The Politics of Horror: Speak No Evil (2022)

“Speak No Evil” is a brutal indictment of the dangers of decorum, revealing how our commitment to civility can lead to unthinkable horrors.

“What radicalized you?”

I see this question popping up more and more in memes, both earnestly and ironically. I don’t have an exact answer for myself; I was radicalized years ago.

I do remember my first protest, which occurred at the onset of GW’s second term in 2004. I was 18 years old and went to DC with my mom and uncle to protest at the White House. I remember that it felt significant—that first moment that you stand against injustice, where you fight the power and at least attempt to face down that thing, that force that is so antithetical to what you believe in.

Arguably, the essence of democracy is raging against that which is unjust. And yet, somewhere along the way, we lost that.

I have been to many, many protests since then. I’ve marched for Black Lives Matter, and I’ve shown up at airports to tell new immigrants and refugees that despite what they may have heard from our government-they are welcome here. They have a home. I’ve marched against white supremacists and their tiki torches; I’ve marched against those who would take the rights from women and lgbtq folks, and I’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with so many strangers who were propelled by the same ideals as me.

I’ve been radicalized. And yet…

I understand that, somehow, some have not.

I’m not here to condemn that. It is a frightening thing to feel that level of disillusionment. Yet, I cannot help but see that it is necessary for our democracy to survive.

And against every odd and reasonable metric, I believe that the blueprint for our destruction lies in a 2022 Danish horror film.

When Speak No Evil was initially released, I hesitated to watch it. It seemed so aggressively unpleasant.

For those unfamiliar, the basic concept is that a Danish family on vacation becomes friendly with a Dutch couple. The Dutch couple slowly begins to push the boundaries of the Danish family, gradually and in increasingly ominous ways.

While the Danish couples’ initial reluctance to resistance may be attributed to the incremental nature of the infractions (i.e., ordering meat meals when the wife is vegetarian, watching intimate moments-things that could be written off as awkward mistakes or cultural misunderstandings) as the movie progresses, it becomes more apparent that the root of the problem is politeness-a fear of insult or being perceived as rude.

Maybe this doesn’t immediately feel relevant to our current political landscape.

But when I saw various democratic figureheads shaking hands with 45 (We do not say his name; we do not allow him that victory), I felt my stomach drop.

It was the same way I felt it sink when I first watched SPEAK NO EVIL; that certainty that a commitment to civility would lead to our downfall.

The thing is, the high road is all very well and good until the infrastructure has been bombed to hell, and all that is left is tunnels and darkness.

We are watching this happen in real-time. While the left is stumbling to “find common ground” and to work with oligarchs who have absolutely no interest in finding a middle-of-the-road, we, the people, are being left in the dirt.

Without leaning too heavily into spoilers, Speak No Evil very much suggests that embracing politeness over moral correctness results in disaster and that, in the end, the only people who benefit from it are the ones pushing those boundaries.

And here we are…. finding ourselves in a position where the leaders we elected to push back, to stand up for us, are caving to the notion of civility politics. 

I love Michelle Obama as much as the next Barack. And I think under normal circumstances, “when they go low, we go high” is a fucking great attitude. But these are not normal circumstances. We cannot polite our way out of the situation we find ourselves in.

The simple fact of the matter is that a lot of civilians will figuratively have to shed their blood in the name of our politicians maintaining their civility.

Maybe it won’t seem as extreme to some as concentration camps, but it will manifest. It HAS manifested.

People will lose their access to Medicare. Our neighbors will be deported for the minor crime of not being able to get a green card fast enough (by answering questions most naturalized citizens couldn’t if their lives depended on it). Free breakfasts and lunches will be taken away from school children.

I am using the future tense, but these things are already beginning. And make no mistake; while they may not strike an immediate death toll, their impacts will be fatal.

Speak No Evil suggests that maintaining a status quo in the name of politeness is dangerous, both because those who long to simply move silently and civilly through life become more and more accustomed to accepting violence and because those who push boundaries will continue to do so, until the snap comes-either in the form of push back or in the form of the center failing to hold.

While I suspect the movie was more focused on the individual implications of these interactions, I cannot help but see our own culture giving over to it.

The people we voted for to hold the line and not be afraid of appearing rude are crumbling. They are shaking hands with the oppressor and seeking compromise with a force that wants nothing less than to stomp us under its bootheel. There is no room for highroads anymore. There is no room for politeness.

And while I am, at a second’s notice, ready to take to the streets, it shouldn’t fall to us to mount these acts of resistance.

We’ve ELECTED officials to have the fucking backbone to stand up and to be our voices. We are told over and over that the most powerful thing we can do is vote. And yet, these same officials who beg for our money, who promise to be our voices, crumble under the pressure of civility. Of politeness.

It is not nobility to take the high road when it no longer fucking exists.

It is cowardice.

We cannot turn blind eyes to those who would challenge the very essence of decency, of humanity, simply because it makes us uncomfortable to confront them.

And that is the lesson of Speak No Evil—one that will surely doom us if we fail to learn it—prioritizing civility over goodness will lead to destruction.