Sixth Sense Term Paper

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Sixth Sense

In our society, we tend to discount the opinions of children, assuming that they aren't developed or experienced enough to see what needs to be done to solve life's problems. To counteract this limited view of the worth of children's opinions, the movie The Sixth Sense uses the image of a little boy with special powers to demonstrate that children can be potent agents for change.

The young boy, Cole, inexplicably can communicate with the ghosts of dead people. This premise is based on a belief held by many in Western culture that sometimes when a person dies suddenly or under stressful circumstances, their spirit does not depart this world. They stay behind, often trying to communicate with those who are still alive. This cultural belief is reflected in other movies, such as "Ghost," where the fiance of a young woman is murdered during a robbery and stays around to help keep her safe. Cole does not understand his special power, nor what he should do with it, so it terrifies him. The cultural belief that it's not good when people can communicate with the dead is reflected in the names given to the characters. Both Cole and the last name of his psychologist, Crowe, bring up the image of blackness.

Cole realizes that most people don't believe that children can, or should be able to, communicate with the dead. His journey from fear to understanding marks the course of the movie.

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At first he tries to use religion to keep the ghosts away. Then a psychologist, Malcolme Crowe, comes to see him. He talks with Cole and tries to get to the heart of his difficulties. In the process of these exchanges, Cole eventually comes to accept that he does see the spirits of dead people, and that it may be a good thing rather than a bad thing. In the process, Crowe makes startling discoveries of his own.

Cole learns three important things about himself. First, he finds out that even though he is a child, he can make a difference for other people by using his special powers. Second, as he comes to accept his ability to communicate with dead people, and worries less, his behavior at school normalizes. He gets the lead role in a play, and at the end of the performance, it is clear that he is now accepted by the other children. Finally, when he finally tells his mother what his terrible secret is, he eases the growing tension between them, important, since they really only have each other.

It is Crowe who first realizes that the spirits are contacting Cole….....

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