Good Will Hunting

[curiousjane]

So, Good Will Hunting was on television today. This is the second time I have watched it. It struck me that Will Hunting seemed to have a lot of tendencies traditionally associated with INTJism. This was especially striking to me when he turned down a job with the government and gave a long-winded, detailed description of why he wouldn't process code for an organization that might kill thousands. Such a big picture narrative.

What do you think? Was his character INTJ? And if so, how do you think Matt Damon did in portraying it?

[sriv]

Matt Damon does a good job playing a lot of NT roles. Never watched the movie myself.

I am pretty sure he was an INTJ in the Bourne series.

That is the only reason I posted here.

[Mozzes]

Matt Damon does a good job playing a lot of NT roles. Never watched the movie myself.

I am pretty sure he was an INTJ in the Bourne series.

That is the only reason I posted here.

I don't necessarily know how you would tell what type a character is considering in both GWH and the Bourne movies his character exhibit abnormal psychology.

[TheLastMohican]

I have not seen all of Good Will Hunting.
But I have the Bourne Trilogy and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Both were definitely NT roles, and Damon did a spectacular job in portraying them. He is probably an NT himself.
(I find Mr. Ripley particularly fascinating. He had the smooth manipulation skills of an ENTP, but also had deep remorse and was quite introspective. By the end, he genuinely hated himself.)

[Mozzes]

I'd be interested in why people think that Bourne is an NT. He completely sacrificed all personal freedom and sense of identity to serve his country. Wouldn't that be the anti-NT? He struck me much more as an ST type.

[ElstonGunn]

I just saw Good Will Hunting for the first time recently. I related to Damon's character quite a bit. Of course, the ending of the movie disappointed me a little, but I could see pegging him as an INTJ, inasmuch as any fictional character can have a personality type.

The Ben Affleck character and the Math Teacher guy annoyed me a lot. Both for the same reason.

[sriv]

I'd be interested in why people think that Bourne is an NT. He completely sacrificed all personal freedom and sense of identity to serve his country. Wouldn't that be the anti-NT? He struck me much more as an ST type.

In the Ultimatum he got really confused and he asked a lot of questions digging into parts of his subconscious. Ns tend to have that quest for self-identity more than Ss.

[Mozzes]

In the Ultimatum he got really confused and he asked a lot of questions digging into parts of his subconscious. Ns tend to have that quest for self-identity more than Ss.

Bleh, seems to be the typical bias from these types of sites that S-types can't be highly intelligent, intellectually curious, or psychologically complex. :p

[sriv]

Bleh, seems to be the typical bias from these types of sites that S-types can't be highly intelligent, intellectually curious, or psychologically complex. :p

idk. He might be like me. IxTJ.

Come to think of it, he does have excellent memory like ISTJ. But he also has amazing Se which would contradict.

[Monte314]

I have seen the Bourne movies, read the first Bourne book, have seen "God Will Hunting", and am a professional mathematician, so I connect with your question.

In GWH, all the characters who depict mathematicians act as mathematicians really act, except that most real math folks are much more social and less malevalent than those in the movie. The mathematicians I know are very egalitarian.

As to the Bourne character... I have more trouble figuring this one out, and I don't know enough about MBTI yet to say much of value about this.

[TheEnlightenedOne]

I thought that in both GWH and the Bourne series, Damon's characters both got too passionate about things that I can confidently label him an INTJ. Not sure what he would really be, though.

[notoppings]

Matt did an excellent job in this film, this is one of those movies that show the reach of an actor, I saw Will Hunting not Matt Damon to me an sign of great acting ability. As for INTJ I agree the character and the actor display signs.:thumbsup::thumbsup: two thumbs up.

[Uberfuhrer]

Why do people think of Jason Bourne as anything but ISTP? Bourne is an action-oriented improviser.

As for his character in Good Will Hunting, I couldn't say because I haven't seen the movie. Based on what I've heard, though, I'd say INTP, maybe ISTP.

[sriv]

Why do people think of Jason Bourne as anything but ISTP? Bourne is an action-oriented improviser.


OH. That's it. I was discluding the P since he seems to be goal-oriented, but the improviser definitely fits.

