Even though Wide Awake focuses on a ten-year old?s search for God, it is by no
means a film for ten-year olds. It is safe to say that writer-director
Shyamalan pours some of his own religious wonderings into the screenplay,
something that recurs at the very center of his hugely successful Signs (2002).
At this stage, in a first film, Wide Awake offers one rendition of what sorts
of factors might go into the construction of some sort of religious belief.
This film is by no means exhaustive or necessarily even accurate in what it
portrays. Still, it does offer a portrait of what a young fellow of Hindu
origins thinks and feels religiously after early educational training in a
fancy Roman Catholic preparatory school.
Audience: Pitch the paper to the skeptical but thoughtful young adult; that
demographic makes up the audience and the rhetorical arena, so to speak. Be
careful in writing the paper that you treat the topic as generously and fairly
as possible. Feel free to use a ?discourse set? that chats effectively and
efficiently with your audience.
This is a very tough film to analyze, and the assignment is demanding.
Shyamalan packs a lot into it, and it goes by pretty fast. Maximum length is
750 words, though shorter is appreciated.