All the Colors of the Dark

Content Warning: This section of the guide mentions violence against women and abortion.

The majority of All the Colors of the Dark takes place in the fictional town of Monta Clare, Missouri, in the Ozarks, and the landscape and history of the area inform the lives of the characters. The Ozarks are a geographical region in the United States comprised of parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. There are two mountain ranges within the region, and it is known for its natural beauty, including the Ozark Natural Forest, abundance of water resources, karst features, and steep, rugged terrain. Because of the geography, parts of the region were inaccessible to the outside world for many years, and inhabitants maintained a distinct culture. In fact, “One community [was] tucked so far back into the inaccessible hills […] electric power lines finally reached it the same year that humans piloted a rocket ship to the moon and back” (“An Introduction to the Ozarks.” Smithsonian Folklife Festival, 2024). This region is “often associated with stereotypical images of hillbillies and poverty-induced backwardness on the one hand and rugged, frontier-like individualism on the other” (“An Introduction to the Ozarks”).