eilonwyhan

Valley and her brother Bo have been raised by their survivalist father. Away from civilization. Distrustful of government. They witness their mother's death at the hands of Those People in the black helicopters. Most of America is oblivious to the existence of the black helicopters, but Da, Valley, and Bo have been working hard to wake people up. In simple language, Woolston builds a whole world just outside our own. A world where people are willing to sacrifice their own children to expose a "truth", to provide "proof" of a danger they know to be real.

Valley never explains who Those People are. Given that it seems to take place in contemporary America, I can only guess that her dad is the most extreme of the anti-government, no interference with personal liberties kind of quack. This guy makes the Unabomber look rational. At least Ted Kaczynski didn't raise his children to be his own personal militia.

I watched the movie Carrie again recently, and was again struck by the people who were genuinely trying to be nice to Carrie White at the prom. People who were genuinely horrified by the pig's blood prank. And yet Carrie, through years of conditioning, looked at that crowd and saw everyone laughing at her. Those prom-goers were Those People. Valley is a lot like Carrie. Paramedics who were genuinely trying to help her get blown up, because Valley has been so isolated, she has no empathy. If psychopaths can be nurtured, Valley is a prime example.