Abstract

In A Quiet Place (2018), the absence of speech becomes a powerful metaphor that allows for an analysis from two perspectives: ethical and psychoanalytic. From an ethical standpoint, the film presents a fundamental tension between freedom of expression as a human right and the necessity of self-censorship to ensure survival. The presence of creatures sensitive to sound imposes an absolute silence, where the slightest transgression results in an immediate death sentence. In this context, the ethos governing the Abbott family is based on a utilitarian principle: silence is not just a restriction but a moral duty to preserve human life. Ethics here do not focus on individual autonomy but on collective responsibility.

From a psychoanalytic perspective, enforced silence is linked to repression and its inevitable failure. The film illustrates this concept through acting out, expressed in the form of hysterical symptoms that evoke the classic triad of "not seeing, not hearing, not speaking." Trauma emerges in the figure of Beau, whose play with the space shuttle symbolizes the childish and repressed desire to explore the world, triggering tragedy. Likewise, the relationship between Regan and her father suggests an Oedipal dynamic where envy and guilt function as manifestations of the death drive. Thus, A Quiet Place explores the price of silence, not only as a survival strategy but as a reflection of unconscious drives that, when repressed, always find a way to express themselves.

Keywords: Ethics | freedom of expression | death | psychoanalysis | cultural life