Interpersonal Comm. "good Will Hunting"

Good Will Hunting

For this assignment I have chosen to focus on the film Good Will Hunting primarily because I have seen the movie prior to this course and I feel it is one of the best films I have gotten a chance to see. Will Hunting's profound genius was as much a burden as it was a gift. Initially seeing the film I enjoyed it but viewing the film in the scope of all that I have learned in this course made the viewing experience much more meaningful, as I now had a deeper understanding of Will's internal conficts, and how they directly effected his relationships, beliefs, and actions. The film is an excellent example of the issues involving interpersonal communication and how they play a part in either making or breaking our relationships. Identity perception, self-Disclosure, and relationships are the aspects that this essay will focus on and attempt to elucidate. Despite Will's brilliance he was a poor communicator, his past experiences made it difficult for him to let anyone see past his presenting self. As a result , it was nearly impossible for anyone to get close to him.

The concept of identity perception plays a substantial role in the film Good Will Hunting . The private self also referred to as the perceived self is a reflection of the self-concept, the person we believe ourselves to be in times of honest self-examination (Adler,72). Will's private self is just that, private. He had a painful childhood and as a result he buries his past deep in the back of his mind, to the point where he doesn't even acknowledge it. As a child Will was an abandoned orphan who had been physically abused by his foster parents. One can assume this does not set a good precedent for high self-worth. He was deserted by the people who were supposed to love him the most and as a result this Wills reflected-appraisal affects every aspect of his life and set the tone for his relationships. Reflected appraisal is a process in which each of us develops a self-concept that reflects the way others see us (Adler, 51).Will used his genius and sharp wit to hide his vulnerability and pushed away anyone who tried to love him for fear they would discard him like his parents did. His presenting self was the safeguard to his private self. Will was very much aware of his gift and his enormous potential but shunned it like some burden, or at least that's what he wanted others to believe. He often told Sean Maguire, his shrink with whom he had developed a bond, that his gift was something he didn't ask for, and he'd be perfectly fine working an honorable blue-collar job with his buddies. Despite his assertion regarding his gift as an aggravation Will's actions contradict, for he is asked why he just so happened to get a custodial job in the world's foremost institute for technology, M.I.T if he wanted nothing to do with his genius. Maguire sees behind Will's visage, he realizes Will is a wounded soul who really knows nothing about life for he hasn't experienced it, it is so much more that what he read in a book. It is hard to say what Will should have done for he had a difficult past one that most cannot relate too, or have any idea what it may be like to live it. However, If Will had been a little more open to the people who wanted to love him he would have been much happier. In his quest to never be hurt he was headed for a life where he would never be loved. His thoughts were becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy; where one's expectations of an event make that event more likely to occur (Adler, 65). Had Will been honest with himself and more willing to face his demons, he would have been much better off in his relationships and self-concept.

Will has four significant relationships throughout the film each predicated on different reasons for forming relationship. His relationship with Gerald Lambeau, Sean Maguire, His friends, and Skyla are vastly different from each other. Gerald Lambeau and Sean Maguire are both elder to Will, and initially was very guarded towards them. It seems that Will viewed these men more as old-timers than potential mentors. There are various reason for forming relationships such as proximity, similarity & complementarily, competence, and disclosure (Adler, 286). Professor Gerald