Critical Analysis of the Film Good Will Hunting Essay

Critical Analysis of the lease hold of Good Will Hunting - Essay ExampleLuckily, mathematics has been spared the symbolism of forbidden knowledge, troubled with honest dilemmas (Frankenstein, Faust, Rappacini). Quite on the contrary, the film Good Will Hunting strikes a balance, and its mathematicians are portrayed as more multifaceted than those in the works referred to above. Good Will Hunting is in effect not about mathematics. It is about the touching story of a young mans struggling to outdo his Dickensian childhood, to come upon his place in the world, and to attain closeness with others. The main character, Will (the title is a play on his name), is a tough and supernaturally consecrateed orphan from Bostons South Side. He works as a janitor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and rout outnot resist showing anonymously his solutions to (apparently) perplexing mathematical problems. The identicalness of the solver is revealed just about the time that Will (Matt Damo n) is arraigned for taking part in a lane brawl. His following court-ordered supervision by a mathematics professor and Fields Medallist Professor Lambeau, (played by Stellan Skarsgard) includes psychological counselling. This sets the plot in motion. The way Will feels about himself, the woman he courts, about his notable gift and his oscilloscope are looked into detail through an interaction with his psychologist (portrayed by Robin Williams) whose a background also turns out to be similar. So what is the role of mathematics in all this? Alfred Hitchcocks metaphor of the McGuffin ring in the head an object or idea that drives the plot and with which everyone in the film, but not the audience, is preoccupied. In films by Hitchcock, the McGuffin might be a hidden treasure, or someones identity. This films McGuffins are Wills talent and the mathematics problems the he has a knack of solving so easily. It is quite possible that Will could have been gifted in physics, biology, in la nguages and faced similar issues in his life. Indeed, his intellect is drawn larger than life, so that he can learn organic chemistry, talk about economics, and even defend himself in court, with an ability to cite precedents. So why mathematics? One of the reasons is that mathematics is alleged to be vague that few can do it. In fact, this is amongst the few remarks about mathematics that this film makes, with which a mathematical audience will strongly disagree. Under the opening credits, the first frames of the film are of a mathematical text out of guidance and blurred, as if seen by a general reader who cannot understand it. The mathematics referred to later on ranges from guileless graph theory, through basic linear algebra to Parsevals theorem (mispronounced in the film) and to what seems like some deeper graph theoretical results. math mentioned persistently, but in no scene is it presented articulately. Wills gift is valuable, possibly because it is so rare. Mathematics highlights the major differences betwixt Will and the academics. Will is a tough street youngster. His gift is well-regarded but not envied by his friends. Had his gift been in rock music or sports, the plot could not have turned on the plectrum Will has to make between his background and his destiny. The culture of mathematics doesnt fit well with that of manual(prenominal) South Boston. And it is not predominantly our fault. Professor Lambeau goes to great lenghths to keep Will out of jail, to get him a decent job which