The Sixth Sense Discussion Questions

1. Early in the movie, we discover that Cole's parents recently divorced. He’s attached to things that belonged to his dad (the glasses, the broken watch, and the gloves he wears because the house is so cold). Similarly, within Cole’s "tent," he has a set of religious statues. What do you think motivates him to collect these things? How were these things helpful to him as he dealt with "the ghosts" or with his classmates? When has physically holding onto something helped you get through a difficult time?
1. The fear of the ghosts motivates him to collect the statues. He wonders if religion will protect him from the scary ghosts (they could be from Hell, he doesn’t know), and he’s willing to turn to it rather than have nothing, if there’s a chance that these statues’ heavenly light will scare off the ghosts, or put a godly shield around him to protect him. His dad’s things didn’t outwardly protect him, but they might have helped him cope with his dad’s departure, other than protect him from the cold, or make him feel loved. Personally, I haven’t had a time in which holding onto physical things helped me through a dark time. 
2. Think about the day in the classroom when Cole objects to the way his teacher is looking at him. Talk about the feeling Cole has of being a freak, of being told he doesn’t fit in. Even if you don’t know anyone who thinks they see dead people like Cole did, can you identify people you've met or seen who others might consider freaks who don't fit in? What does this movie have to say regarding our treatment of others who may feel as though they don’t fit in?
1. Cole is deeply disturbed of the way his classmates and the people around him treat him, as if he’s a freak who doesn’t fit in, especially because he can’t help it. To him, the ghosts that torture him are real, but the others around him just can’t see it. When he interacts with the ghosts in public, the others think he’s crazy because they can’t see the ghosts and they can’t ever dream of feeling the way he feels. I know a few people that have been bullied because they’re too short, or they’re too ugly, etc. On treating others as freaks, the movie has an underlying message that we don’t know what “freaks” are going through, so we shouldn’t poke fun at them for something they can’t help.
3. Does Cole realize from the very beginning that his psychologist is also a ghost?  What details support your answer to this question?
1. He does, because it is shown that he can tell ghosts apart from humans (such as when he sees the lady on a bike who got hit by a car). A prominent scene that proves he knew that Dr. Crowe was dead was when they met for the second time in Cole’s house. He didn’t talk to Dr. Crowe at all in that scene (Cole “didn’t want to talk” to Dr. Crowe for a reason), in fear of his mom coming in from the other room and inquiring on why he was talking to the walls.
4. What finally helps Cole deal with his encounters with the dead? Is that different than what might help us deal with our encounters with the living? (Remember the question that is asked throughout the movie: Do you have something to tell me?)
1. His interaction with the little girl who initially scared him changed his interactions with the dead from terrifying to understandable. Although seeing the ghost of the little girl for the first time, with blood and vomit all over her, scared him to bits, he then went back to her after a few minutes and interacted with her. (She is shown to have said, “I’m feeling better, now.”) She then gives him her final wish and asks him to carry it out for her. That final wish foiled her mom’s plan of killing her and then killing her sister. Doing that made Cole realize that the ghosts aren’t trying to scare him for no reason, they want something from him. This can be compared with our interactions with the living… people don’t just interact with you for no reason, they most likely want something (like a teacher wants your answer to the question to signal that you’ve learned the content, or a fast food worker wants your order to make the food and get your money). Dr. Crowe, in asking Cole if he wanted to tell him something, wanted Cole to tell him his secret, one that would unlock what mental illnesses he had, or what troubles he was going through.
5. When Cole and Dr. Crowe are finished with their sessions together, Cole says to his mom "I’m ready to communicate with you now--to tell you my secrets." What changed in Cole so that he was finally able to talk to his mom more openly? When you have fears or secrets, whom can you tell?
1. His interactions with the ghosts changed, and it made him realize that it wasn’t just a curse he had, he had the power to help people. It made him feel wanted and needed. Not just a freak who was lonely and haunted all the time, who had no one to confide to. He never told his mother because he didn’t think that she would believe him when he told her his main secret- that he could see ghosts. Now, he realizes that seeing these ghosts isn’t such a big deal, and it doesn’t really make him a freak. He learned that he doesn’t have to be scared all of the time, and that he should let off steam by telling his mother whether she believes him or not (And she does!). When I have fears or secrets, I tell my parents, and they talk them through with me and make me realize that they aren’t all that bad.
6. Dr. Crowe asks Cole, "If you could change something, anything--what would it be?" What would you change in your own life if you could?
1. If it were beyond the limits of reality, it would be to be immortal and I would worry about the rest later. However, if I had to choose something within the boundaries of reality, I would choose to have a super memory, so I could memorize coursework for tests (to excel in school and jobs), memorize events and things I have to do (so I don’t fall behind in life), memorize multiple languages (to communicate with billions of people and earn a few bucks translating while doing so), etc.