Interpersonal Comm. "Good Will Hunting"

Good Will Hunting For this assignment I have chosen to focus on the film Good Will Hunting primarily because I have seen the movie prior to this course and I feel it is one of the best films I have gotten a chance to see. Will Hunting's profound genius was as much a burden as it was a gift. Initially seeing the film I enjoyed it but viewing the film in the scope of all that I have learned in this course made the viewing experience much more meaningful, as I now had a deeper understanding of Will's internal conficts, and how they directly effected his relationships, beliefs, and actions. The film is an excellent example of the issues involving interpersonal communication and how they play a part in either making or breaking our relationships. Identity perception, self-Disclosure, and relationships are the aspects that this essay will focus on and attempt to elucidate. Despite Will's brilliance he was a poor communicator, his past experiences made it difficult for him to let anyone see past his presenting self. As a result , it was nearly impossible for anyone to get close to him. The concept of identity perception plays a substantial role in the film Good Will Hunting . The private self also referred to as the perceived self is a reflection of the self-concept, the person we believe ourselves to be in times of honest self-examination (Adler,72). Will's private self is just that, private. He had a painful childhood and as a result he buries his past deep in the back of his mind, to the point where he doesn't even acknowledge it. As a child Will was an abandoned orphan who had been physically abused by his foster parents. One can assume this does not set a good precedent for high self-worth. He was deserted by the people who were supposed to love him the most and as a result this Wills reflected-appraisal affects every aspect of his life and set the tone for his relationships. Reflected appraisal is a process in which each of us develops a self-concept

Cited: 1. "Self-disclosure." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 Apr 2006, 03:22 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 6 Jun 2006 . 2. "Good Will Hunting." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 31 May 2006, 22:36 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 6 Jun 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Good_Will_Hunting&oldid=56215499>. 3. Adler, Ronald B. Russell Proctor, and Neil Towne. Looking Out Looking In Eleventh Edition . Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. 2005