M. Night Shyamalan’s 2002 film, Signs, is a fascinating project to study from a feminist perspective. On the face of it, it seems to be just another science-fiction thriller that marginalises women and centres men but, when we look a little closer, something very different emerges.

First things first – the film is set in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and the only person of colour in the entire cast is Shyamalan himself. He appears as the local vet whose story is closely entwined with that of the lead character – Graham Hess (Mel Gibson, some years before being accused of domestic abuse) – but whose part is fleeting, nonetheless. There are no women of colour in Signs at all.

In terms of the specifics of the cast list, there are 12 named characters with significant on...

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