Shyamalan's 'Everyday Hero'

Revision with unchanged content. The cinematic experience is often an emotional experience. In the aftermath of such an experience, it is challenging to indicate precisely how one had been guided and stimulated to react emotionally to the film. This study presents an investigation of the emotional cinematic experience from a Jungian critical reading. By looking at the "Everyday Hero" trilogy of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs), this study examines the psychological processes constituting the emotional experience from a Jungian approach that emphasises the significance of symbolic material. Key issues addressed include the unconscious, archetypes, alchemy and individuation. The Jungian framework developed by this study can be used to effectively investigate and articulate the emotional cinematic experience. This book is directed towards academics and readers interested in film, psychology and emotion.