My strengths as a writer include my research and ability to find sources that relate to my topic of interest. Throughout this cluster, I have learned to narrow down the wide expanse of resources available to me in order to find sources that pertain to my paper.

One of my weaknesses as a writer is thought organization and structure. For me, the most difficult part of writing rears its head after the research is done and when it is time for the writing to begin. Oftentimes I simply don’t know where to begin. Previously, I would try to formulate a thesis and find points of evidence in my research and mold it to fit my thesis but I recently was made aware that this was the incorrect way of writing and that research should precede the formulation of the thesis. While this certainly helped me improve my writing process, I still have trouble formulating debatable arguments and theses that are beyond surface level. However, I believe this is just due to a lack of deeper reflection and thought. Often, I begin to write the first things that pop into my head, without taking too much thought. This seems like the easy way out, but in reality, this makes it more difficult for me when I try to come up with a thesis that is arguable. However, this problem can be solved by setting time aside for reflection of the subject of the paper.

For this paper in particular, especially in the final draft, I feel like I have improved with utilizing resources and their theses to make a point of my own. Especially through the utilization of Bourdieu I have become more comfortable embedding abstract pieces in my text.

To Mr. Mundt,

Using a nationalist approach to Good Will Hunting would be the best way to advertise this movie, because the movie presents Robin Williams as a typical father figure that is prominent in American ideology. In the movie, orphan Will Hunting finds the father figure he never had in the unexpected form of his psychiatrist, Sean Maguire. In the film, the two characters are presented as parallels of each other. Compared to other characters of similar age, both Hunting and Maguire are characters that can be seen as failures by others of their same age. For example, Sean Maguire is seen by his colleague, Professor Lambeau, as not reaching his full potential after college. Similarly, Lambeau pushes Hunting to apply to jobs and positions he believes Will would succeed in, because he believes Hunting is not utilizing the full extent of his mental capacity in his current life.

By presenting these characters as parallels of each other and revealing Maguire as a father figure to Hunting, readers will be able to relate to the American archetype of family structure, particularly the patriarchal family order that characterizes the majority of American families.

Another reason why this particular approach would be successful is due to simple human nature and human desire to find connections in relation to their own life. Though many people may not have their own typical American father figures, they can either relate to one of the two stages in Will’s life: the stage where he lacks a father figure and the stage where he realizes he has gained one (the scene where he confides in Sean Maguire and the two embrace). This figure, either in its presence or absence, is relatable and relatability is a significant contributor to positive responses.

The third reason why a nationalist approach would appeal to audiences is due to the similarity in social standing between Will Hunting and Sean Maguire. Sean Maguire is presented as a role model for Will Hunting, as someone who can contradict the social standing boundaries that may fence certain social standings. Similarly, the working class origins of the two and their clear happiness and success that is portrayed at the end of the film supply a source of hope in terms of class mobility that viewers can relate to.

Best,

Madison Gil

• One of the most important things I want to revise for my final draft is the overall flow and direction of the paper. I feel like a lot of my ideas were scattered in different paragraphs and I want to rearrange some of the ideas and make it more clear how they relate to and support my thesis. This reconstruction and rearrangement would serve not only to organize my paper, but also to organize my thought process (and therefore my writing process). In my thesis, I also want to find a way to relate class mobility and the Irish Boston national archetype to Damon’s upbringing. Although Damon was not Catholic Irish like the character he portrayed in Good Will Hunting, he did grow up in the Southie neighborhood, so he had firsthand experience of what it was like to grow up in their community. One thing I plan on doing is deleting the whole third paragraph, as I feel is it irrelevant to my thesis and redistributing the source by Noreen Golfman. This relates to my next point I want to fix in my final draft:
• I want to utilize more of the external sources I found. For example, when talking about the Irish Boston, I want to include some of the ideas about class transcendence and social mobility and tie that into my thesis. I would also like to include references to the Joseph Campbell paper we read during first quarter about the Hero’s Journey, but I will have to go through the process of searching for that first.
• In my paper, I also want to include more concrete evidence from the film and utilize more of the movie into my support for the thesis. For example, when describing the contrast between Professor Lambeau and Sean Maguire, I can incorporate various scenes of the movie that demonstrate the argument I am trying to make.

