Good Will Hunting
Mike Adelmann
Hour 2
AP Psychology
"Good Will Hunting" Final
Mr. Coury
The film "Good Will Hunting" is a very interesting psychological piece, as it depicts the main character Will Hunting as a troubled boy who only cares about himself, and is too lazy to apply himself to tasks given to him, even though he is given great intelligence. The movie provides a real world example to explain many tough social science concepts. In addition to the movie's delve into psychology, the underlying themes of the film have much to do with the area of communication studies. These ideas can be seen through the relationship of Will (Matt Damon) and his therapist Sean (Robin Williams) through the progression of their relationship during the movie. In "Good Will Hunting", Will, the main character, is a physically abused orphan who works at MIT as a janitor and goes out bar hoping with his blue collar friends on the weekend. In the midst of this he hides the fact that he is a mathematical genius until he is discovered solving a near-impossible math problem on a blackboard at MIT. After a run-in with the law, a professor of mathematics from MIT, Gerald Lambeau, takes Will under his wing with the stipulation that Will attend regular therapy sessions. After scaring off several prestigious psychologists, Will meets his match in Sean, a therapist from a community college who refuses to give up on him. This relationship between Will and Sean begins to bring many psychological topics into the film, one of the main is child abuse. Will and Sean are able to connect because they were both subject to child abuse by their fathers, bringing in many topics such as abandonment, domestic violence, human worth, and loneliness. The abuse that Will undertook from his father led to him developing trust issues with people, especially the girl Skylar who takes interest in him. Will seems to develop a defense-mechanism that pushes anyone away who tries to get into his life; as a result of the
Hour 2
AP Psychology
"Good Will Hunting" Final
Mr. Coury
The film "Good Will Hunting" is a very interesting psychological piece, as it depicts the main character Will Hunting as a troubled boy who only cares about himself, and is too lazy to apply himself to tasks given to him, even though he is given great intelligence. The movie provides a real world example to explain many tough social science concepts. In addition to the movie's delve into psychology, the underlying themes of the film have much to do with the area of communication studies. These ideas can be seen through the relationship of Will (Matt Damon) and his therapist Sean (Robin Williams) through the progression of their relationship during the movie. In "Good Will Hunting", Will, the main character, is a physically abused orphan who works at MIT as a janitor and goes out bar hoping with his blue collar friends on the weekend. In the midst of this he hides the fact that he is a mathematical genius until he is discovered solving a near-impossible math problem on a blackboard at MIT. After a run-in with the law, a professor of mathematics from MIT, Gerald Lambeau, takes Will under his wing with the stipulation that Will attend regular therapy sessions. After scaring off several prestigious psychologists, Will meets his match in Sean, a therapist from a community college who refuses to give up on him. This relationship between Will and Sean begins to bring many psychological topics into the film, one of the main is child abuse. Will and Sean are able to connect because they were both subject to child abuse by their fathers, bringing in many topics such as abandonment, domestic violence, human worth, and loneliness. The abuse that Will undertook from his father led to him developing trust issues with people, especially the girl Skylar who takes interest in him. Will seems to develop a defense-mechanism that pushes anyone away who tries to get into his life; as a result of the