Brian B. Clayton, " 'I See Dead People': Spiritual Quests in the Films of M. Night Shyamalan"

About This Event

Brian B. Clayton (Philosophy Emeritus, Gonzaga University) will give the talk " 'I See Dead People': Spiritual Quests in the Films of M. Night Shyamalan" as part of the Faith, Film, Philosophy 2024 series on the topic Spiritual Film Themes in a Secular Age.

M. Night Shyamalan’s early films (from Wide Awake to Lady in the Water) are notable for the presence of spiritual themes such as faith, grace, and hope. While the perception of Shyamalan’s films is that they are thrillers with a twist, his most popular and successful films often raise questions of supernatural agency in the form of fate or even providence. This talk will examine these films and explore these themes in an effort to cast light on Shyamalan’s “project” in the earlier part of his career. This project certainly suggests that spiritual themes have not been “dropped out completely, in keeping with the secularism of the age.” Over against this is the apparent counterevidence of Shyamalan’s films beginning with The Happening, where spiritual themes seem notably absent. The lecture will consider this counterevidence and consider its implications for the view that Shyamalan’s oeuvre shows that there is still room for spiritual themes in popular films.

This event is part of Faith, Film, Philosophy 2024, sponsored by the Gonzaga Faith & Reason Institute