Good Will Hunting: Overcoming Fear

What are you so afraid of? What am I so afraid of? Fear is an unusual part of life and manifests itself in many different ways. Fear can be something small and in the moment or something deeper and more extensive, whether the threat is real. or the imagined

fear

triggers a defensive response that causes the person to become physically aggressive or flee the scene to retreat to a safe place. Gus Van Sant's Good

will

Hunting is a subtle examination of

fear

and how, if you let it, it can limit your potential and even push you away. Far from what you really want, let's take a look at how Sean Maguire confronts and alleviates his fears of Will Hunting over the course of just eight face-to-face interactions and how Sean breaks down Will's defense mechanisms to change him for the better.

The first shot tells us a lot about Will. He lives alone in a single dark room. The blinds are closed to protect him from the outside world while he gives himself over to what he secretly loves. Reading this immediately tells us that Will is afraid of being seen by who. He really is Will, when he was a child he moved around a lot between foster homes and juvenile detention centers. He now lives a small life based on routine. His best friend, Chuck, picks him up every morning. They go out, drive, drink beer and fight. As it is, his future is just this, it is the life he knows and therefore what is perceived as secure, but he

will

have a secret curiosity about what else is out there for him.

He hides his motivations even from himself by choosing to be a night janitor at Harvard. this is his way of unconsciously exploring the place for a while, almost pretending that he was accepted there, walking through the halls at night and absorbing the atmosphere, then he sees a mathematical theorem left on the blackboard for the students who were accepted to solve only one A handful of people in the world could solve this theorem and it turns out that Will is one of them, almost like a secret love story. Will's passion for mathematics can only be revealed late at night while no one else is around, as Will has two contradictory fears.

For him, the fear of being stuck here forever and never unlocking his potential and the fear of unlocking his potential and failing at this attitude is the polar opposite of Harvard students and professors who fear being perceived as not smart enough. . This is shown when Professor Lambeau or Obnoxious students like Clark are always exercising their intellect to try to attract women. He was just hoping you could give me an idea of ​​the evolution of the market economy in the southern colonies. This clashes with Wales' worldview, as a lifetime has conditioned him to hide his abilities. Causing resentment toward those who expose their intellect in public thereby keeping their identity secret by letting the work speak for itself at a safe distance, the Harvard community is bewildered that in their worlds there is a clear incentive to show up and receive praise.

The mystery of the secret genius grows when Lambeau discovers Will writing on the blackboard and confronts him. Will runs away without wanting to be seen because he is afraid of being perceived as wanting more, as that betrays the life he has built with his loyal friends, but also. he resents the world of education for fear that he won't be accepted into it, this constant feeling of push and pull within him lies to himself about what he really wants after being arrested for assault. Will is sentenced to prison and Professor Lambeau intervenes. The court allows Will to be released under his supervision under two requirements: that he solve mathematical equations with him and that he also attend therapy.

Will rejects the idea of ​​therapy, but now he has a sure excuse to truly test his potential. Will always wants to make an excuse. If he fails, the fact that the courts force him to do so relieves him of some of his personal responsibility, but to Lambo's disappointment, Will refuses to take therapy seriously after being abandoned by his parents. and abused in foster homes. Will has an inherent distrust of authority figures and instead uses these sessions as an opportunity to outsmart psychologists and prove that they don't deserve his trust, look me in the eyes, get off the wheels, I don't need therapy, get into Sean, the last option, who from his first scene summarizes what it is about.

He confides that he, too, grew up in Southie and was Lambo's former college roommate. The first session is a game of poker with this kid, don't let him know what you've got, just like the others. Will's defense begins with offense. He tests Sean by inspecting the books in his office trying to read him as a man, he sees these books as mere props, as if Sean is just another phony intellectual, so he challenges him on that front, but there are little moments that can't be gain. First he sees a photo of Sean serving in Vietnam and secondly he asks him how much he leans when he realizes that Sean leans more than him, he leaves and changes the subject until he finds Shawn's weakness, he does a reading of a painting and goes straight for the jugular without realizing that Sean's wife is dead once she leaves him. you know, fucking another guy, sean gets upset and gets physical with him speaking a language he will understand that he freezes in fear maybe he won by getting under his skin but he was also the first to leave after the first session he will meet with skyler for a date and it goes very well, they make each other happy and there is potential for a meaningful relationship if Will is open to the idea of ​​having a session, two after Will's reckless comments temporarily changed Sean's life, brings Will into the real world instead of staying in it. his office, so he has nothing to deflect by not running away like the other therapists whose egos were bruised.

