John Nash 's A Beautiful Mind Essay

Schizophrenia is a disorder that is characterized by a broken thought process and poor emotional responses. Typical symptoms of this disorder include delusions, paranoia, hallucinations, social dysfunctions,

In the movie A Beautiful Mind, which primarily takes place in the 1950s, John Nash exhibits signs of schizophrenia. He shows both positive and negative signs of the disorder. However, the movie does not portray all symptoms of schizophrenia accurately. Throughout Nash’s life-long battle with his illness, his family is dramatically affected. Overall, the movie implements a positive stigma of the disorder. While John Nash’s journey with his illness is not an entirely accurate depiction, the movie gives a positive light and awareness to schizophrenia.

The evidence of the cognitive symptoms, as with any disease, is more difficult to see externally in a person suffering from Schizophrenia. John Nash was not a very social person and I believe that this is attributed to the inability of expressing thoughts and feelings caused by the disease. His office in the movie looks somewhat like what I imagined the inside of his mind to look like; cluttered. Pictures on top of articles, on top of more pictures. There were papers hanging from the ceiling and string connecting pictures while forming patterns. One pattern I saw repeated a few times throughout the film was a spider- web image. This to me just shows how everything in his mind seemed as though it was connected in some way.

In Ron Howard's work, A Beautiful Mind, depicts the real life account of Professor John Nash and his struggle with paranoid Schizophrenia. The topic of mental illness has become popularized as of late, particularly in popular media (film, television). This focus on mental disorders has greatly improved awareness of mental disorders, but this media has become a double edged sword. The same process that educates people (ie these films and shows) can also disseminate largely false or misleading information. In the film, both sides of this information distribution phenomena are expressed. To evaluate the effectiveness of the movie to accurately describe the occurrence of paranoid Schizophrenia one must look at the accuracy of the onset,

The symptoms exhibited by those who have schizophrenia are hallucinations, delusions, lack of emotion, racing thoughts, incoherent thoughts, odd behaviors, and psychotic manifestations. Many who experience this disorder may hear voices or

Per the DSM-5 a diagnosis of schizophrenia requires the presence of the following symptoms: delusions of thoughts, prominent and lasting hallucinations, incoherent or marked loosening associations, catatonic behavior, and flat or grossly inappropriate affect (APA, 2013). If using the DSM-5 classification these characteristics must be present on a continuous basis for at least six months prior to diagnosis.

“To some extent insanity is a form of conformity; people are always selling the idea that people who have mental illness are suffering. But it’s really not so simple…I think mental illness or madness can be an escape also” (qtd. in “John Forbes Nash”). To many “normal” people, the terms “insanity” or “madness” portray a negative connotation-- the unfortunate ones “suffer” from mental illness. However, brilliant mathematician and Nobel laureate John Forbes Nash, who has paranoid schizophrenia, cherishes his unique condition as a means of retreat from the brutalities of reality (“John Forbes Nash”). Since ancient times, people have observed the link between madness and creative genius. Indeed, research has proven that the two conditions of

In the movie A Beautiful Mind, schizophrenia is portrayed as a very severe and debilitating mental condition that makes it difficult for the affected individual to think logically or behave normally. The

Psychological disorder is a condition characterized by abnormal feelings, behaviors, and thoughts. For my application paper I chose two movies, one is about John Forbs Nash Junior, and another one is about Nathaniel Antony Ayers Junior. As you might have already guessed the movies are called “A Beautiful Mind”, and “The Soloist”. In “A Beautiful Mind” Russell Crowe portrays one of the most famous mathematicians of the 20th century John Nash, who attended Princeton University on Carnegie scholarship. Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder that affects emotion, perception, behavior and thought. Unlike identity disorder, schizophrenia does not involve a split personality. It is a disorder through which behaviors, thoughts, and perceptions are

“A Beautiful mind” is a story based on the life of John Forbes Nash, who is a famous mathematician. Unfortunately, he is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia that majorly affects his personal and social life. Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder in which the patient’s ability to function is impaired by severely distorted beliefs, perceptions, and thought processes (Hockenbury, 2010).

The film A beautiful Mind (2001) is brilliant dramatic biography of a math genius John Nash who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a disorder of diverse symptoms starting from delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, catatonic, disorganized behavior. That result in a dysfunction in daily behaviors and relations. John Nash the main character is presented as arrogant, socially awkward mathematician who is always closed off in his room making time only for new discoveries. Throughout the first part of the movie he is presented as somewhat normal but shy person, but halfway through one discovers that most of the places and situations are an illusions in his mind with no reality.

In the movie, "A Beautiful Mind", the main character, John Nash, is a mathematician who suffers from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is actually the most chronic and disabling of the major mental illnesses and it distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, interprets reality and relates to others.

Schizophrenia is a mental disease that affects the mind, it prevents you from knowing what's real to what is simply a fragment of the person's imagination. For those who suffer from schizophrenia it's an ongoing battle that has no cure. Not only does it take a toll on the person's life , but also on those who are around for the journey. In the movie , A Beautiful Mind , John Nash a mathematician suffers from delusional paranoia, which takes him years to come to realize isn't real. Nash was truly an exceptional human being not only was he brilliant he had a good heart, and many of his colleagues respected his line of work.

In some people's cases, Schizophrenia appears suddenly and without warning. But for most it comes slowly, with subtle warning signs and a gradual decline in functioning long before the first severe episode. “In the early phases of Schizophrenia people often seem eccentric, unmotivated, emotionless, and reclusive (Helpguide.org).” They may isolate themselves and not want to participate in daily activities such as playing with their children, going outside, or getting off the couch. They abandon their hobbies and they do not do well in their jobs. “The most common early warning signs of Schizophrenia include: social withdrawal, hostility or suspiciousness, deterioration of personal hygiene, having a flat and expressionless gaze, the inability to cry or express joy, inappropriate laughter or crying, depression, oversleeping or insomnia, odd or irrational statements, forgetfulness or the inability to concentrate, extreme reaction to criticism, and or strange use of words or way of speaking (Helpguide.org).” There are five types of symptoms of Schizophrenia. Positive is a symptom that involves having hallucinations or delusions. Negative is when one shows no emotion or flat behavior. Avolation is when a person shows little interest in whatever they are doing. Cognitive behavior is when you have disorganized speech or memory loss. Catatonic behavior is considered poor functioning such as your voluntary muscles

Maintaining accuracy while producing a biographical film is a difficult undertaking. It requires complex research and genuine understanding of the person in order to accurately represent them on screen. In 2001, film makers attempted to translate to screen the life of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (Gazer & Howard). John Nash, who is a notable figure in the world of academia and mathematics, won the Nobel Prize in economics for his game theory (Nash, 1994). Nash is also widely known for his long-term struggle with mental illness and was diagnosed with schizophrenia during his mid-thirties (Samels & MacLowry, 2002). In order to examine the accuracy of this portrayal it is necessary to examine the aspects of schizophrenia displayed in the film such as the mannerisms, signs and symptoms, and forms of treatment; while comparing them to the actual realities of this disorder.