Will Hunting

Movie name:"Good Will Hunting"
Year: 1997
Genre: Drama
Directed by Gus Van Sant
To be honest, I couldn't decide for a long time about whom to do the analysis, and yet I
settled on Will Hunting in the movie "Good Will Hunting"
About the film: Will Hunting is a 20-year-old boy from Boston, who frequently becomes
entangled in bad events. The math professor takes him under his care after the police
detained him following a fight, but only under one condition: Will have to get counseling
from psychologist .Then Will Hunting meets Skylar , the love of his life, but when they
begin treating Will's psychological issues, it founds out that it is difficult for him to feel
an intense emotional connection with her.Finally, with the aid of his therapist, Will
comes to the realization that he is prepared to commit to a relationship and pursue his
interests rather than those of others. He then departs Boston and meets up with Skylar
at Stanford.
The reason why I chose this character from the movie "Good Will Hunting":
1)In 1998, that movie was among the top five films in Hollywood.
2)Good acting(also good actor cast).
3) It was interesting for me to analyze a character like Will Hunting.
His childhood:
Care and love of parents did not take place in his childhood. Will was often beaten by
his drunken stepfather. This attitude leads the child into an anxious state, which dictates
attempts to constantly control everything that happens in his life and try to avoid
everything new, especially situations where he can be rejected by loved ones.
At the same time, it is very difficult for him to understand that he is being punished not
because something is wrong with him, but because the parent has problems. This leads
to the belief that he is not worthy of love and , he thinks that as soon as other people get
to know him better, then he will certainly be rejected and humiliated.
As a result, Will develops an avoidant behavior that occurs itself in personal
relationships — he avoids deep relationships .Will participates only in superficial
relationships and stops them as soon as he feels that he is being sucked in, or there are
the slightest signs of dissatisfaction on the part of the partner. This is done in order to
quit first and not experience the pain of rejection.
One example where we can see how his childhood affected to his actions in the future:
Will demonstrated his willingness to use force when he jumped out of the car and beat
up the abuser in his kindergarten class. This behavior demonstrates how his traumatic
upbringing taught him that violence is acceptable.
Social and cognitive development:

1)From the very beginning of the film, I noticed some deviations in the behavior of the
Will Hunting. On the one hand, this is his genius, on the other hand, this is the lack of
socialization, problems in relationships, especially with unfamiliar people, problems with
adaptation.We can see it from aggression towards others, the desire to humiliate or
insult them.
2)The hero has highly developed cognitive abilities and an inclination for analysis. He
can critically assess events and behavior. But at the same time, some of his questions
are internally closed, he is afraid to even approach them.
3)Will developed a defense mechanism as a result of his trauma . A good illustration of
this is the situation between Will and his girlfriend, in which he took offense at her
wanting to assist him . Will employs a defense mechanism against his girlfriend in an
effort to turn the idea of someone loving him around in order to prevent what occurred to
him throughout his childhood. Another instance of a defense mechanism I observed
was when Will and his therapist Sean were discussing Will's past.Here Will tried to
offend Sean in this scene in an unpleasant way.
Within the movie, Sean wants to provide Will with a positive attachment relationship.
This empowers Will to make a more self-image and engage more positively with others.
As for the way Sean communicates with Will, Sean immediately begins to communicate
with him in his own language (slang), he also talks about himself and his life situations,
all this to some extent creates a feeling of comfort, and gradually leads to trust.
In the first session of Will and Sean, I noticed that Will never talks about himself, that is
he answers all questions either with quotes from books, or changes the subject by
asking a counter question. That means that his opinion consists only of books that he
has read .The success of the treatment happens when Will has sufficient self-
confidence to acknowledge the love offered by Skylar .
Message: In my opinion ,this is a movie about friendship, love, mistakes, losses and
hopes. And the most important thing that "Good Will Hunting" teaches us is to first seek
reconciliation. First of all with ourselves: with our past, with our character, and at the
same time with the world around us. And secondly, that people are not as bad as they
may seem, that is,good can win if we try very hard.
The main character managed to overcome many problems and was able to achieve his
seemingly impossible goals.
At the end of this film, it turns out that Will is ready to accept one of the jobs that
Professor Lambo provided him in order to make the most of his intellectual abilities. He
even texts his therapist Sean Maguire, but then suddenly leaves for California. To tell
Professor Lambeau, "I'm sorry, but I had to go visit a girl," according to his note to
Sean.
The conclusion of this film reveals that Will has finally decided to accept life's
uncertainties and risk everything for the one he loves. Last but not least, Will's
departure reveals that he is also prepared to leave the personal cocoon of safety he has
created for himself.
Insights:
1)We need to try to understand the other person by reflecting on them. For ex: during
the first session, Sean Maguire adhered to Southey's rule and allowed Will to speak
first.
2)Leaders should also be good motivators and listeners.Here we can see that even
great psychologist like Sean learnt some valuable lessons from Will Hunting too.
3)We must be able to set priorities correctly. Since,education would be meaningless if it
were the only option left to people in the world. The movie "Good Will Hunting"
illustrates what a miserable life it would be to live only for knowledge instead of for love,
faith, or trust.

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Movie name:"Good Will Hunting"

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