Mediocre Times

"It's hard for many to believe there are extraordinary
things inside themselves as well as others."
Unbreakable (2000)

Points for Reflection

M. Night's Shyamalan's Unbreakable (2000)

1. How does the pacing, color temperature, and sound design of this film compare with that of other films about superheroes?
2. Why might Shyamalan capture important scenes obliquely—as a reflection or shot through a transparent barrier?
3. What blocking decisions and set design features allow Shyamalan to employ long, uninterrupted takes?
4. Does David seem more lively and fun on the train in the opening than at home, or less so?
5. Does Elijah’s mom encourage him to see unexpected events in life as designed or random?
6. Does Elijah have answers for the inexplicable characteristics of David’s life?
7. What historical precedents does Elijah identify behind the genesis of comic books?
8. According to Elijah, why is it so difficult for folk to recognize extraordinary possibilities within themselves and others?
9. What does the opening scene on the train reveal about David’s life situation, and his character?
10. After Joseph puts David’s and Audrey’s hands together in the hospital lobby, which of the two pulls out of this hand holding once the boy’s head is turned? What does this suggest?
11. Is Elijah correct in surmising why David stopped playing football?
12. At what point did David begin to question the long-term viability of his marriage?
13. How did Audrey survive the car wreck which nearly killed her when a teenager?
14. Why might Shyamalan, the screenwriter and director, give Elijah osteogenesis imperfecta?
15. Why assign Samuel L. Jackson’s character the name “Elijah,” meaning “Yahweh is my God”?
16. Does Elijah believe one’s appearance reliably indicates who they are and who they will become?
17. Does Elijah’s mom coddle him more than she challenges him?
18. Why might Elijah’s mom dress him in purple, and put the comics she gifts him in purple tissue paper wrapped in a box with purple wrapping paper?
19. Are Joseph and David equally committed to pursuing closeness with one another?
20. What kind of person might remain unaware of their consistently good health all the way into their forties?
21. What happened to David’s high school self in the car wreck?
22. Why doesn’t David like swimming pools?
23. Why does Elijah sell collectible comics and comic art as a profession?
24. Does David choose the most appropriate subject among the many available in the train station?
25. Is Joseph a troubled youth? Does he need psychiatric evaluation? What drives his actions?
26. Does Shyamalan capture kids in a way that suggests he appreciates them?
27. Does David choose the most appropriate subject among the many available in the train station?
28. Is this film a “classic” depiction of “good versus evil,” or does it change up the traditional narrative in any important, notable ways?
29. Is the film's attempt to discuss comic books from a serious angle compelling?
30. Why shoot one’s primary subject from a distance, with peripheral characters in the foreground?
    

Unbreakable (2000)
one poster from original film release

Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu