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Hunting For A Beautiful Mind Years 1997 and 2001 were remarkable in the history of the American cinematography, because they brought the cinema-goers two remarkable movies, Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind. These movies tell the stories of genius mathematicians and their search for the place in the world. Both movies have some similar features, but each story is unique, just like every person and every life. The task of this work is to analyze the movies, distinguish the similarities between two movies and see how these similarities help in delivering of different ideas to the audience. The story of the movie Good Will Hunting is the life of a genius boy, artful mathematician Will Hunting, his position in the society and inability, or more correctly unwillingness to use his abilities for changing anything in his life and achieving success. Here it is necessary to point out the ambiguous meaning of the movie title Good Will Hunting.
It is possible follow three references of the title to the idea of the story. First reference, which lies in the surface is the direct meaning of the word good, which describes the main protagonist of the story like a good scholar, good mathematician, outstanding young man Will, who has no education but has remarkable knowledge. At the beginning of the movie Professor Lambeau gave a task for his students "I also put an advanced Fourier system on the main hallway chalkboard. I'm hoping that one of you might prove it by the end of the semester" (Lambeau), and only Will could do it. "This...
this boy is incredible. I've never seen anything like him" (Lambeau). Second reference lays the meaning of the word good in the ironic opposition to the word bad. It symbolizes Will's criminal nature "June ' 93, Assault. September ' 93, Assault. Grand theft auto, February ' 94...
Free Property Rights of Horse and Carriage from 1798. January ' 95, impersonating an officer. Mayhem. Theft. Resisting" (Judge Malone). First two meanings of the title refer to the description of Will's personality.
The third meaning refers to the whole idea of the story, Good Will Hunting or hunting for a good will. As we know, the protagonist of the story has criminal background and he despises official education. As he said to the boy Clark in the Bow and Arrow Pub "You dropped a hundred and fifty grand on a education you could have got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library" (Will). But Clark answered "Yeah, but I will have a degree. And you " ll be serving my kids fries at a drive-through on our way to a skiing trip" (Clark). And Will knows the truth, but his character and sad life experience taught him to despise reality and search truth only in books.
He knows that he can't trust anyone, he didn't even have an attorney in the court: "A defendant can claim self-defense against an agent of the government... I'm afforded the right to speak in my own defense, sir, by the Constitution of the United States" (Will). The title Good Will Hunting refers to the main idea of the movie, which is the desire of professor Lambeau and then other people to change Will's perception of reality, earn his trust and change his life that can only be a fact of Will's good will. The movie A Beautiful Mind also tells us the story about life of a genius mathematician, John Nash, whose prototype was Professor John Forbes Nash, Jr. the winner of the Nobel Prize in 1994 for his revolutionary development of game theory. The title of this movie also carries ambiguous meaning.
A beautiful mind, a mind of a genius, whose breakthrough challenged a century and a half of economic theory and whose work was so important that it influenced many sciences, including economics and mathematics. The mind of such a genius is unique, the mind of such people can only be described as beautiful and people should be proud to call them contemporaries. But the title also has another meaning that refers to another feature of John Nash's mind, his mental illness schizophrenia that forced him to see things that never existed. As John Nash said to Thomas King, the man who first told him about his Nobel award nomination: "I am crazy... I still see the world differently." We see that John Nash and Will Hunting have much in common.
They are both mathematic geniuses who have great achievements not only at their chosen field but in many others. And even though the origins of their troubles are different, they both reach the point in their lives when they can't deny that they have problems. At this point, people who care for the characters welfare stepped into the scene and did their best to help them. The movies Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind reveal the origins of the problems of of both protagonists. John Nash once told his imaginary friend Charles Herman about what his school teacher said about him "I was born with three halves of brain and one half of heart" (John Nash).
John Nash was considered cold and indifferent person who had no close friends and that served as one of the reasons why nobody knew about his illness until the signs became evident in the age of thirty. The political situation in the World in the middle of the twentieth century and the opposition between the Soviet Union and the United states not only deepened Nash's mental illness. However, they also helped to mask the signs because the whole country was in fear of war. The hatred of Russians and the fear of them were so great that people imagined spies and enemies everywhere. From the first day of studies at the University young students were told that they were the future defenders of the country. "Mathematicians wined the war...
mathematicians like you. Who of you will be the next Morse? Who of you will be defender of democracy and discoveries?" (The University professor). There was a rush among students and teachers, which prompted for their actions. Everyone wanted to be important and helpful for the country.
How could anyone possibly notice what was going on with John Nash in such an unstable state of politics? Mistrust and suspicion were everywhere - a sick person could not be easily distinguished from the normal people. The situation with John Nash emphasizes how easily people were neglected at the time of a Cold War fever. The movie shows us how easily a person can be trapped in his beliefs and how destructive the global fever can be to a human mind. Through this case the viewer is shown what can happen with a common person, when even a prized mind of a genius fails to resist the pressure. The movie Good Will Hunting doesn't reveal such global political problem but it also describes the influence of the society on a person.
Will Hunting was brought up in the foster home where nobody cared much about his talent. He was from the poor uneducated community and nobody from his surrounding could understand his phenomenon or help him. As a child, he was the frequent victim of abuse. It is evident that the external world played a major role in shaping of his character and his outlook. His speech is overflow with rude curses.
