http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc5B-ercdKE
Sixth Sense 3rd Textual Analysis
This is the scene in which Cole, leaves the safety of his tent one night to go to the bathroom, Cole hears a noise coming from the kitchen in which he decides to investigate.
The sequence opens with a shot of Coles bedroom door, Cole slowly peers his head through, we already know of Coles emotional feelings, he is scared of the ghosts that may appear upon leaving the safety of his tent. The shot is a medium close up of Cole face and shoulders sticking out from the door.
As Cole fully steps into the hall way, we get a cut. This changes to a long shot down Coles hallway. This creates distance between Cole and the audience, showing us that Cole is alone. The only source of light in this sequence is coming from the safety of Coles bedroom. We know that Cole is hesitant to leave, because he is afraid of what he might see.
The camera stays fixed until Cole runs by into the dark bathroom. As he turns on the light the camera cuts to a shot looking into the bathroom, Cole faces away from the camera. There is no backing sound to the scene, the only sound we hear is Cole as he urinates, this is diegetic.
As Cole stands there for 5 seconds, we get a cut to a shot of a thermostat, the temperature is decreasing rapidly. It is a common convention that the presence of a ghost is cold and chilling.
We go back to a shot of Cole at the toilet, Knight brings us back to this previous scene, all the codes of the horror/drama have lead us to this point, were the audience expects something bad to happen, in this film Cole will interact with another ghost.
Needless to say after 4 more seconds stood at the toilet a ghost walks in front of the camera and past the doorway in which we can see Cole through. The movement of the figure is accompanied by the loud sound of a drum, this is a sound on action.
As the figure walks in front of the camera we get a medium close up of Cole face turning around as if he heard something. As he turns around we hear the sound of a stringed instrument, this is often used in the horror genre, a sound of tension and fear. Renown sound that was used in Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’.
As Cole ventures into the hallway, the camera changes to a point of view shot, the camera is handheld as it slowly moves down the hall displaying Coles caution. The shot is also voyeuristic, the light at the end of the hall makes Cole look as if he is sticking in the shadows trying to hide as he ventures towards the ‘light at the end of the tunnel.’
As he moves down the hall, we hear the sound of various stringed instruments, which create a haunting sound. We are also now in the shoes of Cole. Before we the audience kept a distance from this character, but now what ever Cole suffers we will be with him.
As Cole moves down the hall, we cut to a shot of the kitchen, medium shot. As Cole fully enters the room he says ‘Momma?’. As soon as he says this we cut to a medium close up of the figure from the hall, as she immediately spins round to look at him. She appears to be badly beaten as she says something completely irrelevant to what Cole asked. Through use of shot reverse shot we see Coles terrified face as he looks upon the ghost.
Followed by a wide shot, displaying the ghost stood in the corner, fully body and also showing the kitchen. As the woman hysterically says “You cant hurt me anymore”.
Cut to a close up her wrists in which she has been, as we see them we get the high pitched screech from the string instruments.
A cut to the dark as we see the ghost stood looking down the hallway as Cole closes the hatch on his tent. As it closes we are in darkness until Cole flicks the torch on, revealing his sanctuary, as soon as the light is switched on the music begins to fade, the stringed instruments are cut immediately, this symbolises how he is now safe from the ghost. We get a series off different shots of various ornaments in his haven.
The scene ends again using the sound bridge from the next scene which connect the two.
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