Good Will Hunting And John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

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In the film Good Will Hunting, the main character Will Hunting is an intelligent young man in his early twenties. Will is immensely intelligent because he has photographic memory however; he appears to have a complex consistent behavior that has negatively impacted his live. Will is an orphan who has been in many foster homes with abusive care givers. His only family is his best friend Chucky, and his boys. Throughout the film Will demonstrates his complex behavior in different scenes. Erick Erikson’s stage theory and John Bowlby’s attachment theory help explain Will’s personality and behavior. According to Erickson’s stage theory, there are stages in life where one must resolve conflicts, called ego crisis that start in infancy and end when one dies. When the ego crisis is unresolved, the crisis continues on to the next stage and so on. According to Erickson the successful resolved stages are essential for a person’s growth. The first stage is infancy where the ego crisis is trust versus mistrust. Will seems to have not resolved this stage do to his mistrust in romantic relationships. In addition to his pessimistic views and fear …show more content…

Specifically with the bond with the mother is essential in the first years of life according to Bowlby. According to Bowlby the failure to receive this bond with a care giver can result in increased aggression, delinquency, depression, and inability to show affection. In the beginning of the film Will gets into a fight with his kindergarten bully and soon after the quarrel begins the police arrive and arrest Will. During the fight one notices the increased aggression and rage inside Will. Will also shows the inability to fully express his feelings for Skylar due to his fear of her leaving. In addition, in a scene where Will is I court the judge list all the times Will got arrested for fights and resisting arrest among other

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