Release the Hero within

Connecting community with Hollywood seems crazy but the double Oscar winning 'Good Will Hunting' has a lot to say about people who have lost their way, their challenges and the choices they make.

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon at a community media gathering to learn and exchange ideas on giving a voice to communities. Our team of four with newly formed connections from the day's previous workshops accepted the challenge of how to connect to the archetypal disenfranchised individual and in only 15 minutes!

The Scenario

Young male overcomes social inequalities and achieves university education against all the odds. Fast forward a few years later, he is back in his community and the bitter truth that the journey has only just begun. He is trapped in limbo, between broken promises and a world of old ways and lost friends.

5C's model

That very morning we had discovered the 5C's model of barriers to community engagement (earlier example https://www.slideshare.net/journalismnews/paul-myles-amplifying-the-unheard). These skills of conviction, capacity, confidence, connectivity and craft are needed to empower any community and the individuals within.

To enable a community to have its own voice it needs to speak from within. It follows individuals must believe they will be heard, the skills to speak, the willingness and tools to engage, and the skills to deliver a coherent story.

And of these, we focused on the main issue of lost conviction. Our young man had lost faith in a world which promised so much. Despite the skills learnt and experiences achieved, the assets of capacity and confidence are not enough. We didn't have time to explore how providing specific technical and digital skills might improve things.

Good Will Hunting

Our scenario shares the issue of conviction with 'Good Will Hunting'. In the film Matt Damon is a janitor who feels safe with his friends but hides two secrets. Robin Williams is a therapist who helps Matt overcome his inner demons and to think about his future.

Ben Affleck is Matt's best friend who helps him make the break from his community. Of course there are intertwined subplots but at it's heart it is the hero story who changes his beliefs and more importantly his inner conviction. A story where there are choices, a difficult journey and obstacles met with the help of a mentor and friends.

The crux of the story is the difference between belief and conviction. A belief is an opinion while a conviction is a firm belief which has a more complex and deep rooted impact on an person's approach to life. In science it is the difference between an hypothesis and a theory or believing a person is guilty and that person being convicted. The difficulty is separating out the emotional aspects of belief, its association with religion and its power in a motivational speech.

Whether you have seen the film or not, it will provide a reminder that some things we believe are based on incorrect information. The real lesson is that the journey is long and help is not a one-off. "It's not your fault", says Robin Williams, but the lesson is for both of them, and all of us.

Release your hero – just remember when things get tough, sometimes the answer is within.

Peter Ning, 2019, All Rights reserved