The film “Good Will Hunting” is based on Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a twenty-year-old self-taught genius, who takes a job as a janitor at MIT. Will comes from a poor neighborhood in South Boston, living in a bad house where violence and crime reign. Professor Lambeau wrote a mathematical theorem question on the board for his students to solve. However, once the problem is resolved, Lambeau sets out to find this mysterious person. He soon discovers that Will was that person. The next day, Will and his buddies, Chuckie, Billy and Morgan, get into trouble fighting some guys and Will gets arrested and has a court date. During this arraignment, it is announced that Will has quite a criminal record, including several accounts of assault, theft, resistance and more, as well as learning that he grew up in several families reception, some with physical violence. Lambeau meets with Will, explaining that he will be released under two conditions: 1. Work on advanced math with Lambeau and 2. Meet with a therapist, Sean Maguire, who has a similar background to Will. You discover through these encounters that Will suffers from an attachment disorder as well as a fear of abandonment and uses many defense mechanisms. Will begins to see Skylar more often, having more confidence in himself and the relationship, but when Skylar asks him to go to California with him, he immediately pushes her away and tells her he doesn't love her - which Maguire considered a defense mechanism for Will to protect himself. After a breakthrough during one of the sessions, Will begins to turn his life around by getting a job with McNeil. However, he realizes that he wants to go after Skylar in California and leaves South Boston for good. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Several developmental theories were used throughout the film Good Will Hunting. One of the developmental theories Will Hunting uses in the film is Freud's ego defense mechanisms. This theory involves protecting yourself from anxiety, guilt or fear by using one or more defense mechanisms. Will uses the “Move” mechanic. Displacement is the redirection of an impulse (usually aggression) toward a helpless surrogate target. Over the course of the film, we discover that Will is an orphan who suffered physical abuse from some of the foster families he was placed with. Knowing this context, the audience better understands why Will did some of the things he did. An example of Will using displacement in the film is when he takes all the aggression shown to him by some of his abusive adoptive parents when he was a child and constantly attacks others with words or by fighting. Erikson's theory of development can also be applied to Will's theory of development. character throughout the film, starting when he was a child with Stage 1: Trust vs. Distrust leading to Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation. Erikson explains the Trust vs. Distrust period as follows: “If a child does not experience trust, he or she may develop insecurity, worthlessness, and a general distrust of the world.” The first step of Erikson's theory can be applied because Will was abandoned by his parents when he was a baby and grew up as an orphan moving around different foster families. He didn't get the trust he needed from his parents at such a young age, leading him to grow up with adistrust of the world and the people around him. In the film, Maguire has a monologue that says, "Why is he hiding, why doesn't he trust anyone?" Because he was abandoned by those who were supposed to love him the most. He pushes people away before they have a chance to leave him. It’s a defense mechanism.” Erikson's Intimacy vs. Isolation period can be described as follows: "Young adults seek deep intimacy and satisfying relationships, but when these fail, isolation can occur." This step can be applied to Will as he met a girl named Skylar and became very intimate with her in a short time, however, she was moving from Boston to California. Skylar asked Will to move with her, but Will, using his move defense mechanism, starts yelling at her, saying he doesn't like her, pushes her away, and begins to isolate himself from her. Another main character that can be applied to Freud's use of ego. The defense mechanisms are Sean Maguire, Will's therapist. Sean lost his wife of 18 years and hasn't dated anyone since her death. During one of their sessions, Will brings up his wife and says, "Maybe you married the wrong woman," which triggers Sean's anger at the thought of losing his wife. He responds by saying, “If you ever disrespect my wife again, I will eliminate you.” Do you have this boss? Maguire uses the same mechanism as Will, movement. He took his anger at losing his wife and disrespecting their marriage out on Will by pushing him against a wall and threatening him. There are many other influences throughout the film that impact the main character, Will Hunting. An example of societal influence is Will's lack of a college degree. Erikson's theory of development can be applied to this feeling using Stage 4: Industry versus Inferiority. This stage is a social stage, meaning that if we experience unresolved feelings of inadequacy and inferiority among our peers, we may have serious problems with competence and self-esteem. This scene is shown in a scene at a bar with a conversation between Will and a guy named Clark. We learn that although Will is very intelligent, he does not have a college degree. Clark then explains how he can't wait to see Will in a few years serving his family food at a fast food restaurant. At this point, Clark is considered the company. He implied that just because Will didn't have or wasn't going to have a college degree, he wouldn't go anywhere in life. Will grew up in South Boston, or Southy as they called it in the movie. Growing up, he was in many different foster homes, but now he lives in a rundown house in a poor, deprived neighborhood with a lot of violence and crime. This all influences Will because he grew up thinking that he wasn't good enough and that he wasn't going to get anywhere in life, that he was going to live in Southy for the rest of his life with his group of friends. This also has to do with stage 4 of Erikson's theory of development. Growing up the way Will did, the lack of strong family support, a disadvantaged neighborhood/SES, and little confidence in the world go hand in hand with the inferiority part of stage 4. Overall, the movie Good Will Hunting showed many theories of development. we learned in class throughout the semester. I really liked the way Matt Damon and Robin Williams portrayed the relationship between Will and Sean. They had a lot of passion and put everything they could into bringing these roles to life. Being able to apply what I learned this semester has been really interesting. I would never..