Charlene E.

Matubis BSA-IV

RE 106

GOODWILL HUNTING REACTION PAPER

In the movie Goodwill Hunting various models of communication were portrayed by the
characters of the story. This includes the Harold Laswell Model that focuses on questioning and
answering, Berlo Communication Model that take into consideration the culture, background or
feelings of the sender and receiver as well as the channel of the message, and the Semiotique
Model that involves the sharing of different perspectives.
In the movie, Will Hunting is an orphan and was a victim of child abuse by his foster father. In
his unfortunate experience as a child, he built walls for other people and a defense mechanism of
sabotaging interpersonal relationships to avoid emotional pain. Thats when Professor Gerald
Lambeau discovered his potential and arranges for him to forgo jail if he agrees to study
mathematics while seeking psychotherapy, and recommended him to Dr. Sean Maguire-a
psychologist who was his college roommate.
Laswell Model was portrayed as Sean started asking questions to Will to express his thoughts
and feelings, and Will in turn gave answers to him. Slowly, Will started to open up his self to
Sean. Berlo communication model was portrayed by the different interpretation of Will to the
actions of other people because of his background and personal experiences, like when Skylar
told him she loves him but he pushed her away because he interpreted her actions differently and
anticipated future failure in their relationship. Lastly Semiotique Model was portrayed when Will
and Sean exchanged personal experiences , thoughts, and opinions about things like Art, Seans
wife, Skylar, Wills dreams and aspiration, his plans, Seans story and Wills story.
In the story, through communication, the emotional barriers of Will were removed and he started
to forgive himself for things that happened in the past. Sean explored the mind, hidden emotions,
feelings, and the past of Will for him to uncover the key to open the lock of his heart. Through
communication, the GAP was bridged and Will started to understand his self-more. Sean
repeated the word Its not your fault to Will which help the latter heal the wounds of his inner
self. He then successfully fought with his inner demons. The moment his past hurt was removed,
and he forgave and accepted his self for who he is, he became a free man.
In the end, Will decided to follow and reunite with Skylar and he finally decided on how he is
going to create his future. Therefore it is true, that in order to move forward in life and in order to
pursue your dreams, you have to accept your past wholeheartedly and accept yourself for who
you are. The movie is indeed a touching story with a moral lesson to reflect upon.