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In the movie 'A Quiet Place Part 2', when the family discovers song on the radio, the character Emmett (played by Cillian Murphy) says that 'it's the valley', supposedly indicating that it's not any humans who are playing it.

I didn't understand this. What exactly does 'it's the valley' mean here?

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  • 1
    Have you got a timestamp or a youtube link?
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 6:42
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    No, that is not what happened. This sentence is an explanation of why they cannot hear the song on the radio all the time: because sometimes the geography prevents radio signals to be received. This scene is not confusing at all.
    – BCdotWEB
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 6:48
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    @BCdotWEB - isn't that why people ask questions, because they don't know the answers or missed some subtlety [or otherwise] in the plot? I'm sure that would make an answer.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 6:54
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    No need for a timestamp or link. Anyone who's watched the film will know what OP was talking about based on the description.
    – galacticninja
    Commented Aug 1, 2021 at 1:51
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    @Tetsujin It is ridiculous to close a question because OP did not provide a timestamp nor a youtube link, despite providing an adequate description of the scene they are talking about. If that's site policy, we'll have to close most of the questions on this site.
    – galacticninja
    Commented Aug 1, 2021 at 7:38

1 Answer 1

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The song is broadcast from an FM broadcast radio station. The FM broadcast band falls within the VHF (very high frequency) part of the radio spectrum. VHF radio waves propagate mainly by line-of-sight which means waves travel in a direct path from the source to the receiver. Thus, radio wave propagation is affected by atmospheric conditions and obstructions in the terrain like mountains.

The range can be great between mountaintop to mountaintop, but it will be limited valley to valley. The signals won't reach if you are down in the valley and the broadcast is from a station on the opposite side of the mountains or in another valley. The radio signal may not be able to penetrate the mountains.

The song originates from the radio station in the island. Abbott family and some other families (including Emmett and his family) were living in a valley in the mainland. There are mountains in between. Thus, the mountains were blocking the radio signals. When Emmett moves to an abandoned steel foundry, he begins to hear the music as the place is not in the valley.

Here is the relevant part from the transcript of A Quiet Place Part II:

♪ Somewhere ♪
♪ beyond the sea ♪
What is it?
What is it?
Music.
♪ Stands on golden sand and watching ♪
It’s a…
Beyond the Sea.
Have you heard this?
Ah. Yes.
No. Dad would’ve heard this.
It’s the same song that has been playing over and over the last four months.
You’re lying!
My Dad used the radio every day!
What she’s saying?
She thinks he would have heard it.
Who?
Lee.
It’s the valley.
It’s the valley, I tried the radio, from our house too. But…
We never heard anything until we got up here.
Your dad was never gonna make it work.
https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/movies/a-quiet-place-part-ii-2021-transcript/

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  • So, if he is trying to say that the song originates in the valley they are in, doesn't that mean that it indicates some other humans in that valley too? I don't understand the chain of arguments from 'it is the valley' to 'there is nobody else there'.
    – amsquareb
    Commented Aug 15, 2021 at 11:13
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    @amsquareb The song originates from the radio station in the island. Abbott family and some other families (including Emmett and his family) were living in a valley in the mainland. There are mountains in between. Thus, the mountains were blocking the radio signals. When Emmett moves to an abandoned steel foundry, he starts to hear the music as the place is not in the valley. Is it clear?
    – ermanen
    Commented Aug 17, 2021 at 16:32
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    @amsquareb "It's the valley" is an abbreviation for something like, "It's because of the valley that he never heard it." That is, the fact that some people can pick up the radio signal and some can't is because of the valley, because the surrounding mountains are blocking radio signals.
    – Kyralessa
    Commented Aug 18, 2021 at 9:01

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