Densing, Jessica T.

BSN 3 - Leininger

A BEAUTIFUL MIND: A REFLECTION

"A Beautiful Mind" relates the story of John Forbes Nash, Jr., a gifted mathematician
who overcomes the inner conflict of schizophrenia to achieve the prestigious Nobel Prize. It is
a story of tremendous sadness and confusion, as one watches Nash and those dear to him
come to terms with his mental illness.

The story opens in the late 1940's at a reception for incoming students at the
prestigious Princeton University. John Nash has arrived on a Princeton fellowship, much to
the amusement of his fellow classmates. Here, he awkwardly attempts to socialize, but soon
realizes that he is of a different mindset. He is more aloof and shy than the others and would
rather skip class to pursue his one unique idea. That one, unique idea happens to be his theory
of "Non-cooperative Games." And it is this theory that helps him achieve a Sloan sabbatical,
work at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, a teaching position at MIT, and
eventually, the Nobel Prize in mathematics. He is uncomfortable in dealing with people.
Asked by his roommate Charles why he doesn't have any friends, Nash responds: "I don't
much like people and they don't much like me." Although seemingly comfortable with his
shyness, it is this quality that makes him both a mysterious and interesting character.

Equally mysterious is the character by the name of Parcher. Parcher is a secret agent
who pops in and out of John's life with details of an atomic bomb being kept secretly by the
Russians on American soil. To foil the plan, John must crack a variety of codes, detailing the
current whereabouts of Russian spies. While working as a teacher at MIT and working
covertly for the government, Nash discovers true love. Intrigued and unabashed by his
forwardness, a promising young graduate student falls in love with him. Alicia Larde is
unaware of the secret life that John keeps. And, after a short courtship, they marry and Alicia
becomes pregnant. It is here where John's paranoia begins to settle in. While pregnant, Alicia
discovers the truth behind John's work. She meets Dr. Rosen, a psychiatrist who oversees
John's treatment consisting of shots of insulin and shock therapy. However, it is not until later
in the film that John actually begins to understand his illness. In perhaps one of the most
compelling scenes, Dr. Rosen tells John that he cannot reason his problem away because the
problem is where his reason comes from. And if not properly treated, it will get worse. Alicia
must then choose to have him committed and lose him forever or stay by his side.

Very rarely will a film allow us to observe mental illness from the inside. And "A
Beautiful Mind" accomplishes this very well. Throughout the first half of the film, we are
introduced to characters and situations that seem real, yet we learn later as Nash learns
himself that they are creations of his imagination. This dramatic twist in the film changes our
perception of everything we've seen and challenges us to translate between what is real and
what is artificial.

On the brink of insanity, it is realistically hard to imagine anyone staying with John for
any period of time. Although not a complete vegetable, John struggles to cope with his new-
found reality and is determined to put his past to rest. And this is certainly a testament to
Alicia's commitment and love for John.

"A Beautiful Mind" is easy to watch. However, it is more difficult to fully understand
afterwards what you have just seen. The film is about a psychotically ill mathematician and
the difficult life he led up until the time he was awarded the Nobel Prize. It is also about how
love can conquer delusions; about how genius and schizophrenia can both exist in the same
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Densing, Jessica T. BSN 3 - Leininger

person. A true story gives special emotional power to a film as it is not just another fictional
story. The team behind "A Beautiful Mind" also had a mission: to show schizophrenia in a
different light; where it is linked to success, performance and recognition; with a person
displaying normal human emotions in the midst of a psychotic existence. They wanted to
portray a schizophrenic as more than just the sum of his symptoms. This is, of course,
admirable.

Comorbidity, exclusion, worsening health and mortality; this is what life is really like
for many people who suffer from schizophrenia. For a film to engage a viewer, it must have a
main character that the viewer can identify with. The Nobel Prize is at completely the other
end of the spectrum for people with schizophrenia, but it is more acceptable than misery to
the viewing public. "A Beautiful Mind" is a biopic, a portrayal of schizophrenia, and a
Hollywood drama with a message, all at the same time. However, having all these elements
together creates problems. The film is so full of good will that it is bursting at the seams. The
devices used to create dramatic excitement negatively affect the credibility of how
schizophrenia is portrayed.

The dramaturgy is classic and predictable, using a strong opening, the presentation, a
turning point and a climax – but real life is not like this. Love conquers all – maybe in films,
yes. But was his real life like this? Does it say anything about schizophrenia? Incredible
intellectual achievement despite almost inhuman obstacles – the Hollywood version has
characteristic traits that we are all familiar with, but often it does not mirror reality.

Suffering from schizophrenia at a young age can be traumatic, full of crises and
extremely difficult to accept. Life itself – a young budding adult life that is only just blooming
– is often surrounded by many disappointments and tumultuous situations: the strait-jacket of
happiness itself; shattered dreams, disrupted studies, broken hearts and often painful
psychotic symptoms that are ever present. A balancing act between a true existence in the
present and the stray flights from delusions inflicted by the mind and thoughts filled with
paranoid tormentors. The fight to be in charge of their own feelings, opinions and intellect,
soiled with periods when they wander into a psychotic imaginary world – at times charmingly
comfortable while at other times suffocating in their frightening powerlessness. Living for
many years like John Nash in the film "A Beautiful Mind" with undiagnosed schizophrenia
and gradually becoming paralysed by the whims of their delusions.

Dealing with schizophrenia, its changing symptoms and its accompanying effects, is a burden
of unimaginable weight for those afflicted with it and the people around them. Watching
someone you know gradually breaking down, both cognitively and in their personal care and
personality is like an unhappy story that has an uncertain end. Life has to be restarted using
the replay button. You have to lift your head high in the backwater of a thousand shattered
dreams.