[Erik]

What do you think is up with the colours Ivy sees?

I believe she sees different colours for how people think about Ivy. Therefore I believe that her father, sister and Lucious have nearly the same colour. Her colour of love. It must be something like that, because Ivy knows that Lucious loves her. Ivy didn't aproached him before, because her older sister wasn't married yet (like explained in the movie).

I also believe that Noah has this same colour, but changes colour when he is trying to attack Ivy in the woods. That is why Ivy didn't recognise him when he attacked.

Somehow Ivy sees something in her constant darkness, we just don't know what...

[Sanford]

I really think the only two people with "colors" for her are Lucius and her father, just because they mean the most to her. And if I had to guess what their colors were, I'd say yellow, because it's the "safe" color, and she feels safe with those two men.

Just my opinion though.

[Namaste]

yeah, the only people she mentions as having colors are lucius and her father. If noah had a color, she would have seen him when he was hiding in the closet, for one thing. But i feel like she speaks differently about the colors of her father and lucius; for example she makes the color specific to lucius when she says "i will not tell you YOUR color" in a way that seems very targeted to him as though it is different from her father's.  Also I dont believe the color has to do with feelings (and that being the reason she knew lucious loved her) because she explained the real reason she knew he loved her in that he did not touch her. (another great comment on fear in the film) So what are their colors? I believe her father has the yellow color which represents fear and repression, and lucius has the red color which represents love and living (note that as he was dying she exclaimed "I cannot see his color!") Lucius was never afraid of the outside world and doing what has to be done (note the scene where Walker says "you are fearless in a way that I shall never know") and he had the record time at the stump. Yellow is fear and hatred; it is self-centered. Red is courage and love; it is venturing into the unknown. Note also that Lucius takes Ivy's hand eventually, but Walker never takes Alice's hand (although i do respect his commitment to his marriage)

Love is an adventure, and it is scary and it is self-less. I hope I am always able to risk everything for the just and right cause, because I am led by love. The world moves for love; it kneels before it in awe.

[Unbroken]

Hmm, I don't think red is supposed to be courage and love, I mean whenever Night uses it symbolically its always been in the threatening sense. It could be though, but I don't see it that way. I do agree that yellow represents fear (but not necessarily hatred), and not love, because its "safeness" was a lie, a cowardice that shut the villagers inside themselves. To me, red and yellow just seemed to be two different sides of deceptive fear in The Village, I don't associate either one with anything good.

I like the fact Ivy doesn't say what Lucius's color is; it brings a tender mystery around the whole thing that makes it all the more engrossing. If I could find out what Lucius's color was, I wouldn't; that would just spoil it.


- Sometimes we don't do things we want to do so that others won't know we want to do them. -

[Namaste]

The same reason yellow is proven to be a false security, red is proven to be false threat. and hatred is the result of fear. Walker made the whole place because of his fear and hatred of the outside world (you should watch donnie darko or read about new age to see what im talking about). And when has Shyamalan used red as threatening?

[Unbroken]

He uses it practically whenever he wants us to be afraid. It was always a sign that malicious ghosts were about in The Sixth Sense, and I think associated with their horrific, bloody wounds. He used the color to make you feel agitated, not warm and fuzzy.

In Unbreakable, both yellow and red are associated with unscrupulous people David contacts. Then the two colors come together when he finds the serial killer, as orange.

In The Village, although the creatures are a false threat, they still represent evil. And I don't think it's a coincidence that Noah takes on the red mantle of evil symbolically when he stalks Ivy in the woods. At that point he is consumed by hatred, not love. He is a monster. See what I mean? At the end of the movie, he lays at the bottom of the pit, defeated, but love triumphs. So whatever color love is, I doubt it is red.

And I don't think Mr. Walker hated the outside world, he was quite simply afraid of it. He allows Ivy to leave, because he loved her dearly. Yes, he made bad decisions, but it wasn't out of hatred. Just fear, I think. Remember everything he did was to preserve innocence.


But I can see where you are coming from. I do see a couple instances where red might be interpreted as love (like the red berries and the flower), but overall, red seems to be just the opposite. Bloody hands, a bloody knife, people's fears manifested in red-wearing monsters, and a young sadist (Noah) who gets a kick out of using the 'bad color' as a joke, because that is precisely what he thinks evil is: a joke.


- Sometimes we don't do things we want to do so that others won't know we want to do them. -

[Decadent Sympozium]

Hmm, I don't think red is supposed to be courage and love, I mean whenever Night uses it symbolically its always been in the threatening sense. It could be though, but I don't see it that way. I do agree that yellow represents fear (but not necessarily hatred), and not love, because its "safeness" was a lie, a cowardice that shut the villagers inside themselves. To me, red and yellow just seemed to be two different sides of deceptive fear in The Village, I don't associate either one with anything good.

I like the fact Ivy doesn't say what Lucius's color is; it brings a tender mystery around the whole thing that makes it all the more engrossing. If I could find out what Lucius's color was, I wouldn't; that would just spoil it.


- Sometimes we don't do things we want to do so that others won't know we want to do them. -

See, the thing that "frustrates" me is the fact neither person I knew, that watched this movie, ever noticed anything we're discussing here. Or anything else about his movies for that matter...hm...could this be an interesting thread of I am to open it?

