| dc.description.abstract | In this thesis, I will demonstrate the essentiality of communion relationships in the attainment of freedom, in which I understand freedom to be the capacity to flourish. To do so, I will conduct a comparative and philosophical analysis of the popular films Dead Poets Society (1989) and Good Will Hunting (1997). Specifically, I will analyze these films in light of Martin Buber’s seminal work I and Thou (1923), in which he categorizes human social existence into two modes: I-It relationships and I-You relationships. Whereas an I-It relationship is one of objectification, an I-You relationship is one of communion. Briefly, objectification is a failure at acknowledging the subjectivity of the other. Communion, on the other hand, is a state of intersubjectivity in which both persons reciprocally acknowledge the other’s subjectivity. Principally, I will propose that Dead Poets Society illustrates a failed attempt by John Keating at begetting freedom in his student Neil Perry, whereas Good Will Hunting displays a successful attempt between Sean Maguire and Will Hunting. The key reason for the different results of the films is that Will Hunting and Sean Maguire successfully enter into an I-You communion, whereas Neil and Keating fail to do so. Moreover, I will delineate the communion process (or the failure thereof in the case of Dead Poets Society) as three stages: presentation, communion, and post-communion. Notably, the nature of the failure or success at communion lies in Keating’s and Sean’s respective approaches at encountering Neil and Will, which proves critical for the young men’s development. Briefly, an encounter is, for Buber, a simultaneous movement of complete self-offering to and reception of the other. Therefore, I will show that where Keating fails to offer himself totally to Neil, thereby inhibiting his reception of Neil, Sean succeeds in his relationship with Will. As a result, Neil’s life tragically ends in alienation, whereas Will’s life begins anew in freedom. Ultimately, I will demonstrate from my analysis that the communion relationship is necessary in order to attain freedom and that film is a valuable source of philosophical reflection. | en |
