Project: "The Village"

MOD NOTE: For those among us who haven't seen the movie, some plot spoliers follow.

Over the weekend I saw The Village by M. Night Shyamalan for the second time. Because I knew the plot I had some more time to do some "critical thinking" about the movie, plot and the idea behind it. So I started thinking if it was such a bad idea. Going "back in time" as a solution to the current day state of affairs. High crime rates, fumbling economies, death, murder, terrorism, et al.

Going back to basics so save humanity? This is what I came up with:

Objective:
To create a society free of criminal acts, human tragedy, crime and "bad influence".

Where:
We'll need an isolated place – far away from any big cities or any high human traffic areas. But you’ll also need fair weather, fertile land and a good water source. I’ll put my money into Botswana. A relative stable political region, with more than enough wide-open – isolated spaces – and a fair enough amount naturally available fresh water (Towards the North/North-East) and fertile land. This is just a "random" choice of location and won’t influence much. There are also plenty of areas with no aviation routes.

Who:
The "who" is obviously the most important factor. We'll need someone who wants to get out of the "bad" modern world. Let's say 20 families, i.e. 40 people plus say 20 kids. We don't want to many people in the community as too much diversity and personal differences will cause conflict. We want "average" looking people – who all look more or less the same. We don't want attractive people, because it might cause jealousy and end up in adultery or the likes. Our chosen people should also be off average to below average intelligence – as doing day-to-day manual labor will bore "more" intelligent people and will not stay "satisfied" in isolation. The people should also be of excellent health with no (possible) genetic problems.

How:
To start off the project we'll need a huge capital amount. This is to cover the purchase of land, to keep the authorities happy (evading of taxes?) and maybe to set-up a human taskforce to keep unwanted guests out. We'll need to build sturdy houses, barns, enough agricultural stock and livestock to start off with. We'll also need basic medical supplies, material for clothes, basic furniture, tools and other basic necessities. It's clear that we'll need quite a big amount to get the ball rolling – and enough to generate interest to cover above-mentioned "permanent" costs.

No firearms will be allowed. Religion will have to be removed. History taught us that religion can cause a lot of conflict. There will be no "leader". All members of the community will be equals. There will be no monetary or system, i.e. no economy. No technology, no electricity and no transportation.

We won't need the "monster in the woods" to keep the people inside the village. They'll be volunteers.

Thus we send in the community. They are all "equal". They look the same. They have the same belongings. They have the same wives and husbands. They grow their own food, make their own clothes, and build their own furniture and homes. And they live their lives in peace and quiet, sharing everything – co-existing without problems. They live happily ever after.

Result of project "The Village":
So we created a little community that's self-sufficient. Free from modern day problems. No hate. No terrorism. No murder. No theft. No greed. A back to basics "back in time" plan saved our 60 or so people's lives…?

Or did it? This idea of back to basics, simplicity and "equal sharing" is no new idea. Does the word communism and socialism ring any bells? Add a whole lot of religion and you've got an Amish village – although they are not completely isolated, but the same principle applies. Makes you think doesn't it? Is communism really that bad? Could communism or socialism rid us of our modern day problems and possible self-destruction? The answer? Greed. Not to leave out Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth, Pride and Wrath. Human nature can never be accounted for in any setup of a community. The Amish are doing not too bad (except maybe for genetic problems) for themselves but then you have to take away people's basic human rights. "Forcing" everyone to commit to a single religion will never be a success. And in order for the "project" to work we need to take away individuality. You take that away from any person and you’re sure to end up with a rebellion. I'm afraid Project "The Village" will be scrapped.

Communism, socialism, Marxism or the Amish may hold a key to resolving our modern day problems. But you need to compare the weight of your identity against the weight of freedom, peace and quiet and a society without crime and death.

In my case my identity outweighs my need to escape crime by tons. Mr M. Night Shyamalan…. It was a good idea. But I'll have to decline.

[Edit: Spacing]

[edit on 8-5-2006 by Gemwolf]

[edit on 5/8/2006 by cmdrkeenkid]

Odd movie. I'd heard there was something you didn't expect at the end, but I couldn't work it out; rather like 'Sixth Sense.'

Anyways, yeah. Modern day problems. No hate. No terrorism. No murder. No theft. No greed. The sad thing is that these things come no matter what. Humans are going to be humans where ever they go, wherever they are, and they are going to have human tendencies. And although Socialism and Marxism are very, very good in theory, they will continue to not work as long as the intended population is human, because of these traits the entire species, in general, have.

We all want the best for ourselves; it's a basic instinct, and rears its usually ugly head even in our modern day society, in the well developed nations we live in.
Now if you put two people at a table with equal meals day after day after day, soon enough one will want what the others got, even if they both get mroe than they need. I've read that our species could be considered a parasitic one, taking into account the impact we have on this planet, and sometimes I'm erred to believing that, horrible as that thought may first seem.

something along the style of 'the village' was actually set up many years ago and managed to survive almost 20 years before being found out...

briefly - en.wikipedia.org...

google damanhur and read up about them.

they are a bit 'way out there' because of their time travel claims but you should look for some pictures of the amazing stuff they achieved underground before they were outed and also how they have affected the area around them.

You have voted Gemwolf for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have two more votes this month.

This is a brilliant thread that draws on an idea that i have been thinking of its a perfect dream, that has the ability to work.

Anyways, yeah. Modern day problems. No hate. No terrorism. No murder. No theft. No greed. The sad thing is that these things come no matter what. Humans are going to be humans where ever they go, wherever they are, and they are going to have human tendencies.

To a tee.. good post. The idea is extremely attractive but the fact of the matter is we can't help ourselves. In a way our instincts can be our best friend or our worst enemies. If we were content with every event we wouldn't move forward as a population. Do you actually think people will not express anger at another? Or be jealous at anothers wife for a particular reason? I mean the grass is always greener. If a child had a particular ailment that stopped them from playing sports (as an example), i'm more than sure they will become the outcast of say a football club. Or perhaps even the next generation there was an 'ugly' member.. do you actually think they will not feel resentment at not being picked as a bride?

I'd love to think it would work.. the fact is it wouldn't. We are humans, even animals and thus still have animal instincts, rid these and the idea is plausible.

I figured out the "surprise" to that movie about 30 minutes into it. I was sitting there watching it and thought to myself ill bet that they are actually in our time and dont know it. It was still a thought provoking movie though.

Unfortunately i am a firm believer in human nature and am 100% positive that even if we threw out all the politicians and started from scratch, or moved to "a village" as you say, it would just be a matter of time before things were right back to the same old way again. Human nature is to have something better than the next guy and eventually that always leads to greed and greed leads to corruption, etc, etc, etc and before you know it we are right back in this mess again.