The Theme Of Religion And Faith In The Film Signs

The film Signs, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, revolves around the topic of religion and faith. The protagonist’s faith is put to question as he has to overcome his wife’s death, family problems, and an alien invasion. Graham had to be able to trust in his religion once more to save his family from aliens, as he must trust the signs that he sees. These signs put Graham’s faith to the test, as he must believe that everything has a plan. Graham must be able to see the big picture to survive not only the aliens, but also his own grief. Graham sees are miracles put there by a higher power so the Hess family could survive. In the film, there are two opposite ideologies working against each other and influence how a character can view situations.

Just as Graham rejected his father, or God, Morgan rejected Graham in the sense that Morgan no longer cared for his father. But, as there was a plan set in motion by God, Morgan was one of the signs that Graham had to see in order to save his family. His asthma saved his life and allowed Graham to finally come to terms and see the big picture that a higher power put out for him. Before the fight with the alien, Morgan suffered an asthma attack and his lungs gave out as Graham tried talking him through it. Morgan barely hung on as his lungs closed and he fainted. During this time, the moment of Morgan’s creation arrived. The alien that had Morgan used a deadly poison gas that would have killed him, had his asthma not closed his lungs, saving his life. This is another sign that Graham had to put his faith into, another sign he had to

Bo, Graham’s daughter, was a peculiar child since her birth. Though always smiling, she has multiple premonitions throughout the film. For example, early on the film, after Morgan killed the dog, Bo told him that she didn’t want him to die. Though this did not make much sense in the context of the scene, it’s apparent later in the film that she had a premonition about Morgan’s death. This however, was not the sign that Graham saw, instead he saw the cups of water that Bo frequently left out because she “saw things.” These cups of water ultimately led to the death of the alien, as the water was like acid to the alien. Bo’s ability to see premonitions was a miracle, and throughout the film, one can see that the signs are miracles granted by God to test Graham’s faith. Not only were Graham’s children part of a bigger plan, but Graham’s late wife, Colleen, was as