A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind

This Ron Howard Oscar winning film is an action packed mind twister about a brilliant schizophrenic. John Nash, a mathematical genius who develops schizophrenia, was a troubled student at Princeton struggling to make a mathematical breakthrough. He spends most of his time alone in his room working equations until his discovery. After discovering his theory, Nash is offered a position at MIT as an instructor. It is here that Nash and two of his best friends are able to work on their own projects while also helping the Department of Defense with code breaking. This is also the time Nash develops his case of schizophrenia.

While working at MIT Nash begins to display positive symptoms of schizophrenia. His delusions begin with him having a relationship with a man from the Department of Defense. His delusions have him decoding magazines and newspapers for the D.O.D. trying to find where a bomb is being transported across the United States. These hallucinations eventually get Nash put into a psychiatric hospital.

In the hospital, tests are done on Nash to prove he is a schizophrenic. They then began attempting to treat his disorder. It looked as though some sort of shock therapy was used to end these delusions, but this doesn't seem to work. Medications are prescribed which put a stop to these delusional characters but have a depressing affect on Nash's everyday life.

The medication seems to make Nash develop a thought disorder. The medications make it hard for him to make it through everyday life. Nash, being a genius mathematician, can't concentrate on simple equations to figure them out. His notes and work turn into scribbles and confusion. When he stops taking the medication, the delusions come back. It takes his mind so far off reality; he almost drowns his son in the bath tub.

However, I feel this movie shows us a deeper side of people who deal with schizophrenia. We are able to see how people and their families are forced to deal with this illness on an every day basis. In this case we see a man who was able to control this disease without the use of medicines. A movie like this, I feel will open the eyes of everyone about this serious illness.