Barthes’ Five Codes of Meaning in The Sixth Sense

*HER. “She said you came to the place where they buried her… asked her a question. She said the answer is: everyday. What did you ask?” The enigma posed by Cole is: what did his mother ask his grandmother at her burial place? This is formulated into a simple question directed at the mother. You know everything Cole previously says about the grandmother is true based on the mother’s reactions and emotions. She is crying deeply and holding her hands to her mouth in shock. You know an answer to the enigma is coming soon because the mother has been moved by what her son has said. However, she delays the answer because of her emotions and natural skepticism. She then gives a suspended answer in the form of her stammering because of how emotional and upset she is. She is struck so hard by what is said that she has trouble getting her voice to sound. Once she is able to speak she discloses the answer: “Do I make her proud?”

**SEM. When the mother is apologizing to Cole about missing his play she says, “I’d give anything to have been there.” This refers to later on in the scene when they discuss how Cole communicates with his late grandmother and how she actually was at the mother’s dance recital. Without knowing what is coming up ahead it is impossible to notice this subtlety. But after re-watching the scene you understand that there is a parallel relationship going on. By introducing this line earlier in the scene, the viewer can make a comparison to the relationship between the grandmother and mother, and the mother and son.

***SYM. The mother is wearing her seatbelt the entire time while Cole is not. This small notion signifies the mother’s insecurity about her own mother that is about to be addressed. All of the years since the grandmother’s death she had been unable to let go of the fight that happened between her and her mother before her dance recital. She doubts if her mother was ever proud of her and longs for an actual answer. Even though they are in dead lock traffic that doesn’t move an inch throughout the entire scene, she keeps her seatbelt on as a sign of her unresolved issues.