The 1991 film, Good Will Hunting, details the maturation and therapeutic cycle of young genius, Will Hunting. A brash youth, Will finds himself behind jars after assaulting a police officer who attempted to detain Will as he had engaged in a fist fight with a boy from his younger years. Unable to escape the charges, Will is prepped to serve time until Harvard professor Lambeau steps and speaks to the judge. To avoid jail time, Will must now attend therapy as well as study advanced mathematics under the supervision of Professor Lambeau.
The therapy sessions are originally failures as Will hardly cooperates with any therapist that comes in. That is until Dr. Sean Maguire’s services are enlisted. Will begins to open up about his emotions and reveals more of genuine self. Despite the progress, Will runs into a wall; he seems unable or unwilling to take charge and seek what he wants. He rather choose to settle rather than take the risk of failure that comes with seeking out something new. It’s not until he’s pushed by his best friend Chuckie and Dr.Maguire, that he’s able to gain the courage to go after what he wants and finally step out if what he knows.
Will’s childhood could best be described as abusive and isolative. From therapy, it was revealed that Will’s foster parent was highly violent towards the young boy. Opting to use a wrench as a disciplinary tool as well as having a habit of putting out cigarettes on the boy’s skin. Such a practice likely formed an avoidant attachment in Will’s early life. Such attachment often comes as a result of negligence or abuse. Two things that Will had come very familiar with at the hands of is foster home. Such attachment explains the mannerisms Will displays as a young man.
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Hunting, as a young man, has a personality that could be described as defensive. He has avulgar, brash tone, he’s very combative, and he’s an opportunist as it concerns pushing others away. His harsh dialect, such as referring to strangers and friend alike as curse words and giving both derogatory titles, can be attributed to his harsh childhood. Being in a home that utilized abuse quite commonly, it’s likely that Will was exposed to rough language as well. Through the process of observational learning. The exposure caused Will to pick such language up and the such usage make normalized as he was exposed and used it more.
Will’s habit of pushing others away can be connected to the avoidant attachment he acquired in his childhood. Such an attachment often causes the child to seek pseudo independence in which they strive to separate themselves from others as well as avoid emotional support from others. These are traits that often follow one later into their lives and such is likely the case with Will. It can be observed when, to push away Skylar, Will chose to say that he did not love her. To avoid making himself vulnerable to emotional support from others, Will chose to take the opportunity push away a woman he loved instead of opening opening himself to another person.
Such habits were the target of Will’s therapy treatments. At first, the treatments were unsuccessful. They tried to approach with more conventional tactics such as trying to force out repressed memories from childhood or use hallucination. It was not until Dr. Maguire’s treatment method was used that any progress was shown. His treatment was more unconventional in the manner in which instead of trying to draw out memories immediately, the doctor attempted to form a rapport with Will. He gained an understanding of his views, his interests, and how he felt. This allowed Will to gradually warm up to Dr. Maguire, to the degree where Will himself considered the doctor his friend. It was not until that point where Will’s past was discussed and strides in mental progress began to really be made.
At the end of his treatments, a clear difference could be observed between what Will became and what he once was. While he still held a foul mouth and was all around still a rough man, his emotional approach had changed. He was more willing to express his deeper, honest thoughts and felt comfort in even expressing emotions of gratitude. A sensation that, in the past, would be one he would more than likely not show as it would be to vulnerable of an emotion. While the surface level had hardly changed, something deep and more defining had altered within Will Hunting.
As seen with the life of Will Hunting, the development of a child as well as that child’s passage into adulthood is highly affected by one’s parental attachment and along with the style of parenting chosen by the adults. How a child is raised is a dominant in its very mental struggles as an adult. If the parents are abusive then the child shall be recluse and solitary, unwilling to open itself to others. However, if the parents are instead authoritative in which they are supportive yet also hold the child to a standard, not only is it likely to have a secure attachment as a child, the child is also likely to grow up to be a well rounded, mentally secure adult. With a secure attachment and authoritative caregiver, the development of a child, from its early stages to adulthood, is highly benefited.
References
- IMDb – Good Will Hunting
- Wikipedia – Good Will Hunting
- Goodreads – Good Will Hunting Book
- Emerald Management Reviews – Good Will Hunting Movie Review
- National Center for Biotechnology Information – Attachment Theory and Child Abuse: insights from conceptualizing borderline personality disorder, dissociation, self-harm, and suicide