Sean is demonstrating his dedication to the will, but proceeds to break Will's ego by stripping his opinions of their power, reminding him of everything he does. I don't know you've never been outside of Boston. I bet you can't tell me if you've never been around one, but you can't tell me what it feels like to have never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable, you don't know about real loss, it exposes Will as a fraud who just regurgitates what he has read in a book, making him no better than Clark from the Harvard bar, but while he belittles Will Shawn, he reveals parts of his own life experience, this leaves Will speechless and sets an example. that vulnerability is not a weakness after the second session.

Will is shocked and too afraid to call Skyler for fear that she won't accept him, even if he chooses to lie to her friends about it, he will too. Now he is more aware that he is not as cool or as experienced as he used to think he was, this defensive shield he has developed is holding him back in the third session since court ordered therapy could always give him a way out since he is forced to be there. but by refusing to start any conversation and simply wasting the session in silence, Sean demonstrates that Will doesn't have to talk to him unless he wants to, Will has to actively choose to participate in therapy this way, there's nowhere to hide afterwards. of the third session. of pure silence lambeau helps will explore his purely intellectual and emotionless path, seeing will as his protégé, which validates many of will's fears of not being accepted, session 4 will finally breaks his silence by veering off into a joke set on a plane you've ever been on. a plane Sean asks if he's ever been on a plane, reminding Will of his new dynamic that Sean is an authority figure because of his real-life experience.

He feels insecure. Will tries to brag about his sex life and how things are going with Skyler, but he expresses uncertainty. moving forward as she is perfect in his imagination at the moment and if he sees her again he may disappoint him. This is Will's way of framing the situation as being under his control, but Sean turns it around and tells him that maybe what he's really afraid of is that he's the imperfect one and that he may not qualify for her, but I think it's a super philosophical world in which you can spend your entire life without having to really know anyone, as Will reflects.

Sean launches into a story about how his wife used to fart. Bed Will is surprised by the honesty and they share a deep laugh about it, which is how Shawn makes Will's biggest fear, real intimacy sound appealing, that flaws and imperfections aren't deal breakers, but the best part then tells him. he turns the tables on Sean asking him if he intends to remarry and when Sean says no, Will uses his own date against him, well I think that's super philosophy, Sean, I mean that way you could spend the day. rest of your life without really knowing anyone, this shows that will is now imitating sean. the same way he learns from books after the fourth session, he sneaks into Skyler's bedroom before knocking on her door, he steals an intimate moment just by listening to her sing, it's not perfect, but he still likes it, now he puts Put Sean's lessons into practice and take it. comes out and she asks him about his upbringing, Will is defensive, but tells her that he has 12 siblings, but doesn't explain the whole truth about why he is an orphan, since she hasn't earned him yet and he is still afraid that she will truth can expose. him too much and that she will leave him in the fifth session, Will politely asks Sean if he regrets loving his wife since he ended up losing her.

This highlights Will's fear of abandonment, as he is already looking for a way out with Skyler in hopes he can justify it. He tells himself the relationship wouldn't be worth it, but Sean tells the story of how he met his wife, who had a ticket to the world series, the biggest game in Red Sox history, but skipped it. the game because he went to chase her instead I just slid my ticket across the table and said: sorry guys, I have to go see about a girl, I have to go see about a girl. Sean assures Will that he has no regrets about his decisions in life, since failure is not about losing. about not even risking trying in this conversation the game of baseball becomes a metaphor for life that Sean doesn't regret being a spectator of the game because instead he took the risk of being a player on the field chasing to his wife and that's how to live without regrets after the fifth session.

Will is increasingly open to being intimate with Skyler. He chooses to let her into her world a little more by introducing her to her friends. He does so well that he invites Will to move to California. with her as he has to move there for school, but this is too soon for Will, scared that if he takes such a big risk he could fail, he begins to sabotage the relationship to protect himself from losing control and expresses fears that Maybe she will realize that he is not what he seems and will abandon him. Skyler provokes him by asking him what you're so afraid of.

