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College of Nursing
MOVIE ANALYSIS
A BEAUTIFUL
MIND””
SUBMITTED BY:
ROLAN A. NUQUI
GROUP 36
SUBMITTED TO:
ARLISS KRIS S. SALAS, RN, MN
SUMMARY
Biopic of the famed mathematician John Nash and his lifelong struggles
with his mental health. Nash enrolled as a graduate student at
Princeton in 1948 and almost immediately stood out as an odd duck.
He devoted himself to finding something unique, a mathematical
theorem that would be completely original. He kept to himself for the
most part and while he went out for drinks with other students, he
spends a lot of time with his roommate, Charles, who eventually
becomes his best friend. John is soon a professor at MIT where he
meets and eventually married a graduate student, Alicia. Over time
however John begins to lose his grip on reality, eventually being
institutionalized diagnosed with schizophrenia. As the depths of his
imaginary world are revealed, Nash withdraws from society and it's not
until the 1970s that he makes his first foray back into the world of
academics, gradually returning to research and teaching. In 1994, John
Nash was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.
DIAGNOSIS
DESCRIPTION
POTRAYS OF DISORDER
He exhibits many of the symptoms characteristic to paranoid
schizophrenia, especially social withdrawal, a unique movement (his
walk), a flat emotional response, and of course, the telltale delusions.
MANIFESTATION (SCENE)
TREATMENT (SCENE)
Part of Nash's treatment for his schizophrenia included a course of
"shock" therapy, five times a week for 10 weeks. Suffice to say that, in
the early part of the 20th century, it was noted that epileptics who
suffered from convulsions rarely suffered from schizophrenia. The
thought was that the convulsions were protective. Consequently, many
forms of inducing convulsions were tried, e.g., with insulin (as in Nash's
case), but electroconvulsive therapy appeared to be the safest and
most controllable way to induce convulsions, and the results were
often dramatic.
This film made me think about how people have a tenancy to convince
themselves of truths in order to quell their own remorse, guilt, or
others negative feelings. Although it was a somewhat different
situation with Nash (his delusions were so realistic they had to be
true), it is still the same basic principle. I have betrayed what I know to
be right on occasion, and as a human tendency I tried to convince
myself that what I had done was not really bad, or some other story in
order to deal with my own conscience. Although I am usually able to
see through such self-lies, the soothing of your conscience is a very
powerful offer. I believe that the appropriate response to this self-
cheating is to sit back and evaluate the situation you are in to see why
you are betraying your own sense of right and wrong. Judge the
situation to make sure you don't go too far past your own code of
ethics, and make sure the prize is worth the effort. If I had followed
that suggestion during the various times I have cheated myself, there
would be no guilt to my actions as I would have though them out fully
and clearly at the time.
Angeles University Foundation
College of Nursing
MOVIE ANALYSIS
A BEAUTIFUL
MIND””
SUBMITTED BY:
SUBMITTED TO:
I. Summary
A biopic of the meteoric rise of John Forbes Nash Jr., a math prodigy
able to solve problems that baffled the greatest of minds. And how he
overcame years of suffering through schizophrenia to win the Nobel
Prize. Written by Anonymous
John Nash goes through a myriad of highs and lows from his time as a
Mathematics student in graduate school at Princeton in the late 1940's
to his Nobel Prize win for Economics in 1994. A brilliant but somewhat
arrogant and antisocial man, Nash preferred to spend his time with his
thoughts, which were primarily of seeing mathematical formula
associated with everyday occurrences, than with people. Two people
he did make a connection with were Charles, his roommate at
Princeton, and Alicia Larde, one of his students when he was teaching
at M.I.T. in the early 1950's. He and Alicia eventually marry. As time
goes on, Nash lives more and more within himself which causes major
problems in his life. But Alicia stands by her husband to his redemption
to the Nobel Prize win. Nash learns that his graduate school colleagues,
with whom he had a cordial but somewhat distant relationship, are
closer friends than he imagined, although in his later life he really does
miss Charles' company more than anything despite knowing that
spending time with Charles is not in his or anyone's best interest.
II. Schizophrenia
A. Brief Discussion
The doctor is always stressing to the patient that, not taking the drug
as prescribed will just make the disease more severe and
Schizophrenia is irreversible according to the doctor. But Nash still
tried to fight the said irreversible disease.
After watching the movie A Beautiful Mind with Russell Crowe as John
Nash, my views on mental illness have greatly changed. I thought that
in general the movie was awesome and it was a great movie to watch
in class. I actually got to enjoy the movie instead of trying to examine
every scene like I usually have to do in other classes when we watch a
movie. John Nash was an amazing man and he had a huge positive
impact on the American public.
I have learned a good deal about mental illness after watching this
movie. When I think of someone with a mental illness I usually think of
some guy in a mental institution in a straight jacket. This movie
showed me that mentally ill people can lead very productive and
happy lives. Although he had his hard times, with medication and
treatment he was able to overcome his illness and have a decently
normal life. I also learned that people with mental illnesses can’t help
that they are insane. It is something they are born with. Mentally ill
people are some of the world’s most indeed need our help. So let us do
our best to help them fight their irreversible disease.