This title’s a bit deceiving, I’ll admit. I apologize for the delay in updating – there have been many thing I have wanted to discuss and ruminate, but alas, not enough time to put it all into writing.

So what’s the meaning of this title? Well, I just finished watching M. Night Shyamalan’s movie, The Village. It tells the story of a quiet village whose inhabitants hold an uneasy truce with dangerous mythical creatures living in the forest around them. Imprisoned by fear, they are unwilling to go beyond the borders of their village, not even to save the lives of their loved ones. Unfortunately, I can’t say much more for fear of giving the whole story away, but what was really interesting was not so much the plot but as much M. Night Shyamalan’s ability to weave the spiritual into his theatrical masterpieces. The Village is no exception. What is even more uncanny is the knowledge that M. Night Shyamalan professes not to be a Christian. For someone who doesn’t identify with Christ, the themes of his movies certainly carry quite a bit of spiritual significance.

Without revealing anything from the movie, I’ll just say that I found at least two major truths from Scripture that were illuminated by the film. First, the film illustrated in a very real way that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The village, though having every appearance of being completely innocent, still has its share of fear and evil. I think it’s really neat to see the honesty that Shyamalan injects into the movie, that the evil we face most is not always outside, but inside. Jesus Himself said that “the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:18-19).

Secondly, the movie “briefly” touches on love. One of the characters says, “The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.” Counter that with the words of John: “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16, emphasis mine). When the world considers pure, true, agape love, it is astonished, because everything about agape runs contrary to the way the world views things. One of the characters in the movie bravely volunteers to travel beyond the borders of the village in order that they might save the life of someone they love. Love gives us the courage to face the fears that trouble us. John actually continues on in verse 18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” I think this movie demonstrates the power of love, that it is strong enough to illuminate the darkness that fear brings.

And for the last point I want to make, here is one of my favorite lines, delivered by one of the men of the village: “Why can you not stop saying what is in yours? Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance I will ask you to dance. If I want to speak I will open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak further. Why? What good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come from my saying that I sometimes cannot think clearly or do my work properly? What gain can rise of my telling you the only time I feel fear as others do is when I think of you in harm?”

Throughout the movie, the young women seem to desire the attention of the young men of the village. Yet, instead of waiting for the men to lead and initiate the relationships, the women place themselves forward – often leading to heartbreaking consequences. Such is the course of life even now. Society tells women that it’s okay for them to initiate, to “take the lead when others follow.” Yet, as this man blurts out, this often comes to aggrieve men who desire to be strong and to lead as God intended. Time after time, whenever women become so impatient with men’s laziness that they choose to take matters into their own hands, the men let them. And the frustration is compounded, because instead of fulfilling the roles ingrained into our purest essence, both men and women end up losing the identities they desired to have the most. That quote made me want to cheer with that character, because I’ve seen women who mean well initiate because they thought the men were working too slowly, and become frustrated because the men won’t do anything. I’d better get off this soap box before I slip and break something.

Anyways, there are my thoughts on the movie. An excellent film, though the twist at the end was not nearly as dramatic as I thought (but that’s because I had already guessed what was going on before it was said). Yeah, I know, I’m a nerd. Well, until next time!