Conversational Implicature Used by The Character Sean From Good Will Hunting Movie

Abstract

Communication with individuals who have experienced trauma, such as PTSD, requires strategic linguistic choices so as not to offend them. This study aims to analyze the meaning behind the utterances and the use of conversational implicature by the therapist character, Sean, in the movie Good Will Hunting (1997) as a primary tool for engaging with his interlocutors.  Employing a qualitative descriptive method,  this research examines Sean’s utterance from the original movie script by categorizing them as either generalized or particularized conversational implicature. The findings reveal that Sean almost exclusively uses particularized conversational implicature. This is not a random occurrence but a deliberate therapeutic strategy designed to deal with   Will’s intellectual and emotional defense mechanism,   which makes their communication ineffective. The analysis demonstrates that Sean’s implicature functions to establish trust,  challenge  Will’s intellectual shields, model vulnerability,  and facilitate an emotional breakthrough.  This study concludes that particularized conversational implicature may serve as a powerful and empathetic communication tool in sensitive interactions by bridging linguistic theory with psychological analysis to illustrate how indirect language can be fundamental to therapeutic progress.