The Sixth Sense

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. 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 because they need him to do something, and not just because they can. This is illustrated by the ghost of a little girl who, as it turns out, was poisoned by her mother. She knew this, and caught her adding poison to her food. She wants Cole to give the videotape to her father in order to save her little sister, who is now getting mysteriously sick. Cole does this, which allows the ghost of the older sister to save the younger one. At the end of the movie, he finally finds the courage to tell his mother about his unusual ability. Just as it terrified Cole in the beginning, it also scares his mother, but then he reveals a secret her mother had kept from her for years, something his mother realizes has to be true. Once more, Cole has used his powers to bring comfort or aid to another person -- this time, his own mother.

In the process of Cole learning about this power of his, Crowe goes through a dramatic transformation as well. At the beginning of the movie, Crowe is shot by a young man. Vincent Gray, who had been his patient years before. Crowe had not been able to help him, and after shooting Cole, Vincent shoots himself. Gradually we realize that Vincent had the same powers as Cole. He was also terrified, but without the support and understanding that Cole receives from Crowe, Vincent cannot cope with it. Again we see the imagery of names, as Vincent's last name, Gray, is a shade of black.