Juxtaposition In Good Will Hunting

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Jason Iloulian Professor Labalsamo Written Expression I 12 November 2014 Good Will Hunting (Final Revision) While it was a huge success financially and critically acclaimed as well, the movie, Good Will Hunting, offers vivid focus on a young math savant from the socioeconomic realities of Boston’s South End, an underserved section of town that is not unlike inner city environments across the country. I will review and critique the film from the perspective of sociology and the changes a marginalized youth is able to go through thanks to his hitherto unknown brilliance in math. The striking contrast between the bad Will and examples of the good Will, and the juxtaposition between the economic deprivations that Will grew up in – including being …show more content…

The story is made stronger as the mystery continues; the script allows for some righteous irony as professor Lambeau tries to discover which of his students has accomplished this task. It could only be a student after all, because no one would ever suspect that a janitor could solve a difficult math problem. It is ironic that temporarily Will is accused of defacing the blackboard when in fact he is showing his hitherto hidden genius. He races down the hall as though he was guilty of something (Will has learned to run from trouble in his marginalized neighborhood and he reverts to his escape mode) albeit in this case he’s done nothing …show more content…

But when Will interacts with the therapists, the good Will that others are obsessively trying to create is in reality still the bad Will, even though in the eyes of the alert audience the counselor is ethical and caring and trying to work with Will. On the other hand, even though the part of the story alluded to in the paragraph above has merit – and in particular the presence of the late Robin Williams brings star power and emotion to the picture – the protagonist does not really want to abandon his buddies in the old neighborhood and become part of the MIT culture. The most interesting dramatic parts of the film are the contrasts and juxtapositions presented when a janitor from a rough part of town mysteriously solves a very difficult math problem. This opens the door for a sociological examination of why higher education doesn’t really mean that much to a young man who has battled through a hard life and suddenly he is “discovered” and prodded to become an MIT-type person. He can change and grow if he decides that is what he wants, but was beaten down so many times as a kid he is reticent to do what others think he should do – even a psychologist that he learns to

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