Abnormal Psychology Movie Critique- A Beautiful Mind

Mental illness is often portrayed in films as debilitating conditions of the mind can create ample ideas for dramatic confrontations in films. Most often the mental illnesses that are portrayed have extreme symptoms such as paranoia, delusions, hallucinations or antisocial behaviors. The portrayal of mental illness can be both beneficial and detrimental to the field of psychology. If the mental illness is represented accurately the film can advance the cause of the illness by increasing the public’s understanding of the condition. However, if the illness is misrepresented individuals who have the condition could be stigmatized. The critique will analyze A Beautiful Mind, a film that portrays an individual who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The analysis will focus on whether the film provides an accurate clinical picture of the illness. The impact of the film on the community of individuals with schizophrenia will also be examined.

A Beautiful Mind is a film directed by Ron Howard, starring Russell Crowe as the famous mathematician John Nash and Jennifer Connelly as his loyal wife. The film tells the true story of Noble prize-winning mathematicians John Nash who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. The film begins with John Nash’s early academic life at Princeton University. It then follows his career, marriage and growing mental illness that would debilitate his life for a period of time. The film ends positively as it demonstrates how Nash was able to overcome his illness and continue his academic career as he is able to teach. The final scene of the film shows Nash being awarded the Nobel Prize and supported by his wife; however his delusions continue to appear to be a part of his life.

A Beautiful Mind is filmed in a manner in which the audience is at first not aware that Nash is suffering from a mental illness of any kind. Nash appears at the beginning of the film as an individual who does not have many friends and is socially awkward. He does not know how to engage with his classmates and has difficulty making friends apart from his roommate. Nash also has difficulty developing romantic relationships with women as he does not know how to approach them or engage in conversation. The audience is led to believe that the delusions are real as it is implied that his mathematical ability led him to be recruited by the government to decipher messages from the Soviet government. However as the film continues it becomes clear that Nash is suffering from some kind of mental illness. Nash is subsequently diagnosed with schizophrenia and then placed on antipsychotic medication. Due to the medication Nash’s brilliance suffers and he refuses to take it. Towards the end of the film Nash is shown to have accepted his diagnosis of schizophrenia and continues to live with the delusions as he refuses to take medication.

Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by a distortion of thought processes and a lack of appropriate emotional affect. Various types of schizophrenia can occur such as paranoid, catatonic and disorganized. The symptoms of the general condition can be further classified as “…psychomotor poverty (poverty of speech, lack of spontaneous movement and various aspects of blunting of affect); disorganisation (inappropriate affect, poverty of content of speech, and disturbances of the form of thought); and reality distortion (particular types of delusions and hallucinations)” (Liddle, 1987). In the case of John Nash, he had paranoid schizophrenia. Individuals with schizophrenia do not respond to most methods of treatment such as therapy. Antipsychotic medication is often the most effective form of treatment. However due to the negative side effects of the medications like lithium, such as sedation, sexual dysfunction, and anxiety, many individuals who suffer from schizophrenia will engage in noncompliance with lithium. The prognosis for individuals with schizophrenia is dire as the condition cannot be cured. Individuals with schizophrenia are often unable to function as they cannot maintain work and have difficulty with relationships.

Nash’s schizophrenia that was portrayed in the film fits the above descriptions of the illness. Psychomotor poverty is demonstrated in the film as Nash is slow-moving throughout the scenes, has difficulty maintaining conversation with others and in demonstrating appropriate emotion. Nash’s psychomotor poverty is further portrayed through his unusual walk. Throughout the film as he is interacting with others he will more often talk to himself rather than speak to others. Not only is Nash’s emotional affect blunted but the tone of his voice is also significantly blunted in the film. Nash’s voice does not appear to indicate any emotion as it remains flat most of the time.

Despite being a brilliant mathematician, Nash was shown to have disorganized thoughts throughout the film. Also through his conversations with others it is shown that he has difficulty with making socially appropriate conversation, which increases his withdrawal from the company of others. While trying to pick up women Nash would begin discussing mathematics instead of engaging in small talk, which he may be incapable of doing. Along with blunted emotion at times Nash would exhibit inappropriate affect at time during social situations. As he would not smile during appropriate times or attempt to be pleasant with others. Nash’s inability to interact in social circles limits the number of supportive people he has in his life. This is indicative of what most individuals with schizophrenia will experience. These symptoms in the film represent an individual who is very bright in certain areas but has disturbances of thought in other areas.

