Examine the way that the two scenes from the Sixth Sense are presented in order to maintain the audience's belief that Dr Crowe is still alive

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The intriguing supernatural thriller, Sixth Sense, combines a mixture of honesty and deception to create a film which is renowned as having one of the most unpredictable and satisfying endings, at least in recent cinema. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the film reveals the tortured existence of Cole, a very unique little boy, cursed with a unique but sinister gift, a sixth sense - the ability to see the dead. Haunted by these apparitions since birth and unable to share his troubles for fear of suspicion of his insanity, Cole struggles under the burden of his gift, leaving him disturbed and isolated from those around him until the more obvious signs of his mental turmoil begin to appear in his behaviour. However, shortly after a violent attack on a successful child psychologist, his life unexpectedly takes a turn for the better in the form of disheartened psychologist Dr Crowe, who conveniently appears on the scene. After developing a trusting repor between himself and Cole, Dr Crowe is able assist Cole in overcoming his terrifying haunting by the restless souls of the dead, in what initially occurs as the conclusion But after being comfortable in the knowledge that we too are aware of all the factors in play (through the dramatic irony in which all characters but ourselves and Dr Crowe are unaware of Cole's gift) the audience is again plunged into uncertainty as the plot truly culminates in a dramatic twist, in which it is uncovered, that, perversely, Dr Crowe is himself a lingering soul from beyond the grave.

In a film in which the plot is based almost entirely on our own assumptions, the Director has ingeniously crafted body language, facial expression and the specific use of particular camera shots and angles to create the vi...

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...iences in the film. Characteristics such as being invisible, unheard and being unable to communicate are simply not apparent in Dr Crowe. Techniques including the use of specific camera angles and shots, body language and facial expression are used not only to manipulate the audience to believe that he visible etc, but also to create empathy and understanding with the character, so that he is trusted implicitly and the audience will accept at ?face value? his existence because he is so close to humanity, especially in comparison to other ghosts within the film. Throughout the audience is given only a snapshot of the bigger picture and only from the particular angle that the Director wishes them to view it from and it is this ability to manipulate the perceptions and feelings of the audience that make such a deception possible.

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