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Depiction of John Nash’s Schizophrenia in The Film a Beautiful Mind

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Words: 661 |

Page: 1|

4 min read

Published: Mar 18, 2021

Words: 661|Page: 1|4 min read

Published: Mar 18, 2021

The film A Beautiful Mind focuses on a brilliant, mathematician named John Nash, who shows himself as a person with an abnormal character, is very antisocial and is not easily distracted, is very applied and does not like people because of his poor social skills. John works with tension and dedication to come up with a concept in game theory while he is a student in Princeton University. After much sacrifice and dedication that Nash puts day by day, he adequately fulfills his work, however it affects his mental health since he is constantly working under stress and gets agitated when things don’t result to the way he has expected. While he is working at a private research university and is a professor at Princeton, he is diagnosed schizophrenic although his psychotic disorder has managed to go unnoticed for years because ‘eccentricity’ was common in his field. Nash suffers from constant hallucinations, which in fact he have had an imaginary roommate throughout his college years. His hallucinations in working in The Pentagon have become an obsession and he imagines that he works for a government agent, discovering hidden messages in magazines and newspapers. Being a professor at the university, he began a relationship with one of his students, Alicia Larder, a physics student, with whom he married and had a son. As his mental state became worse, imagining Russian spies were following him to capture him because of his work, he is sent to a psychiatric hospital to get treatment, where he realizes that his imaginary friend and his work as a secret spy is not real. However, after his hospitalization and taking medication causes him to have marital problems and being unable to take care of his child leaves him to not take his medications. Therefore, his hallucinations begin to appear again and he thinks he is working for the government, but with the help of his wife he manages to seek help and try to do improve which drives him to go back to Princeton to find a job. As he now distinguishes between reality and his hallucinations he has decided to live his days by ignoring what he thinks he sees.

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In the beginning of the film John’s behaviors between his colleagues are noticeably different, as he isolates himself from them and doesn’t hold a conversation. As he enters Princeton University he feels as if he is in competition with other mathematicians so therefore he pushes himself to finish his work for many hours in his room. Due to his economic status it led him to be twice as motivated than the others because it is mentioned in the film that he was a poor college student. I think the amount of stress he endured caused him to produce abnormalities in the brain that interfered with his thinking, perceptual processes and had confusing thoughts. In other words, years of stress can possible lead to schizophrenia. As it is stated, “A study shows that severe forms of abnormal behavior. Such as schizophrenia and depression, occur proportionately more often among poor and socially disadvantaged groups”.

However, the film didn’t mention if John’s parents suffered from schizophrenia, therefore I believe this disorder was developed based on the reasons that John was stressed and always pressured himself in his work. In fact, it is stated in an article called, “Variable causes of social dysfunction in schizophrenia: The interplay of neurocognitive, personal, and intersubjective factors” by Jurij Bon that “The course of schizophrenia is far from following the same pattern in different individuals. The first psychotic episode can appear almost unexpectedly or, in contrast, the symptoms can develop slowly but progressively over a period of years.” Therefore, I believe his disorder was developed when he arrived to Princeton University because his first psychotic episode happened unexpectedly, even John himself knew it when he remembers he did not have a roommate when his imaginary friend comes in the dorm room and says he is his roommate. 

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Dr. Charlotte Jacobson

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Depiction Of John Nash’s Schizophrenia In The Film A Beautiful Mind. (2021, March 18). GradesFixer. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/depiction-of-john-nashs-schizophrenia-in-the-film-a-beautiful-mind/
“Depiction Of John Nash’s Schizophrenia In The Film A Beautiful Mind.” GradesFixer, 18 Mar. 2021, gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/depiction-of-john-nashs-schizophrenia-in-the-film-a-beautiful-mind/
Depiction Of John Nash’s Schizophrenia In The Film A Beautiful Mind. [online]. Available at: <https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/depiction-of-john-nashs-schizophrenia-in-the-film-a-beautiful-mind/> [Accessed 29 Mar. 2024].
Depiction Of John Nash’s Schizophrenia In The Film A Beautiful Mind [Internet]. GradesFixer. 2021 Mar 18 [cited 2024 Mar 29]. Available from: https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/depiction-of-john-nashs-schizophrenia-in-the-film-a-beautiful-mind/
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