Those We Don't Speak Of
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"Those We Don't Speak Of" are fictional characters in M. Night Shyamalan's (2004) film The Village. They are red-cloaked, piglike, intelligent, and apparently violent. The creatures lie at the very core of a system of beliefs that govern the lives of a small group of settlers in rural Pennsylvania. Village lore has it that a truce with the creatures ensures that the humans will not enter the woods and "Those We Don't Speak Of" will not enter the valley where the settlement is located.
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[edit] Sight
The occasional glimpses of "Those We Don't Speak Of" in the film show a bipedal creature that is larger than the average human being. They wear red cloaks that conceal much of their bodies, which are largely covered with fur. Other notable physical features include:
- The face bears the countenance of a boar: the eyes are black and pushed back into its head. It has a round nose with two oval nostrils, and on both the left and right sides are curving tusks.
- The mouth is full of sharp teeth and can produce a variety of feral noises.
- The backs of the animals are covered with long quills, which protrude through the red cloak, giving the appearance of upright hedgehogs or porcupines.
- The hands and feet (paws) of the animals terminate in large, sharp claws. The hands feature an opposable thumb and are capable of grasping tools and weapons (such as the knife-like implement the creatures carry on their belts).
There are two types of creature shown in the film. The first is the costume worn by the Elders during the first 2 acts of the movie. According to the director's commentary on the DVD version, the second creature 'type' is the suit worn by Noah in the woods in the last act (see second screenshot in this article). This creature is noticeably different, being much more 'wild' in appearance. The commentary suggests that this is meant to display the darker side of human nature (Noah's mental state), rather than the other version, which is meant to inspire fear.
[edit] Mythology
[edit] "Bad" and "Safe" colors
"Let the bad color not be seen, it attracts them."
One of the primary laws of The Village is that the "bad" color (red) is not to be displayed anywhere within the colony, because of the belief that it attracts "those we don't speak of." Conversely, the "safe" color (yellow) is thought to keep the creatures at bay, and adorns banners, fence posts, and other objects located around the perimeter of the colony. As a precautionary measure, the colonists are normally garbed in yellow cloaks whenever they come near the forest border. Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her escorts don the yellow cloaks as well when they travel through the woods in order to reach "The Towns" for the purpose of obtaining much-needed medical supplies.
[edit] Plot twist
"Never enter the woods, that is where they wait."
In reality, "Those We Don't Speak Of" as seen in The Village were concocted by the village Elders in order to reinforce the edict that the villagers stay within the confines of the settlement and away from "the towns" (outside civilization). Additional information regarding this plot twist can be found in the main article The Village.
Strange noises emanating from deep in the woods (revealed in a deleted scene to be made by wind whistling through several metal pipes hung from a tree), the posting of regular sentries in the border watch towers, the staged creature "retaliation" raids, and ritual behaviors (including animal sacrifices) help reinforce the concept of danger and violence in the villagers' minds. As a rite of passage, teenaged boys play a nighttime game wherein they will stand on a stump located just at the forest's edge, with their back to the woods, the object being to see who can stay in place the longest. Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) is purported to own the record for this event.
[edit] Actual existence
"Heed the warning bell, for they are coming."
Whether or not "Those We Don't Speak Of" truly exist is a subject not addressed in the film, aside of course from all evidence of them being shown to have another explanation. The closest to an exception is that Edward Walker (William Hurt) tells his daughter Ivy that "There did exist rumors of creatures in these woods" in one of the history books he used to teach in "The Towns." It is assumed that all of the appearances of the creatures resulted from the intentional actions of the Elders in disguise (patrols, warning "raids" where they leave marks on the door), or Noah masquerading as a creature during the attack on Ivy and during the animal skinnings. (A scene in the movie shows the animal skins and feathers on the floor in the room Noah was locked in, with Noah's mother giving the reaction of "Oh the animals!")
Actor Brendan Gleeson (August Nicholson) has described "Those We Don't Speak Of" as "...the embodiment of the darker side of the human spirit." The Village, Special Features [DVD]. USA: Touchstone Pictures, Shyamalan, M. Night (Director).
[edit] References
- Shyamalan, M. Night (Director). (2004) The Village [Film]. United States of America: Shyamalan, M. Night.
