APPLYING TODOROV'S THEORY OF EQUILIBRIUM - The Sixth Sense

To answer the following questions, I have analysed the opening scene of The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan 2009). Unfortunetly the video is not available to post here, but can be seen on YouTube instead. Here is the trailer to give a overview of the film:





1. Who are the agents: the protagonist (the main hero who propels the narrative forward) and antagonist (opposing agent).

From the opening sequence we can tell that the protagonist is the man in the grey, Dr Malcolm Crowe who is with his wife. The audience realises that he is a main character, as the events are centred on him. The antagonist in the opening scene is the man, Vincent Grey, who breaks into their house and who is found in their bathroom.

2. Describe the Equilibrium. How is it represented? What kind of camera shots can you identify? (e.g establishing shots to create a sense of space or use of CUs/cutaways to emphasise particular objects/characters faces). Pick out 2 or 3 examples. Describe the mise-en-scene: what meanings to the props/costumes/lighting/framing carry?

Malcolm Crowe and Anna Crowe are happily married, they lead a comfortable life. The extreme long shot at 6:10 tells the audience this by showing them in their large, well-decorated house, dressed in expensive-looking clothes. Close-ups of the couple sitting together are used to show that the couple are very close. For example, at 5:00, the couple are seen close together in the reflection of Dr Crowe’s psychology award. This suggests that their lives are going well, they are successful and in love. The candle lighting gives a romantic atmosphere and suggests that the couple are romantic, laid-back, leading a normal life.

3. Is the Disruption or Disequilibrium introduced or hinted at? (e.g the serial killer in "Seven" is introduced in the title sequence).

In the opening sequence, the disruption occurs when a man appears to have broken into their house, and he shouts at Dr Crowe, saying “Do you know why you're afraid when you're alone? I do. I do.” The fact that he is strangely dressed in underwear and what he is saying hints that what is to come is eerie and strange. The equilibrium of the two characters lives is disrupted when Dr Crowe is shot. (However, this part is not shown in the clip above, but happens immediately after)

4. Are there any visual/verbal/aural clues that hint at what the hero's journey might be? (e.g having to solve the murders within a time-limit of seven days in "Seven")

When Crowe is shot at the end of the opening scene, it is hinted that his journey throughout the rest of the film will either include his death or his journey to recovery. Vincent Grey’s spooky reappearance suggests that the rest of the film will have chilling, eerie theme. This thriller genre is further hinted at by the use of low lighting and voyeuristic long shots.

5. From your knowledge of the film, how will the equilibrium be restored and what will be the new equilibrium?

The opening sequence results in Dr Crowe becoming very unhappy when he loses his wife. He is a child physiologist and meets a boy who can see dead people, who don’t know themselves that they are dead. By the end of the film, Dr Crowe helps him to come to terms with his ‘sixth sense’. Crowe goes back to see his estranged wife, and while there realises that he has been dead all along and is one of the ghosts that Cole can see. The equilibrium is reinstated as Cole becomes happier and Malcolm Crowe is enlightened.