Truths About Schizophrenia In A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind inspired by the novel tells the true story of John Forbes Nash Jr., who made remarkable advancements in the field of mathematics while diagnosed with Schizophrenia. The beginning of the film introduces John Nash as this lonely genius who is fixated on finding an original idea as a way to cement his legacy and belief that the field of mathematics will lead him to a greater truth. “I cannot waste time with these classes and these books, memorizing the weak assumptions of lesser mortals. I need to look through the governing dynamics. Find a truly original idea. That ‘s the only way I ‘ll ever distinguish myself. It ‘s the only way that I ‘ll ever matter”(A Beautiful Mind, 2001). His deviant and egocentric attitude cross over to his difficulties socializing and connecting with other people, particularly women.

It’s during this stage of John’s life that he begins experiencing early symptoms of schizophrenia and meets his roommate Charles. Charles appears throughout the film and the viewer believes they are as real as John does. Charles acts as a voice of reason towards John when he experiences conflict and uncertainty. Most viewers don’t realize they are seeing John’s experiences from his own perspective, hallucinations and all. Both movie viewers and Nash are unaware that Charles and other characters introduced during the film do not actually exist. John Nash’s reality was distorted by hallucinations and delusions; he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. The movie unfolds as a memoir of John’s struggle with mental illness. Like sociologists who study subjective experiences of the mentally ill, the memoirist shares what it’s like living with mental illness in their own words.

In spite of John Nash’s mental illness affecting the way he thinks, acts, and interprets reality, he continues to advance his career as a mathematician. He teaches, does research and even develops a romantic relationship with a woman who will become his wife, Alicia. Simultaneously, John believes he’s working for the Department of Defense under a mysterious government agent, William Parcher. He’s convinced he’s performing top secret soviet code breaking and delivering his research to a top-secret mailbox. John is placed in a psychiatric hospital when he has an episode of intense paranoia while giving a speech at a lecture hall. John singles out men in suits as Soviet spies seeking to capture him. Dr. Rosen, a psychiatrist diagnoses John with schizophrenia. The movie continues to follow John’s treatment as he’s institutionalized, suffers through agonizing shock therapy and medications.

Alicia is initially surprised by the diagnosis yet stays with John even as she struggles to understand his illness. Things appear to improve for John until he stops taking his medications and the hallucinations return to haunt his life. When John realizes that Marcee, his niece, does not age, he comes to the conclusion that Charles, Marcie and Parcher do not exist. This moment of clarity gave Nash a grasp of reality that his logical brain used to fight the hallucinations without medications. John continued his teaching career at Princeton and in 1994 won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Economics, officially known as The Sveriges. John dedicated his accomplishments to his wife Alicia who played a major role in John’s life.

Connection to Course Material

Chapter 2 discusses mental illness from the patient’s perspective and how mental disorders are largely a social construct varying dramatically from society to society. The meaning and interpretation of social experiences become complicated when mental illness is involved. Treating mental disorders in biological terms negates the patient accounts. We read and study the experts and their theories while the voices of the mentally ill are not heard. A Beautiful Mind addresses this shortcoming giving voice to the brilliant yet tormented John Nash. Kate Millet’s (1990) memoir, The Looney-Bin Trip described her experiences being institutionalized for bipolar disorder and the subsequent damage to her identity. In the movie, A Beautiful Mind, director Ron Howard brilliantly shows the struggle of John’s reality and his relationships with those around him. Just as John is singled out by other people that witness his abnormal behavior in public, Kate Millet writes, “And your deliverance from the hell you lived through so heroically is not cause for rejoicing and congratulations but a stigma you will carry all your life”(Schnittker, p. 94-95).

Treatment for mental disorders has changed dramatically since the discovery of tranquilizers in the 1950’s when mental disorders became diseases of the brain and treatable with drugs like Prozac, Zoloft, and Celexa. Despite claims that serotonin deficiencies are responsible for depression and anxiety the hypothesis has never been verified. Drug companies have become very profitable yet their effectiveness is questionable as (Kirsch, 2010) found that “wonder” drugs are not much more effective than placebos. Furthermore, there’s discord between psychiatrists and patients who feel their doctors are uninterested in their stories and rate doctors highly if the patient feels they really seem to care about them.

It’s interesting that John Nash recognized the limitations of this biological approach to treatment. In the movie, Dr. Rosen asks John why he stopped taking his meds and John replied, “because I couldn’t do my work, I couldn’t take care of my baby and I couldn’t respond to my wife”(A Beautiful Mind, 2001). John Nash was encouraged by his wife to return to work at the University. His positive relationship with his wife, acceptance and understanding of his illness understanding of his peers and students allowed his genius to flourish.

The study of mental illness using physiological mechanisms like brain scans, blood levels, data from pharmacotherapy and using evidence of genetic or biological risk factors has led The National Institute of Mental Illness to promote “research premised on the definition of mental illness as a measurable dysfunction in neural circuitry.” One of the disorders that shows a genetic disposition is Schizophrenia, the kind suffered by John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. Schizophrenia is considered a rare, severe mental illness that affects approximately 1% of the population which is about a million people (Bruce & Raue, pg. 46).

Unlike the success of John Nash, many diagnosed with schizophrenia are unable to complete their education, work or function normally in society. Where John’s genius, ideas, supportive wife and determination to live, unmedicated in an accepting environment, most schizophrenics are not as fortunate. John Nash was afforded the opportunity to teach again despite his illness. When he was visited in his classroom by the person informing him that he was being considered for the Nobel Prize he asked a student if there was a man standing next to him. The student assured him the man was real so John engaged in conversation with the individual. This is bizarre behavior for most yet John functioned well in a tolerant and supportive environment. If all of society were as accepting and kind to those suffering from mental illness, perhaps we’d have more Nobel Laureates amongst us.

Personal Reflections

After watching this movie, examining the details of important scenes, I believe this film is able to accurately portray the complexities of schizophrenia to the audience. Although the scenes may not always accurately depict what specifically happened to John Nash, they still display concepts and truths about schizophrenia. Russell Crowe’s portrayal of the mathematician enlightened the audience about what it is like to go through life with schizophrenia as seen through the perspective of the person. However, I think the case of John Nash is very unique and deviates considerably from what the common schizophrenic person will struggle. John was able to somehow separate his symptoms of delusions from the real world without the use of medication which seems to be something most medical experts wouldn’t advise. The movie also incorporated many of the leading views and science that was known in the 1950s and 1960s that helps give the viewers a genuine look into what was understood about mental illness. Overall, I think this movie is a great example of what is it like to live with schizophrenia and promotes a positive message that even people living with a disability can accomplish amazing things.