Film argument essay ~ good will hunting, Good Will Hunting Movie Analysis

This movie is the story of a man named Will Hunting. He is an orphan who was in an out of foster care throughout his childhood and grew up in a really rough situation. He is working as a janitor at MIT, the same university. Film argument essay ~ good will hunting

"Good Will Hunting" Movie: Abandonment, Love, and Attachment

Fear of abandonment, inability to deeply connect, hardship in love, abusive childhood, and management of challenging relationship creation are some of the prevalent and relatable movie tropes explored in the modern media. The movie Good Will Hunting is a prime example of how cinema can provide the audience with a comprehensive narrative of one’s complex psyche and its role in relationships, career, and talent. From the perspective of psychology, this film also serves as a field of exploration of various theories and concepts to explain the behavior of the main character. Will Hunting, evidently, suffers from multiple behavioral disturbances caused by his abusive foster family, unfortunate circumstances, and socioeconomic background. This essay will explore the behavior of the protagonist through the application of the attachment theory, defense mechanisms, and object constancy.

Movie Synopsis

Good Will Hunting presents the audience with a narrative of Will Hunting’s life story. At first, he appears to be an extremely intelligent genius with a photographic memory who gains profound insight in any field of studies by merely looking at a textbook once. Despite his talent, Will works as a janitor at Harvard until his genius is discovered by a local mathematician who sees Will’s solution to a problem he worked on for years. After that, the scenario escalates: the mathematician bails Will out of jail under two conditions – that he will learn with him and have weekly psychology sessions. While the first condition thrills him, Will resents the second one and drives away any therapist assigned to him. That is until he is paired with a professional coming from the same disadvantaged neighborhood as Will.

As they start working on Will’s psychological problems, the protagonist meets the love of his life, Skylar, but struggles to connect with her on a deep emotional level. In addition, the main character is also pressured to pick up a highly paid academic career due to his talent. In the end, with the help of his therapist, Will realizes that he is ready to commit to a relationship and pursue what he wants, not what others expect of him, and leaves Boston to reunite with Skylar at Stanford.

Defense Mechanisms

One of the first and most apparent psychological theories that can be applied to the protagonist is the Freudian theory of defense mechanisms. This concept is explained as complex psychological strategies weaponized by one’s ego to protect itself from unpleasant stimuli. More specifically, Freud concluded that there are several defense mechanisms that people use to avoid harmful experiences.

If to examine what defense mechanisms are present in Will Hunting’s behavior, displacement, denial, and projection can be highlighted as the major ones. Firstly, it is essential to emphasize that his experience being an orphan resulted in him having severe abandonment issues. As it concerns displacement, it is generally regarded as a mechanism of redirecting strong emotional responses from the initial stimuli to other less threatening subjects. Will Hunting is a person who experienced adverse physical abuse in childhood (Ciocca et al., 2020). At that time, he was unable to resist his foster parents but still felt anger and frustration.

At present, he displaces this aggression onto random strangers who express any anger towards him, which results in severe beatings and, consequently, a prison sentence for Will. The impulsive anger he feels towards strangers is a displaced emotion he experienced towards his abusive parent. Secondly, Will Hunting exercises projection by the fear of commitment: in the past, he powerless and alone, left by his unknown biological parents (Ciocca et al., 2020). At present, he projects those feelings onto Skylar by thinking that she does not really love him and plans to leave him, just like his biological parents did.

Thirdly, one can argue that for the majority of the film’s duration, Will Hunting experiences the defense mechanism of denial. At this stage, a person avoids any mention of his trauma and pretends like the traumatic experiences never happened to shield his conscience from past events (Ciocca et al., 2020). It is especially evident when his therapist repeatedly states that it is not his fault that he is like that now – broken and non-committal. Will becomes aggressive and denies his internal guilt that, undoubtedly, has been the root problem in his relationships. Instead of admitting his psychological trauma and working through it, he proceeds to avoid it. Will is also unwilling to disclose his past to Skylar since he lies about having a lot of brothers throughout the movie and then becomes angry when she discovers the truth about being an orphan.

Attachment

The attachment theory, developed by Ainsworth, is another viable concept to examine Good Will Hunting. According to Ainsworth, the attachment theory explains various types of people’s behavior in interpersonal relationships, explicitly relating these types to the childhood experiences of parenting (Pepping et al., 2018). For instance, if a child has a loving and present mother, he is more likely to grow up with a secure attachment style, which will result in healthy relationships, trust in partners, and independence. Conversely, if a person grows up in an abusive household with a parent who is always absent or cruel, one is inclined to have trust issues and difficulties with a commitment since the first meaningful relationship they ever had were negative.