Will spirals around deflecting blame anywhere he can by calling her privileged and out of touch or maybe just using him. She tries to reassure him, but Will doesn't. I'm not ready to take the risk of being loved and he finally reveals that he's an orphan, not as a way to let her in but as a way to push her away. I love you. He continues to sabotage himself. Will also loses interest in his work and when Lambeau confesses to resenting Will. to overshadow achievements, he centered his identity around this, confirming Wales' fearful suspicion that everyone is simply using him, so he starts lashing out in job interview session six and realizes that Will He is completely scared and in defensive mode.

Sean tries to break through Will's force field with a incisive blow. question you feel alone what is this trying to do? He will realize that he pushes people away so they don't feel tested, since when you are tested you can lose, he asks Will what he wants and strays towards the safety of what he knows gives answers. not very serious Sean decides to kick Will out so as not to reward this behavior since they had already made so much progress. The reason Will can't answer what job he wants is that he doesn't want any of them he wants to go to California with. skyler, but is too afraid to admit it, making any other path a failure by default as he is betraying himself after the 6th session, will calls skyler to wish her the best on her journey, she reinforces that she loves to will, but since he has had so many. disappointments with lambeau and sean recently he just hangs up although he can't put what he wants into words his actions tell another story and he sits back to watch her plane leave opportunity flying over him symbolizing her fear physically tying him to the ground when chuck asks will why things didn't work out with Skyler and leaves out critical details from the story like how she didn't actually leave him and how he simply decided not to follow her by seeking solace in her decision to stay.

Will expresses that he hopes to grow old around here with Chuck, but Chuck dismisses that possibility and reveals that he would resent Will more.for staying and not for leaving. This teaches Will that people who love you can push you away because they want the best for you and you don't. They always have to earn his love through sacrifice Session 7 In a true debate between the head and the heart Will arrives at Lambeau arguing with Sean about his future, both of them symbolizing the types of man Will could become Listening to Sean defend him and make himself Echoing the same concerns about Lambeau's proposed path for him, Will feels understood after Lambeau leaves.

Sean reveals Will's file, which contains intimate details of past abuse. He creates a safe space to discuss what happened by revealing his own history of abuse. Sean assures Will over and over again that all these traumatizing things happened. For him it is not his fault it is not your fault it is not your fault because for someone as intelligent as Will who can solve the most complex theorems in the world he has always believed that he was a failure for not finding a way out of that situation that he did not find has the response and can't control anything, making it difficult for him to trust others and his own decisions, although there is a final flash of defense.

Will accepts Sean's hug and is finally freed from the responsibility of his childhood after the seventh session he ends up accepting a local job offer. The eighth session in his last official session will have a difficult time letting go of Sean, who has now become the first positive father figure in his life, given that Lambeau perceives Sean as a failure and has lost more than most people have had. He is an ideal example for Will to aspire to, as he demonstrates that perceived failure and loss are nothing to fear. Sean ensures trust in this father figure position by demonstrating that he is trustworthy.

He gives Will his phone number. and he claims that he can call anytime, but Sean has also seen parts of himself in Will, as he has been avoiding taking risks since he lost his wife. He chooses to open himself up to the world again by traveling more and seeing what luck has in store for him after his finale. Session's friends give him a life-changing birthday gift: a car, it may not seem like much, but it symbolizes much more free will. He is not limited by public transportation or the travel of his friends. He can go anywhere and it's like they always do.

Being with him now feeling safe Will decides to leave all this behind emulating Sean by abandoning the game of baseball for what he knew was right for him because now he knows what kind of man he wants to become and that's how with patience and

good

will Sean changes. seeking the best over the course of eight sessions since the beginning of the story, Will has always felt trapped in foster homes in detention centers in Southie, even under Lambeau's supervision and guidance, he has always been moved around like a pawn in a chess board, but be unlocked.

Will's ability to choose what he wants for himself, so he follows his heart and drives to California to risk it all with Skylar and while the foreground was Will trapped in a small dark room with the blinds closed reading about Will's experiences. other people as a prisoner of I fear the final shot is him driving down an open road truly living with unlimited possibilities. Well, you've made it this far, so you might as well comment and subscribe to help take this channel to the next level.