[Namaste]

ok so maybe yellow doesnt represent fear..but maybe more like familiar. and red is not so much courage but the unknown. But the movie is about fear, and how people respond to it. Some people react to scary situations by running away to the familiar or "innocent"; but some react to them by confronting the situations and trying to deal with them. I think that both Lucius and Noah were fearless in their own way...one for wisdom and the other for ignorance. (Note that they both pursued the red-haired Ivy) They were the only ones who weren't deterred by TWDSO without having been told that they were only farce.

He used the color to make you feel agitated, not warm and fuzzy.

I agree that red could have been used to represent agitation or discomfort, but that's what love is. It takes courage. It was the same in the 6th sense. Cole had to overcome his fear and agitation in order to help the ghosts. Yellow, however was the color that made people feel "warm and fuzzy" I mean come on, they are wearing it as a cloak! It's like hiding under your blankets.

You have a good point about Noah putting on the red when he was in a hateful mood though. And about both colors being negative. I'll have to think about that.

And I think fear and hatred are very similar things if you really understand them. You only hate the things you fear.

[Unbroken]

I suppose you could say that red doesn't represent courage or love itself; rather red is the fear of love and courage. In The Village, red represents things that get in the way of us loving. The creatures kept people in The Village from reaching out, and connecting with others of the outside world. The creatures divided people inside The Village, separating father from daughter and mother from son. But Lucius and Ivy, the two lovers, were able to see past the fear, to reach out and take eachother's hands even when a monster tried to come between them. They found the courage to stand up to things, to venture into the unknown, and confront their own elders because of their love.

Likewise in The Sixth Sense, fear is what kept Cole from reaching out and helping the ghosts. Fear is what kept him hiding in his room at night, when all he had to do was ask "is there something you want to tell me?" Fear also kept him from communicating with his mother, because he thought she would reject him.

In the end, red and yellow are no different. They both work the same way; one causes people to run away, the other for people to stay where they are. They both kept people locked inside. Hence, they are equally bad, but one is just considered more acceptable than the other because it gives comfort. Yellow is the fear we accept without question, red is the fear we don't fully understand, but both must be seen for what they are, or we will never be able to do any good for one-another. That, I think, is one of the principle morals of M Night Shyamalan's film "The Village".


- Sometimes we don't do things we want to do so that others won't know we want to do them. -

[Namaste]

I think Shyamalan's films are all about how we see things. The way things can cloud or skew our judgement, and the ways we can see past these things. Ironically, on reason Ivy could see beyond her fears is that she was blind. (Love is blind) I hope you guys appreciate the time and effort I've put into crafting my signature to represent this idea in multiple Shyamalan films, and I promise it will continue to evolve as I assimilate more of this theme.      (but right now it is at the absolute maximum size allowed)

[Erik]

Last week I watched The Happening again. Could this really be?

In The Happening, Elliot tells Jess that everyone in the world provides energy. This energy is different for every mood you're in. Elliot also has this ring that changes colour for the mood of the ring's wearer. Elliot was yellow (calm), Alma was purple (horney). They didn't remember what the colour of love was.
What if Ivy has the ability to see this energy. Could M. Night Shyamalan explaining the colours in The Happening, or is it a coincidence? If this was Night's goal, then yet again, we don't know the colour of love.

[Namaste]

No, because Ivy can only see the colors of about two people (I think she says "some people give off colors, like a light haze. It's the only thing i see in the darkness" but she only names lucius and her father).   It is interesting how the two movies deal with color though; that's why i mashed them together (among others) in my signature 

[Rohan]

yeah, the only people she mentions as having colors are lucius and her father. If noah had a color, she would have seen him when he was hiding in the closet, for one thing. But i feel like she speaks differently about the colors of her father and lucius; for example she makes the color specific to lucius when she says "i will not tell you YOUR color" in a way that seems very targeted to him as though it is different from her father's.  Also I dont believe the color has to do with feelings (and that being the reason she knew lucious loved her) because she explained the real reason she knew he loved her in that he did not touch her. (another great comment on fear in the film) So what are their colors? I believe her father has the yellow color which represents fear and repression, and lucius has the red color which represents love and living (note that as he was dying she exclaimed "I cannot see his color!") Lucius was never afraid of the outside world and doing what has to be done (note the scene where Walker says "you are fearless in a way that I shall never know") and he had the record time at the stump. Yellow is fear and hatred; it is self-centered. Red is courage and love; it is venturing into the unknown. Note also that Lucius takes Ivy's hand eventually, but Walker never takes Alice's hand (although i do respect his commitment to his marriage)

Love is an adventure, and it is scary and it is self-less. I hope I am always able to risk everything for the just and right cause, because I am led by love. The world moves for love; it kneels before it in awe.

Namaste, write a book about THE VILLAGE. You are good.

[Namaste]

ty, you are the second person to suggest that to me tonight, Rohan. I don't think I'll write a book specifically on The Village..but maybe on those themes..someday an in-depth analysis of the film tho

[TheLastEatlon]

I do believe that his color is red.