This theory easily translates into the experience of Will since he is an orphan who was brought up in abusive and uncaring foster families. Throughout the movie, it is mentioned multiple times that Will was physically and mentally abused by a father figure, specifically by showcasing his stab wound and indicating his constant inclinations to violence. Consequently, through this unhealthy parenting that Will experienced, he developed avoidant attachment. Due to this peculiarity, as an adult, he cannot trust others such as his therapist and girlfriend, has difficulties in believing that Skylar will not abandon him, and is always hesitant in intimacy. Pepping et al. (2018) claim, avoidant attachment style is one of the most driving forces behind abandonment and trust issues that Will evidently adopts. Thus, it can be argued that avoidant attachment is one of his most apparent issues in the movie.

Stages of Cognitive Development: Object Constancy

The third concept relevant to the investigation of Will Hunting’s psyche is Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, particularly the idea of object permanence. According to Piaget, the human development of infants is divided into particular and clearly defined stages of sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational periods (Capella, 2016). During each phase, some crucially essential skills are developed to sustain children throughout their life, ultimately shaping behavior, intelligence, and set of abilities. For instance, during the first phase of the sensorimotor stage, a child learns how to be curious about the world, coordinate his/her senses, use simplistic language to make demands, and express dissatisfaction (Capella, 2016). Another vital aspect of the sensorimotor stage is the creation of object permanence. This concept explains how children understand that objects and people exist even when they are unable to see them. If this skill is not developed, infants think that, for instance, if their parental figure is not in sight, they do not exist anymore.

Although it is a fundamental human skill necessary for basic existence, it also has underlying implications for trauma creation that relate to the experiences of Will Hunting. Zivkovic (2020) claims that children whose sensorimotor development is disturbed by abuse and neglect suffer from the lack of object permanence. Although, as any mentally healthy adult, Will recognizes that people he does not see still exist, he feels an instinctive unease when the person he feels affectionate toward is not in close proximity. As Zivkovic (2020) finds, "Such violations may also restrict the development of object constancy, which may result in a lack of identity consolidation and affect the individual’s adult relationships" (p. 251). In simpler terms, infants with abusive parents develop object constancy. However, they unconsciously decide to slow the progress since they do not want to recognize that their abuser exists outside their sights, meaning that they are not only temporary but constant threat.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be argued that Good Will Hunting can be analyzed from the perspectives of three theories: Freudian defense mechanisms, Ainsworth’s attachment styles, and Piaget’s stages of development. Firstly, the protagonist employs a set of coping techniques to avoid the trauma of childhood abuse. Secondly, his fear of abandonment can be explained by his avoidant attachment style. Lastly, the tendency to distance himself from intimacy fits the theory of object constancy, as described by Piaget.

Good Will Hunting Movie Analysis

This essay has been submitted to us by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our writers.

As humans, we have a fear of not being liked by others. We thrive on building meaningful relationships with others. We learn at a young age how to connect with others and we learn that as humans, we need social interactions to survive. I will be examining the relationship between Will Hunting (Matt Damon) and his therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) in the movie Good Will Hunting.

Good Will Hunting is about a character named Will Hunting who was abused as a child and went through many foster homes. Because of his rough childhood, Will has a built-in defense mechanism causing him to distance himself from others, hindering his ability to open up and trust others. Will blames himself for the way his life is and therefore is unable to commit to a meaningful job or relationship. Will is extremely intelligent and is a mathematical prodigy.

Working as a janitor in a high school, Will begins solving very difficult mathematical problems that very few can solve and is then discovered by the mathematics professor who needed two years to solve the same problem. The professor then tries to guide Will to find himself and to use his abilities to do something with his life instead of wasting his abilities. Realizing that Will is not accepting the help, he takes him to his old friend Psychotherapist Sean Maguire who quickly sees through Wills defense mechanisms and breaks through them little by little.

When it comes to choosing our friends, there are three factors that I want to talk about that we are influenced by. We choose our friends based on how much they like us, how close and how often we see them, and how similar they are to us (Aronson,305). The first factor I want to expand on is proximity which is closeness. We are more likely to connect and like someone who is close to us. Aside from just that, proximity also creates repeated contact with someone, and you are more likely to like someone if you see them daily.

In Good Will Hunting, Maguire brings up the fact that both him and Will are from South Boston which they referred to as "southies". With repeated exposure, Will began to open up and share things that he did not before. During the first visits, Will would say nothing as he just watched the clock on the wall counting the time left for their session to be over.