[TheLastMohican]

I'd be interested in why people think that Bourne is an NT. He completely sacrificed all personal freedom and sense of identity to serve his country. Wouldn't that be the anti-NT? He struck me much more as an ST type.

Remember that he went through intensive "behavior modification."

[Uberfuhrer]

OH. That's it. I was discluding the P since he seems to be goal-oriented, but the improviser definitely fits.

And I also didn't think there was anything particularly "Mastermind" about Bourne. Any type is goal-oriented, but the manner of approaching it is different.

[azelismia]

I have not seen all of Good Will Hunting.
But I have the Bourne Trilogy and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Both were definitely NT roles, and Damon did a spectacular job in portraying them. He is probably an NT himself.
(I find Mr. Ripley particularly fascinating. He had the smooth manipulation skills of an ENTP, but also had deep remorse and was quite introspective. By the end, he genuinely hated himself.)


have you ever read the talented mr ripley? in the book he did not feel any remorse whatsoever.





azelismia added to this post, 2 minutes and 8 seconds later...

idk. He might be like me. IxTJ.

Come to think of it, he does have excellent memory like ISTJ. But he also has amazing Se which would contradict.


Not really. in the functions test my Ne and Ni are both extremely high. so are my te and ti. they are within a point of each other.

[Xenolar]

Ah, Good Will Hunting. Quite a good movie.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, there seems to be a tendency on this site to try to "INTJ-ize" famous individuals or fictional characters--that is, too many well-known people (alive, dead, or fictional) are erroneously being typed as INTJ merely because this is INTJForum. Matt Damon's character in Good Will Hunting is certainly not an INTJ. For one, he is far too impulsive and physically-oriented to be someone with inferior Se, not to mention, any J in general. Similarly, he is too outspoken, socially active/adept, and outwardly-focused to even be considered as an I, let alone an INxx. T, I think, seems relatively clear. N/S with Will is a little bit unclear, as he seemingly enjoys spending some time to engage in studying relatively abstract material, yet at the same time, he is a rather earthy and physical individual. I'll have to see the movie again and scrutinize it to come to a conclusion on this. For the time being, though, I would say that Will is ExTP (with very strong T, strong P, and moderate E).

Similarly, Jason Bourne is not an INTJ either. By watching only a fraction of one movie, one can easily deduce that he is certainly not an Se inferior type. Furthermore, there is nothing distinctly N about him. People may argue (as I have just seen) that he is an N due to him inquiring the plot behind everything and his strategic planning. This argument is very weak. First of all, if one reads the descriptions of N and S, there is little that mentions how inquisitive one is (although correlations may be drawn). Secondly, even if being inquisitive is a hallmark of N and not common of S (which not necessarily true, as just explained), we must also take into consideration that the character of Jason Bourne has his very life at stake. The only person he was had a relationship with was killed by the very people who try to kill him. Wouldn't anyone in this situation be motivated to find out the workings behind all of this? Secondly, Ns are described as being inclined towards abstract thought, yet there is nothing indicative of this in Bourne. Lastly, those who argue him to be an N based off his alleged strategic ability. To respond to this claim, although strategy and planning is often associated with N, it may be also associated with J, and furthermore, certainly does not exclude S. And, to conclude, what Jason Bourne exhibits may be more accurately described as great tactical ability, not great strategic ability. Tactics, as opposed to strategy, is a specialty of S types, most notably, ESTPs, ISTJs, and ISTPs.
In conclusion, Jason Bourne (in my opinion) is probably an ISTP (which of all S types, is most "N-like" and adept at strategy, which may be explain why he was thought to be INTJ). ESTP may be eliminated, since Bourne does not emit the excited aura that ExxPs generally do (instead, he is very cool and collected). ISTJ is a possibility, yet I tend to doubt it, since Bourne is seemingly relatively comfortable in utilizing Ne. ESTJ is perhaps the second strongest possibilty, yet ISTP seems more likely in the sense that Bourne is [appears] introverted.

[Marcus]

I think his character was not realistic. That's why it's hard to give a single type. He could be approximated as a mixture of an "I know it better" NT and an impulsive ESTP.

[TheLastMohican]

have you ever read the talented mr ripley? in the book he did not feel any remorse whatsoever.


No. I usually read the classics and historical nonfiction.
A movie is over in two hours. Otherwise I would run out of time. :undecided: