Transcendentalism In Movies Essay

Robin Williams will go down in history as one of America’s favorite stand-up comedians and actors. Movies like Mrs. Doubtfire, Flubber, and Patch Adams filled homes with laughter and showcased Williams’ comedy talent. Other classics such as, Dead Poet Society and Good Will Hunting, showcased a different side of Williams and his dynamic talent. In 2014, Ameri-cans were devastated when the news broke that Robin Williams had committed suicide. Many questioned how America’s favorite smiling, funny guy could have committed such a dark act. It left the whole world wondering who Robin Williams really was, and what he was dealing with when the cameras weren’t rolling.

Will Hunting also uses the defense mechanism of being extremely smart and by reading people and exploiting their weaknesses to shift their focus away from him. This would be a characteristic of the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder avoidance state, where he is dealing with it throughout the movie, which causes him to stay withdrawn from people and society (NCBI). Will uses manipulation to change the subjects and focus’ of others from himself. He is also sarcastic when he talks. Such examples include the several psychologists who he visited before he found Sean. He would read their books before he met with them to decipher the way they worked. Then, when he worked with the psychologists, he would exploit their weakness and what they were uncomfortable with and push it right into their faces. He would also use sarcasm to make a point that he thought all of these psychologist meetings were useless to him and pointless.

Many individuals argue that Good Will Hunting is one of the most sociologically diverse movies out there. The amount of references that can be drawn back to concepts studied in sociology is incredible. Good Will hunting is about a 20-year-old, rambunctious male, Will, that tends to stick himself in positions that are not suitable for him. Wills tendency to get himself into trouble attributes to him ending up living on the south side of Boston as a janitor at MIT. His life suddenly takes a positive turn when will reveals his gift for others to see. A math professor posts a mathematical equation on a board outside of his room that had previously been unsolvable by a student in his class. That following day while will was cleaning the hallway

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

Hunting agrees, but has a hard time with dealing with a psychologist, scaring five away, two are shown. He then meets Lambeau's old college roommate, Sean Maguire (Robin Williams). It is Maguire that turns Will around because he is not afraid to talk back to him.

Good Will Hunting is a story about Will Hunting who works as a janitor at MIT cleaning classrooms. Will is an orphan who grew up in various foster homes and was physically abused as a child. Will is also an extraordinary mathematical genius with a photographic memory, who enjoys solving math problems. Will blames himself for his unhappy upbringing and turns this self-loathing into a form of self-sabotage in both his professional and emotional lives. Because Will blames himself he is unable to maintain a steady job or a steady relationship. Will must learn to overcome his fear of abandonment in order to learn how to trust and love people who

Overall, Will has had a troubling life, never feeling like he actually belonged. He was afraid to be smart and at the same time afraid to not be. The physical and mental abuse he suffered at the hands of those who are supposed to protect him, definitely scared him

Good Will Hunting explains story of a young man who goes by the name of Will Hunting. He is a very intelligent man who has had a troubled life and lets it control him day to day. He doesn’t want anybody to know about his talents because he thinks they’ll think differently about him and he doesn’t want to get hurt. Like Will, almost all of us in college and even in life go through blocks of trouble, big or small, in our life and can relate to him. I myself can relate to Will in many aspects of his life.

“Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness” (370). In Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson, it is shown that each person must make their own decisions in life and learn to think for themselves. The individual must form his or her own opinions on what is good and bad; following society solely because that is expected is no way to go through life. This idea is an integral aspect of Transcendentalism. Beginning in 1836, Transcendentalism was a movement that emphasized the importance of individuality and nature. There were several main authors who wrote during this movement, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman. Although not written during the nineteenth century, another work that demonstrates transcendentalist ideals is the film Dead Poets Society, directed by Peter Weir. The film is set in 1959 at Welton Academy, a strict boarding school for boys centered around the principles of tradition, excellence, honor, and discipline. When a new English teacher, Mr. Keating, arrives, he inspires his students to think for themselves through his lessons on poetry. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s idea of thinking for oneself and reaching one’s own conclusions is a profound theme in Self-Reliance, as well as in Dead Poets Society, best show by Mr. Keating’s

     Emerson’s writing focused on nonconformity and individuality. In his essay "Self-Reliance," he wrote, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind," and, "Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist."

Will Hunting is very smart. He was described as genius as evidenced by his ability to solve very difficult mathematical problem that even the students and professor Lambeau at MIT could not solve. As a result, the professor recommended him for a job that would provide him challenge. The professor described Will as having a gift of good memory. Professor Lambeau even asked Will whether he had photographic memory. Will could solve difficult math and science problems in under an hour. Will was able to analyze a painting that his therapist had done and he concluded that it meant that his therapist was suppressing his feelings about the death of his wife. He is very loyal to his friends. Will also has good survival instinct.

One of the main characters of the film Neil Perry, an overachieving, good natured young man who is unwillingly committed to the academic career of a doctor due to his very

Good Will Hunting is a movie about a boy that is extremely book smart, his name is Will. He grew up in not the best environment and was a janitor for the college MIT. Will does nothing with his smartness until he is caught solving a problem. After being thrown in jail he is forced to see a therapist and work on math problems with the professor. The movie shows the walls and psychological problems Will has built up and the process that he goes through to knock them all down.

In the film, Good Will Hunting, the main character, Will Hunting, is a gifted mathematician who struggles to find a productive and fruitful life. Throughout the film, Will displays outstanding and one-of-a-kind abilities in the field of mathematics. However, his emotional and social intelligence falls far behind his intellectual intelligence. With a rap sheet stocked full with assault and aggression, Will must navigate himself through life by learning to trust, love, and learn.

Good Will Hunting is a movie about a troubled young man abandoned by his parents only to be severely abused by the foster parents entrusted to care for him. Due to his tormented childhood he finds himself a young man unable to trust most people besides a few close friends. His prospects for a future out of dead end jobs, in his poverty stricken neighborhood, seem slim. Despite being a natural gifted mathematical genius, Will finds himself frequently involved with the law. It is while working at a janitorial position at MIT that a Field’s Medal winning professor discovers Will’s mathematical talent. When Will finds himself again in court, it is here where the professor bails him out. Upon release from jail and with the stipulation of receiving counseling, and holding himself accountable to the professor, Will