnecessary. It is important to be true to one's word, and to abide by rules, but not to the extent where a life is at risk and the only thing holding him/her back is the need to adhere to an oath or promise. Lucias would surely have died if Ivy was not allowed to travel to the towns and get the medicine he needed, which is the circumstance that precipitated the breaking of Mr. Walker's oath. In this, he was absolutely right. The other elders may have felt betrayed by the breaking of his oath, but by doing so, Mr. Walker created hope for Lucias to live where, before, there was none. A promise or oath should be adhered to, but not solely for the case of adhering to it when other, more important things or people are at stake.
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