As time went on and Will saw Sean more, he would open conversations with him and treat him like his friend. Another factor that contributes to the way individuals choose their friends is similarity. Will and Sean are very similar which contributes to why they became friends. Will and Sean both have a common interest in reading books and lifting weights. The most important similarity between Will and Sean is that they had both been abused as children. The common experiences forces Will to see Sean as a human being rather than another psychologist trying to fix him.

Once Will can see that Sean is someone he can relate to, he can start to accept the help he has offered. Another similarity that they have is that they are both afraid to go out into the real world and experience new things. Maguire tells Will that he has learned things from books but has not experienced things in real life. Although Maguire has experienced life, he reveals that he lost his wife two years ago to cancer. After losing his wife to cancer, he seems to have given up. In a scene from the movie they show how his house is messy and they show us that he does not socialize with his old friends (doesn’t go to college reunions).

While teaching Will a lesson about life, he also takes his own advice and decides to travel the world and attend the next college reunion instead of putting his life on hold. Another factor I mentioned in how we choose who to have a relationship with is by looking at how much they like us. Will saw many therapists before meeting with Sean and they all gave up on him after he showed no interest in them. During the first session, Will tries to play the same card by upsetting Sean by telling him that he chose the wrong woman to marry.

Even after upsetting him and disrespecting his wife, Sean saw something in Will and decided to carry on with the sessions. This showed Will that not everyone will give up on him and that Sean did in fact like him. Another interesting concept in their friendship was when Sean shared a private detail about his marriage with his wife which relates to self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is when we reveal private information about ourselves that would otherwise not be acknowledged (Aronson, 337).

When you disclose private information about yourself, it shows vulnerability and it allows individuals around you to feel closer to you. Sean disclosed that his wife would fart in her sleep and that he loved her more because of her imperfections. By disclosing this information with Will, it caused an emotional response in him that lead to a growth in their friendship. Disclosing this information, even if it was just a silly little fact, instilled a feeling of trust in their relationship.

As I mentioned before, growing up, Will was abused. Will was never told that he was smart, intelligent, or capable of being loved. He never learned how to trust people because the very own people who were supposed to support him and love him, had left him and neglected him. He grew up blaming himself for the abuse and always felt that he was never good enough.

Will also has no empathy for others except the close group of friends he associates himself with and does not know how to manage his emotions- especially anger. Because he never learned to control negative emotions, committing to meaningful relationships becomes difficult, (Aronson, 333). If he disagrees with someone, he will assault them either verbally or physically. Since Will grew up with a very disorganized attachment style in a home with neglect and abuse, his emotional needs were not met. Will has learned to accept negative outcomes from relationships and essay online buy always feels like people will leave him.

For example, in the movie Will has a love interest, Skylar, who asks him to move to California with her and he gets defensive. He gets angry and accuses Skylar that she will end up leaving him once she finds something that she does not like about him and will not want to be with him anymore. She goes on to confess her love for him and he does not believe her and tells her that she is lying and even goes as far as avoiding his own feelings that he towards her and pushes her away by telling her that he does not love her. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy mindset. For example, Will might think "I’m not good enough so my parents beat me and neglected me therefore Skylar will abandon me as well."

In the movie, it is depicted that Will has been brought up with an ambivalent attachment style. He pushes people away and does not trust easily. I think that the more sessions that Will had with Sean, the more his attachment style shifted. In a way, Sean become the caregiver that Will never had. Will has never experienced real love or intimacy and Sean taught him that by letting him into the details of his own marriage. Sean also shares many memories and experiences that Will would have had, had he been raised in a secure household. Another very important concept that Sean displays for Will that is very important to their relationship is empathy. Empathy is putting yourself in another’s persons place to see things from their perspective and feel their feelings and experience (Aronson, 245).

The most powerful scene in the movie is when Sean and Will both talk about their experiences with physical abuse by their fathers. In this scene, essay buy online Sean empathized with Will by listening to his feelings and putting himself in his shoes as well. He continues to tell him that it is not his fault over and over until he finally, truly understands that he is not to blame for the abuse. This finally breaks the barrier that Will has built up and allows him to move forward, leaving all the feelings of shame, anger, and guilt in the past. The friendship between Will and Sean led Will to adapt a more secure attachment which was displayed by him leaving to California to pursue his romantic relationship.

In conclusion, this movie was a very good depiction of an interpersonal relationship along with the effect that parental attachment styles can have on children. Children need to have secure attachment styles from their caregivers in order to have the self-confidence needed to build interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal relationships are very important to our well-being. Not only are they an important factor in keeping us happy, they are also an important factor in keeping us healthy (Aronson, 302).

Film argument essay ~ good will hunting, Film argument essay ~ good will hunting