Matthew Lesko once said, "A certain degree of lying seems to be inherent in all languages ​​and all forms of communication." Very often lies are integrated into society to manipulate the minds of those who receive them and ultimately shape the community in a particular way. M. Night Shyamalen's The Village in 2004 is indicative of this fact. A culture (even one based on fear) can thrive through the use of ritual communication. Before fully grasping the meaning of the ritual communication behind the film, The Village we must first understand what exactly it is about. Ritual communication is defined as “A symbolic process through which reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed”. (Carey, 1989) The method depends on the forms of mass communication within a society and how these symbols are interpreted by people. In short, these are the foundations not only for building a society but also for preserving it. Shyamalen's The Village is an exceptional example of the power of this approach to communication. The film is set in the late 19th century in an isolated village called "Covington Woods". The settlement was created by a group of people (known as the Elders) who had lost loved ones in the city and sought to create their own form of community. In retrospect they had hoped to create a kind of utopia free from the filth of modern society. At first the Elders created their own kind of reality by founding a village that looked like everything they wanted it to be; clean, crime free and innocent. Naturally human minds are full of curiosity and will in time wander to distant places: the younger generations would long for something more than what the village had to offer. With this in mind, the Elders formulate… halfway through the card… this purity as the reason for his survival. On the other hand we have to look at other examples, such as Hitler's success with similar methods. He used fear and other means to control and manipulate people in a completely different way. The German people were so committed to the preservation of their way of life that they allowed themselves to look past atrocities such as genocide. When a person in power has the correct tools to effectively use ritual communication, society is at that person's mercy. Ritual communication is an imperative part of life, it is important for the creation and maintenance of society as a whole. But it is crucial that people realize the influence communication has in shaping us and the world around us. If we can understand it and recognize it in action then it stands to reason that we can combat it when it is misused.