Dear Great Aunt Helga,

I hope you’re doing well in your new apartment in Orlando! Ever since you last e-mailed me, asking for updates on the mythology cluster seminar I told you about, I’ve been meaning to write to you about the idea for my paper. I think you’ll enjoy the subject – I know how much you adore Matt Damon and Good Will Hunting. For my paper I am going to be writing about the production history of Good Will Hunting and how Damon’s upbringing in South Boston reflects the national archetype of the distinction between working-class Boston Irish and elite members of society, and how his rise to success resembles a Hero’s Journey similar to Will Hunting’s.

First I am going to be talking about how language and speech is an element that Damon utilizes to contrast between the working class and elite Harvard students. The “colorful language”, as you would say, and the Irish accents of Will and his friends, reinforce the national archetype of the urban working class, or more specifically, the Boston Irish immigrant working class, as that was what Damon was most familiar with growing up. I am also considering talking about the various Irish flag imagery that presents itself in the film and how the culture and history surrounding a work can affect its production (I also plan on relating this to Bourdieu).

Next, I am going to be talking about Damon’s Hero’s Journey and certain elements that reflect key points of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, such as Will Hunting and Matt Damon’s similar mentor figures and inner struggles and “ordeals”. In the case of Will Hunting, it was coming to terms with his childhood and searching for a greater purpose in life, while for Damon, his inner struggle could be seen as finding the balance between his humble background in South Boston and his newfound stardom and rise to fame after Good Will Hunting.

One of my struggles I am having with this paper is organization. I’m not sure if I am trying to cram too much into one paper and I can make everything relate to the mythology in production. Anyways, wish me luck and I hope I can visit you soon!

Love,

Madison

The Terminator, a classic and well-known movie, prized for its engaging futuristic story line and suspenseful action sequences, is an excellent movie when considering just that. However, when taking into account finer elements of the plot, such as underdeveloped characters including Kyle Reese and lack of antagonist motive other than computer programming, The Terminator presents a film that leaves the audience craving deeper character connection.

The first quarter of the movie included a great buildup of suspense and plot, setting up the other ¾ of the movie for great emotional and plot payoff. However, when Kyle reveals the reasoning behind why he volunteered to save Sarah, the character progression comes to a halt. One of the central reasons why the characters are weaker than other successful films are because the character building in The Terminator stems mostly from dialogue and not action. Like the popular saying goes: “actions speak louder than words”. When Kyle confesses his love for Sarah Connor, Sarah seems neither taken aback nor put off. Instead, the (new) couple proceeds to create the son who is the reasoning for Sarah’s kill order. This not only stunts the character growth of Kyle Reese but also reinforces the bleak and dull view of life that The Terminator reflects. Sarah’s immediate action and movements toward Kyle highlight a strain of desperate sadness and what looks like an attempt to grasp whatever reflection of love and connection she can attain. Similarly, the flickering shadows and low lighting of the scene serve to highlight the impending doom and darkness that shrouds Sarah and Kyle’s relationship. While the filmmakers of The Terminator did reflect Kyle’s affirmations of love in the scene shortly after, the lack of action taken previous to Kyle’s words minimize the potential impact this scene (among many others) could have had.

• For my paper I will be discussing the movie Good Will Hunting (1997), directed by Gus Van Sant. Good Will Hunting is a film about a janitor, Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon), who works for Harvard and is an unrecognized math genius, until he is discovered one day by one of Harvard’s top professors. Through his therapy sessions with his therapist (played by Robin Williams), Will Hunting realizes the course of the life he wants to live and eventually turns his life around from the repetitive cycle he has grown comfortable with. The movie originally began as a script for a playwriting class Matt Damon was taking at Harvard, and was finished by Ben Affleck. Good Will Hunting utilized a $10 million dollar budget to gross $225.9 million in the box office.
• The movie can be viewed as the nationalistic myth of the rise of an American working class member embedded in the tale of a talented individual whose growth is hindered by his stubborn nature. In the paper I plan on discussing the screenwriters Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and how their life experiences are expressed in every element of the film, from its setting in Harvard to the plot, and particularly, the production. My argument is that the story behind the production is why Good Will Hunting prevails as a national archetype and to compare the raw background of the screenwriting and production to certain elements in the movie.
• Concerns: Is this enough material for me to write about and how will I further extend and elaborate my argument? If I can’t find any scholarly articles on production, can I use a new website article?

