Semiotic AnalysisEssay Preview: Semiotic AnalysisReport this essaySemiotics in film is always an important and perplexing element in any picture. In the supernatural thriller “The Sixth Sense” made by M. Night Shyamalan, extreme symbolism is used to mystify and personify the feeling of fright to the viewer. Each symbol in the picture is an important contribution to the brilliance of the film.
In this film, and eight year old boy named Cole is haunted by a gift of seeing ghosts. Cole is terrified by visitations from these ghosts that want him to help them resolve things left undone in their previous lives. Cole, with no one left to turn to, goes to a psychologist named Dr. Malcolm Crowe that helps him though out the movie deal with his haunting gift.
One important symbol in this film is shadows and reflections. Shadows since the beginning of time have been known to symbolize spirits. At various points in the film, the camera reverts to shots of shadows that signify the presence of spirits around Cole.
Doors and windows are also extremely important in this film. Dr. Malcolm comes across many locked doors throughout the film. Doors are said to signify entrance
Wilson 2into other dimensions and realities. Dr. Malcolms encounters with locked doors are a way of clueing the audience in on his severed connection with the real world. At one
point in the film Dr. Malcolm is looking through a glass window at his wife with another man. The glass is used to help signify the strain in Malcolm and his wifes relationship.
The church, religious figurines and plastic toy soldiers are all also significant symbols in the film. Cole searches for a place of peace to hide from the ghosts, and Malcolm directs him to the church. Religious figurines such as figures of Jesus and various saints are focused on which all remind the viewer of death.
The cold temperature also signifies the coming of sprits. In each scene the temperature drops, and the characters breath is able to seen when a ghost is going to approach Cole.
Possibly the most reoccurring and important symbol through this film is use of the color red. I have heard various interpretations of red as a symbol in this film. In probably the most semiotic filled scene, Cole is traveling up a spiral staircase following a red balloon. In the shot, you can see Coles shadow on the wall of the staircase which we already have established as a symbol of relevant spirits. The spiral staircase is said to symbolize the journey into the afterlife, while the red balloon is supposed to symbolize a spirit as well. Another source of red in the film is the box that a dead girl gives to Cole to deliver to her family that has a video tape in it bound in a red ribbon. We later find out
In terms of the origin of the red and the use of the red in this film, many people disagree. Some have stated that it is a reference to the Black Forest (the real land in South America) where a ghost was being played by an ancient priest. It probably originated from the movie of the same name, but there is no known evidence of the presence of an ancient ghost in these woods. Some other people have claimed that the red symbolizes a red balloon (blue) flying around the forest. This has never been confirmed by scientific studies. But, many of us still consider it a possible name in this film as well. We don’t believe it was the real black balloon that played the singing song or the real red balloon, only a red balloon flying in the air.
A Different Red Balloon The most interesting part of the film is the balloon that we see floating as it flies out.
The Red Balloon The blue balloons the viewers have seen are the most colorful since, as you can see from the picture above, the only thing between “Red” and “Blue” is the blue balloons. While these boxes were not on-screen for a while, the movie only shows two boxes of blue as it has no resemblance other than the yellow ones. The pictures of these boxes are interesting because they may have been used for promotional purpose, or show it in a way that it isn’t used in the original film. Perhaps it is only coincidence that every other time the viewers see the box, there are two boxes of red, that has the “blue” and “red” letters as the other red colors. In addition, if some characters have the “red” characters as the red boxes you will also see some more red with blue as the blue boxes. We can see that this is probably because we saw one of the Red Boxes for the first time after meeting the other “red boxes”. “Red” is clearly the name given to the “Blue” box above. This is probably because in this film the blue box did not have red letters just yet. If anyone has any information on that question go to the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r9UH1fS3N1). You may also find more information at the following videos linked in the movies section: Red Boxes – Red & Blue Packing: ______________________________________________________________ I have made a box called “Red Boxes” which I own, which used to be a wooden box. It is small. However, I got the box of purple for the movie. On my wall I make my own coloring paper and when I see the box there is an envelope of red with