1. M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable

2. How does the director set the mood and tell the story? - use of color (tone, shade, brightness, lighting) - use of sound (music, voices, silence, sound effects) - framing of scenes, characters, and setting

3. The Plot There is a pattern to the heroic journey that can be traced through most myths. BIRTH: humble origins / not “ready made” for great adventure DISCOVERY OF DESTINY / INITIATION TO QUEST: - the hero discovers that he has a special calling or something occurs that necessitates his leaving on the quest

4. The Plot THE QUEST: - the hero engages in an external and internal journey - the hero grows in wisdom or insight - obstacles to overcome, foes to vanquish - often the hero finds a “wise man” who helps him to achieve his goal - often the hero meets with temptation along the journey

5. The Plot ROMANCE: - hero meets his romantic counterpart or “ideal” partner THE JOURNEY HOME - hero achieves his goal and in the process comes to a better understanding of himself

6. Trademarks: Frequently uses Philadelphia as the backdrop for his films Usually incorporates a twist or surprise ending Frequently uses shots of peoples’ reflections, fluttering curtains, or includes a car crash Almost always makes a cameo appearance somewhere in the film Usually has an important scene occur in a basement

7. Comic Book References Director M. Night ShyamalanM. Night Shyamalan draws parallels throughout Unbreakable to the traditional comic book. Notice how the comic book page to the right is constructed in boxes. Shyamalan uses the same type of framing to construct his scenes. It is easy to catch if you are looking for it, but a very subtle style if you are not aware.

8. Cinematography Mirror imagery and box like scenes represent the visual “comic strip” Camera shots are long, with infrequent cuts and no abrupt changes in perspective Little action during shots – hints at the static illustrations (not moving) of a graphic novel

9. Dialogue between characters is always segmented: when 2 characters converse, their speech never overlaps; they never interrupt each other There is always a distinct pause between each line of dialogue, which suggests the speech balloons of a comic book – each line is its own “balloon”

10. Comic Book References Main characters have their identified color schemes David’s clothes are green Elijah’s clothes are purple – a prominent color amongst supervillains, especially in the 1960s and 1970s (Lex Luther, Joker) Serial killer’s janitor uniform is bright orange Anyone seen in one of David’s ‘visions’ is wearing a bright color (rapist in bright green, hate crime thug in bright yellow, drug dealer in blue, thief in red…)

11. David and Elijah are shown to be each other’s opposite in many ways (contrasting skin color, hair, physical makeup) David is all but invincible, (can’t be harmed) while Elijah is extremely brittle Opposite in ever way except their reaction to water, which can kill either – David because he doesn’t know how to swim and Elijah because he is too weak to swim

12. They are actually on the same spectrum, just at different ends As in many comic books, the hero’s first and last names are alliterative (Clark Kent, Peter Parker) Hero has an Achilles heel (weakness)

13. Superhero and villain were once friends before they became arch enemies David’s poncho draws visual parallels to a “superhero” in a hood and cape The lead villain has a physical deformity