He has a short temper and it easily brings him into trouble. Will possesses encyclopedia knowledge and talent, extraordinary memory and ability to find a simple decision of a difficult problem but he remains surrounded by uneducated rude people where his inner world is unclaimed. Worst of all, Will does not understand that he can waste his talent because there does not see any problem. He does not want help from anyone: "I don't need theeerapyyyyy... " (Will). "What do I want a way out of here for?" (Will). In both these movies there happen events, which serve as catalysts, the turning points and which change the lives of the main characters. And after the turning point the situations develop differently for them.
If Will's meeting with professor Lambeau promised him good changes in his life, John Nash's real meeting with secret services only stimulate him hallucinations and his illness. Here, both characters are forced to make serious decisions. It is interesting that in both movies the moving force for the protagonists were also their surrounding, the people close to them. The message of the movies is that loneliness and indifference can lead even a genius to the failure and despair. If a genius, Good or Beautiful mind failed to see the risks, the ordinary mind would simply collapse. At this point there arises the question whether a forceful help can be positive for a person.
The question is immediately answered in both movies. The inability of the main character to change his life is not the only similarity of these movies. It is also important that the decisions had to be forced on both characters: "I won't see you make him feel like a failure too", said Sean McGuire to professor Lambeau. "Why don't we give him time to figure out what he wants?" (Sean McGuire). "It's another mathematical task that should have another solution ( (John Nash). The force is as destructive as indifference here. The task for the surroundings of Will Hunting and John Nash is to let them see the problem. It was important the close people did not just solve the problem, but also had let Will and John be the important participants of those decisions.
Here another message is sent to the viewer that the essential component of Will's and John's success was only their free will to change. The driving force that helped Will Hunting and John Nash to see the problem and find good will for its decision was love. In his Nobel speech John Nash said: "The most important discovery in my life. Only because of you I am here." The love for his wife helped John Nash to understand the difference between the reality and the dream of his ill mind. This love sent him for the search of less destructive treatments for him. The severe treatment methods in the hospital and medications could destruct Nash's beautiful mind, which were the reasons of his failures.
On the other hand, they also were the reasons of his achievements and he had to find alternative decision for the problem that suited him. The same was with Will Hunting. He was afraid of love. "The first thing that happened to him, he was abandoned by the people who were supposed to love him most" (Sean Mcguire). But with the help of Sean Mcguire Will saw the importance of love. The phrase "I had to go see about a girl" proves that. The decisions offered by professor Lambeau were not sufficient for will.
The career goals offered to him were not a decision for Will. He felt that his mind would be trapped in the bounds of his position. So Will had to find some other alternative, which would become his driving force. The comparison of the movies Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind tells the viewer about the struggle of a person, a genius mind in the confined frames, into which they were put by the society. A sick person is not easily seen in the society of people stricken by the common fear and suspicion. A talented boy is not easily distinguished from his peers, if he decides not to use nor show his talent.
If the surrounding society was not indifferent to such geniuses like John Nash and Will Hunting and deepened the abyss between what they are and what they could be, the obligation of the society would be to help them. The origins of John's and Wills troubles are difficult. The movie A Beautiful Mind reveals the imperfection and even the harm of the political situation in the country which might cause mental problems to some people. The movie Good Will Hunting shows that after so many years of development a society is still not perfect and not everyone can find his way in it.
These movies touch different political or social problems, but the message is much alike. The task of all people is to change their surrounding, the society for better, where everyone can have a good chance in life. However, while the world is not perfect, people need to help the weaker members of the society and this way they would help themselves. Even the weakest member of the society can bring his / her contribution into the common welfare. The main idea of both movies is that love and care are very important in our lives. No help can be forced on a person, because without a persons will to accept that help, he / she will not see the reason to change.
Only love can be such a reason that will change a person's perception of life, a will to overcome his fears and help him see the only correct decision of his problems. The movies end with different notes. A Beautiful Mind shows us John Nash in the moment of his greatest success that came to him at the end of his life. The viewer can see the result of many years of struggle and overlook the victory of a human mind over the unfortunate situation. The movie shows the ability of a genius to find an alternative solution to a problem that was given by misfortune.
The result of a good judgment and right decisions of John and his surrounding turned out to be the worldwide success. The movie Good Will Hunting ends differently. The viewer doesn't know what awaits the main character and does not know whether he will ever reach great success. Will had to overcome one of the most important problems, which gave him the strength to choose the right road in his life and to understand his own will. The viewer cannot predict whether Will ever achieves success or whether he will remain a plain person. The movie shows that Will's surrounding succeeded to help him find himself in the world and take the first vital decision.
He was shown the way and now he has a right to be free and decide for himself. But the viewer remains full of hopes that Will finds his way in life because he started in the right way. The movies A Beautiful Mind and Good will Hunting show different aspects of life. A Beautiful Mind shows the life from the perspective of the winner. Good Will Hunting shows life from the perspective of a promising person. Both movies, however, show the importance of surrounding, of love and care for people and the importance of advice.
We can say that these movies solve same problems and see the solution from the different perspectives. The movie A Beautiful Mind shows the possible success of a strong person that is achieved with the help of his surrounding. On the contrary Good Will Hunting shows to the audience that personal choice, freedom is more important, and this knowledge was also granted to Will by close people. The movies don't give ready resolutions for all the problems, but they give hope. And the rest is the job of a person himself. Bibliography 1.
A Beautiful Mind. Dir. Ron Howard. 2001. DVD. Universal. 2. Good Will Hunting.
Dir. Gus Van Sant. 1997. DVD. Miramax Films.
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Research essay sample on Hunting For A Beautiful Mind
