Blog Assignment # 3

Interpreting "The Sixth Sense"... 

The scene opens with the camera on the police officer’s hand, which holds a flare that is being lit. Then it switches to the cars that are involved in an accident (one car is smoking) and we see people standing outside their cars waiting for traffic to subside as we are led to Lynn and Cole’s car. “Geez, I hope everyone is okay. You’re quiet. I know you’re mad at me for missing your play. But you know I have two jobs that are really important for us”… *HER: Lynn and Cole are stuck in traffic because of a car accident that ended the life of the woman. This is the moment that sets up suspense and a look as to what is to come later in the narrative. The promise and formulation of an answer occurs with the shot-reverse-shot of dialogue between Cole and his mother. Cole tells his mother, Lynn, that he is ready to communicate with her and tell her his secrets. The partial answer is when Cole discloses to his mother, “They scare me too sometimes” referencing the ghosts he sees. He says “They want me to do things for them”. This is a partial answer because he is just slightly skimming the fact that he can talk to and see ghosts. The disclosure is when Cole tells his mother that he can talk to or see ghosts. The disclosure is even more evident when he tells her of details pertaining to her deceased mother (“She said she saw you dance” and “she said you came to the place to where they buried her, asked her a question. The grandmother wanted Lynn to know the answer was “Yes, cveryday”). **ACT: One example of this code is when the flare is actually lit. Another example is when the image of the bloody, dead woman appears in the window next to Cole. Finally the last scene where Cole says, “Mom” and they reach out to each other to hug and cry together. ***SYM: The way Cole’s mother tries to be understanding while trying not to say the wrong thing to her son while he is revealing his secrets could be an indicator of a mother/son relationship, especially one that is loving. Also, the flare at the beginning signifies a car accident that must be kept away from the public, but more importantly it symbolizes an event that is setting the atmosphere. Because the scene opens up with this atmosphere, it is usually a signifier of more bad things to come later in the film. Also, when Lynn is crying from hearing about her mother. This is symbolizing grief but in a way that Lynn may be experiencing closure from having heard that her mother had actually gone to her dance recital and that she was proud of her everyday.