Reaching Out to the Other Side

In 2006, M. Night Shyamalan became one of numerous celebrities to participate in the American Express “My life. My card” campaign. The print version of his advertisement contains a photo of the director and a list of his responses to implied questions, one of which reveals that his proudest moment is when he sees his “children overcome fear.” Yet the ad itself suggests a different attitude about the relationship between parents and children. The photo shows Shyamalan sitting at the foot of the bed of a little girl, an open picture book in his hand. He stares boldly at the camera while, at the far end of the bed, the child cowers in terror, the blanket pulled up to her eyes, keeping a watchful eye on the filmmaker. This image—and its imposition of physical and psychological distance between adult and child—is emblematic of the troubled adult-child relationships depicted in Shyamalan’s films.