However, I figured out the inevitable Shyamalan twist in "The Village" about 10 or 15 mintues into the film. I just knew what was happening. No one told me; I didn't read any spoilers; I just figured it out.

I may have ranted a bit too much on this already...but I wasn't really referring to anything about the merits of the film itself, or the predictabilty of Shymalan...you know there's going to be a twist, so when you see it, it's expected. With the Sixth Sense we were all off guard cause we didn't know what to expect from him...now we do.

I was more put off by the insinuations that this film (and apparantly a growing number of others) had all sorts of hidden agendas and messages, than any criticism of the film itself. For the record its not my favorite Shyamalan film, but it was much more enjoyable to watch without all the media-biased hype. I wish I had gotten to see Sixth Sense with that same lack of overexposure...

My dearest friend refuses to know anything about a film before she sees it. Nothing. Not the plot, not reviews. She barely wants to hear who stars in it or who directs it, but that's sort of unavoidable.

She comes to the movie with a clean slate and is not biased by anything.

She may be on to something.

I will say that she sees a fair amounts of bombs this way, but she also gets a completely unique experience of the movie.

I may have ranted a bit too much on this already...but I wasn't really referring to anything about the merits of the film itself, or the predictabilty of Shymalan...you know there's going to be a twist, so when you see it, it's expected. With the Sixth Sense we were all off guard cause we didn't know what to expect from him...now we do.

I was more put off by the insinuations that this film (and apparantly a growing number of others) had all sorts of hidden agendas and messages, than any criticism of the film itself. For the record its not my favorite Shyamalan film, but it was much more enjoyable to watch without all the media-biased hype. I wish I had gotten to see Sixth Sense with that same lack of overexposure...

I saw all sorts of symbolism, political and otherwise (though I don't remember specifics because it has been so long). These symbols didn't detract from the movie at all for me. Art (movies) is what you see in it. Sometimes preconceived ideas detract from a movie, sometimes they add to a movie. It all depends.

I saw all sorts of symbolism, political and otherwise (though I don't remember specifics because it has been so long). These symbols didn't detract from the movie at all for me. Art (movies) is what you see in it. Sometimes preconceived ideas detract from a movie, sometimes they add to a movie. It all depends.

You're right Jimbo, and I wasn't trying to say that there was no symbolism in this movie, or that there is no place for it in film. I was just suggesting that maybe we read too much into what we see sometimes and at others may only see what we want to see.

My dearest friend refuses to know anything about a film before she sees it. Nothing. Not the plot, not reviews. She barely wants to hear who stars in it or who directs it, but that's sort of unavoidable.

She comes to the movie with a clean slate and is not biased by anything.

She may be on to something.

I will say that she sees a fair amounts of bombs this way, but she also gets a completely unique experience of the movie.

For me, that's the best way to watch a movie. I agree that trailers can be misleading and cause disappointment when you have a preconception of what type of movie you're about to watch. In this case, you're expecting a horror movie with monsters but get something else entirely. I still liked this movie even though I'd heard about the twist. Great story. And Bryce Howard was fantastic!!

I finally got to see this movie after months of avoiding any discussions, reviews, opinions, etc...I didn't even watch any trailers for this thing.

I was able to watch this with no preconceptions of the storyline or media-bias which is the best way to see a film, and the payoff was well worth it. I enjoyed every minute of it.

After reading through this thread and talking to others about political tie-ins and some other rediculous notions related to this movie and the film industry in general, I have to shake my head in disgust...My God people, its an effing movie!

Symbolism does not necessarily occur in every tale (film or otherwise) and to overanalyze every minute detail robs you of your enjoyment of the story. If you look for these types of tie-ins, you will find them, conspiracy theories are filled with loose tie-ins and circumstance, but folks, sometimes a story is just a story, not an allegory for GWB's monarchy or a hidden code to unlock the secrets of stonehenge...

So the next time you drop your $8 on a movie, relax, enjoy yourself, get extra butter on your popcorn...

President Bush is a =monarch=, Cyber-Jack? Dear me. I had no clue. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have bothered voting for him. Where's the NEW YORK TIMES when you really need it? :mad:

President Bush is a =monarch=, Cyber-Jack? Dear me. I had no clue. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have bothered voting for him. Where's the NEW YORK TIMES when you really need it? :mad:

Too late! You should've been reading it before the election. :p

I finally saw this movie recently too. I knew it wasn't the monsters in the forest movie it looked like from the trailers, so I wasn't disappointed by that part of it. I'm glad I knew that though, or I probably would have been disappointed. I could tell from early in the movie that there was something fishy about the time, but I didn't realize it was going to be an experiment in current times. Overall, I enjoyed the movie and was totally oblivious to any political overtones.

Too late! You should've been reading it before the election. :p

Actually I did, Jimbo. Not so much for news as to reflect in wonder that they hardly even bother to camouflage their left-wing agenda anymore, :eek:

President Bush is a =monarch=, Cyber-Jack? Dear me. I had no clue. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have bothered voting for him. Where's the NEW YORK TIMES when you really need it? :mad:

Hmmmm? I guess you missed that headline...It read something like this:

Arrogant and egotistical tyrant seizes American throne and declares himself King of the World.

or maybe it was more like this:

70's cartoon hothead, The Heat Miser aka GWB (see Year Without a Santa Clause) slays rival and assumes control of both hemispheres. Currently squandering American Finances for personal gains.