The Graduate (1967) is a prime example of a story that highlights the universal archetype of a protagonist who is characterized by doubt, aimlessness and a refusal to come to terms with their future. The closing scene of The Graduate encapsulates this theme as, at first, the absence of music in the beginning focuses on the couple joyfully entering the bus and the ominous “The Sound of Silence” begins. As the gleeful smiles of Ben and Elaine dissipate and the couple sits without speaking to each other, the lines “and the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains within the sound of silence”. The return of Simon and Garfunkel’s song signifies a full circle in Ben’s life. The indecision and doubt that originally paralyzed Ben in the scene where he leaves the airport is the same doubt that Ben faces in the last moments of the movie, where he must come to terms with his future with Elaine. Similarly, the closing image of the bus, shot from behind as it disappears into the distance, captures the idea of the unknown and the couple’s hanging future, as Elaine and Ben ride to a destination unbeknownst to neither them nor the audience.

The Graduate also represents the superficiality of the American Dream, which is hinted at by the clever line at Benjamin’s welcome home party, made by a potential business associate: “Just one word… plastics”. The idea of plasticity is not only present in the artificial interactions between Benjamin and his guests at the party, but also in the contrived nature of his relationship with Mrs. Robinson. His decision to sleep with her stems out of a desperate need to make a decision and act on anything. This despondence and desperation on Benjamin’s part represents a common attitude among people that finds it roots in the American Dream: a desire and yearning to grasp onto purpose and success without true understanding of the things they truly seek.

Red River and Sunrise are two films that both feature internal conflicts between the protagonists and highlight the themes of love and pride. In Red River, the physical conflict between Dunson and Matt materializes the emotional conflict Dunson experiences as he struggles between his prideful, tyrannical nature and his love and friendship for Matt. The recurring notion of pride that presents itself as Dunson’s character flaw is the theme that is brought forth by the fight between Matt and Dunson. In the climax between the two characters, their lives, as well as their friendships are at stake. This internal struggle between pride and friendship is resolved by Tess’s intervention resulting in Dunson’s eventual recognition of his power complex and relinquishment of control. The final indication of resolution in Red River is Dunson’s offer to Matt of branding Matt’s initials onto the Red River Brand.

On the other hand, Sunrise highlights the mental conflict between the husband’s desire to be with his mistress and his guilt and growing love for his wife. In this climactic scene, the life of the wife is at stake, simultaneously putting the husband’s moral character at stake. Compared to Red River, the conflict in Sunrise was less physical and more internalized, as the conflict took place in the husband’s mind. The recurring theme of guilt is presented when the husband attempts to drown his wife but his guilt wins over and he ceases his advancements. In the case of Sunrise, the resolution of conflict is not as clear as it was in Red River, where Tess is the physical facilitator of resolution. Instead, viewers can see the change in the husband’s mind by the change of his movements from slow and daunting to his halting and sudden. The non-diagetic bell sounds also signal an abrupt change from the climax to resolution.

Together, Red River and Sunrise highlight the themes of pride and guilt which foster emotional turmoil within the protagonists and are resolved through changes in mindset and mentality.

As Madison sat curled up in the crowded theater of De Neve Auditorium on a cold, drizzly Saturday night, she tried to blink away the tears that were pooling in her eyes. The clear chemistry between actors Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga exacerbated the heartbreaking ending of A Star Is Born: Jackson, Ally’s country star husband, killed himself during one of Ally’s shows after being unable to overcome his past demons of drugs and alcohol. On screen, Ally croons “I’ll Never Love Again”, a song Jackson wrote to his wife before he died. As the screen cuts to a previous scene of Jackson singing the ballad with tenderness, Madison feels her tears leave a salty trail down her cheek.

Throughout the movie, the soundtrack of A Star is Born encapsulates the powerful emotions associated with a whirlwind love yet also deep grief. Unlike most movies, where music serves as an accompaniment to the plot, A Star Is Born utilizes the soundtrack as another dimension of the film, and makes the final scene even more emphatic.

During the end credits, Madison vividly recalls another one of the ballads in the movie: “Always Remember Us This Way”. The song, sung at the beginning of the movie, foreshadows the tragic death of Jackson while attempting to preserve the high points of their love, and a wave of sadness hits Madison, as she empathizes with Ally as someone who has lost a loved one in their life. The raw grief and emotion captured in the lyrics and performance of Lady Gaga in the scene still lies in Madison’s memory today as she listens to the heartbreaking chords that resound in her head.

In the auditorium, as Madison looked to her left and right, discreetly wiping her eyes, she noticed many others among the crowd doing the same. As she left that night, she realized that the multitude of rushing emotions that result from music are what compose some of the most emotionally moving scenes in movies that can serve as communal cathartic experiences to bring a room of strangers together.