Why Elliot and Alma Didn't Die

Rating: 9/10 (14 June 2008)

Shyamalan's films require an active audience. He is not going to force feed his message to you and recap everything you missed like in The Sixth Sense for two reasons. One, unentertaining didactic messages incite audience members to put up walls and argue against the message because it belittles or convicts them. Two, when someone arrives at the message by opening portals of their mind, drawing from their own experiences, they become invested in the message. Being invested in a message will hopefully incite action and application.
M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening is a prophetic warning and reminder to human subservience to nature and God. The words echoed by pretty boy student and distinguished scientist bookending the film tell us that our minds are simple and science can only take us so far. We may never understand God's intelligent design. However, what we can fathom is that God's design is complex and requires interdependence.
Interdependence is reinforced by a quote written on Elliot's blackboard by Albert Einstein, "if the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Man is dependent on these little bees that God has created to fulfill a very specific, yet integral purposeÂ—to pollinate plants so we may eat. Man has attempted to synthetically pollinate plants like bees, but it is not working. The honey bee population is depleting in North America, many believe it is because of the Colony Collapse Disorder. This disorder reinforces our interdependence in that our manufactured pesticides are killing the worker bees.
So why were all those people killing themselves? Essentially they were already, Shyamalan chose to show it as one immediate act rather than the slow invisible act. Dr. Roger De Haan wrote a book called, "We Don't Die, We Kill Ourselves" claiming that our nutrient deficient diet- pumped with chemicals, pesticides, and all sorts of GMOs has lead to malnutrition at pandemic proportions. Aside, from the two teenage boys, everyone who dies in the film kills themselves. Our attempts to construct nature and play the role of God is causing us to inadvertently kill ourselves.
Then Why did Elliot, Alma, and Jess live? As with all Shyamalan's movies there is hope. He's going to bring some difficult issues to the surface and tell us there is hope in the human condition. Where does our hope lie. In all of our positive energy, namely love, joy, forgiveness, and grace. In his explanation of the mood ring, Elliot explains that humans emit detectable energy. The toxins being released by the plants target the negative energy sources as a defense mechanism. Plants really only have two defense mechanisms thorns and chemicals. As explained by the scientist at the end of the film these plants were emitting a toxin that cause chemically-induced neurological imbalances that cause people to suddenly end their life by the nearest possible means. As the wind was blowing the toxins by Alma and Elliot their positive energy gave them immunity, they were of no threat to the environment. Their outward communications of love and forgiveness gave them positive energy. Similar to negative energy, positive energy is contagiousÂ—and by virtue of witnessing Elliot and Alma's expression of love, Jess had positive energy.
The film was originally called "The Green Effect". Green is the unnamed color for love on a mood ring as well as the universal color of embracing nature. It is by the power of love that the human race survives and flourishes. That love must be communicated and demonstrated in order for it to become contagious.
Shyamalan heavily points to humans inability to communicate and our dependence on media. When it was Happening everyone pulled out their cell phones and PDAs. They turned their televisions to a 24-hour news source to get the latest tragedy or theory. Our media has moved toward pumping out volumes of informationÂ—whether it be right or wrongÂ—they can give the information now and recant it later. CNN has caused this desire for us to get some news now, rather than wait for it to be analyzed and fact-checked. Paranoia and panic set in when we are unable to communicate via cell phones, radios, television to the outside world. Shyamalan points to the absurdity and unemotional fixation on mediated tragedy. Honestly, who takes video of a guy feeding his arm to tigers, doesn't try to save them but tries to hold the shot steady, then sends the video to their mother. That's our media culture, look at some of the content of some of the top videos on YouTube. CNN rarely fills its 24-hours a day broadcast with necessary and thoughtful news, more or less it focuses on celebrity gossip, crime, and tragedy. Negative energy. Side note on cell phones: the radio frequency as been linked to disrupt bees flight patters and cause disorientation leading to the colony collapse disorder.
Shyamalan is asking the world to undergo a radical change. To revert back to a Village-like mentality with open communication, interdependence on nature, and reverence to God. Could he come out on a podium and say this to us. Like him, I believe it's best for him to show it us. Then let us think about it for a while and hopefully decide to take action.
One side note:
-Shyamalan got Marky Mark to udder the words: "I'm just putting out Good Vibes here" to a ficus with out the Funky Bunch backing him on those Good Vibrations.