Nash’s reality distortion was the part of his schizophrenic condition that was represented the most often in the film. Nash suffered from hallucinations in the film of real people who he thought were a part of his life. Nash had relationships with these individuals and thought they were real up until it is pointed out to him by his wife that they were hallucinations. This is demonstrated through his relationship with his perceived roommate. Nash develops a long-lasting friendship with his roommate and his roommate’s niece only to discover that they were figments of his imagination. Nash also believed his interactions with government agents to be real as well however these were also hallucinations. Nash’s beliefs that the government wanted him to decipher messages from the Soviets were a part of the delusions that can occur with the condition. The delusions lead Nash to look for secret messages all around his life. Nash also begins to feel paranoid that he is being followed when he drops off information about the messages. The delusions and paranoia would have led him to be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.

The film accurately portrayed certain aspects of Nash’s schizophrenia. Rosenstock (2003), found that Crowe did a good job of acting out the mannerisms of an individual with schizophrenia. Even Nash’s walk in the film is similar to the motor movements of an individual with schizophrenia. The film also captured many of the mannerisms of an individual with schizophrenia and the difficulty they have in engaging in social interactions. The film also demonstrated how an individual with schizophrenia can feel that the hallucinations and delusions they are experiencing are real. This is demonstrated as the audience at first is led to believe that these delusions were real. The film also correctly identified the forms of treatment that were used to treat schizophrenia and their relative effectiveness. Medication is often used in the treatment of schizophrenia and can lead to the side effects experienced by Nash. Individuals with schizophrenia will most often not take medication due to these side effects as Nash refused to do in the film.

Despite these accuracies, there were some misconceptions that occurred in the film. One of these was the visual hallucinations experienced by Nash. While visual hallucinations do occur for some individuals they are rare. Auditory hallucinations are most often experienced by individuals with schizophrenia. The film also may have misrepresented the ease with which Nash was able to manage his hallucinations without medication. The film appears to give Nash a happy ending as he is not only able to manage his condition without medication but he also continues to be successful in both his personal life and in his career. “Many patients who have watched the movie have derisively commented that much of the story seems unrealistic, especially the high achievement despite illness, the unwavering family support, and the degree of community reintegration” (Rosenstock, 2003). This is often not the case for individuals with schizophrenia as their families are often unable to manage their care and they are often isolated from others. The condition can also be highly disabling and it is unlikely that they would be able to find consistent employment. Unlike Nash who is able to earn a Nobel Prize and continuing teaching at a prestigious university. This portrayal of success can mislead moviegoers about the prognosis of the condition as they may believe that a little hard work and determination can be the cure.

Although the film brings awareness to the condition of schizophrenia to the general public the misconception in the film can be harmful. Individuals with schizophrenia who see the movie may think that they do not need medication either to become well. This message can also be passed along to the general audience who may already be skeptical about medication. The film’s misleading portrayal of the hallucinations can also lead individuals with schizophrenia to be stigmatized in ways that the filmmaker may not have intended. The schizophrenic individual could be seen as dangerous if the typical moviegoer thinks that the visual hallucinations can influence the individual to commit crimes or try to hurt others. This is especially the case in the recent mass shootings reported in the media that have occurred at the hands of mentally ill individuals.

Despite these concerns, the film does a good job of showing someone who suffers from schizophrenia. The film not only brings awareness to the general public about the condition of schizophrenia but it also can be used as a teaching tool for psychologists in training or who are still in school. While conditions such as schizophrenia are written about in textbooks it can be difficult to visualize what an individual with the condition will present like in person. Films can be important tools to not only help associate an illness with an individual but also to get an idea of the effect on an individual’s life who is suffering from a mental illness. This can also assist psychologists with being able to identify certain traits or mannerisms in patients they may first begin working with in a clinical setting. Working with individuals with extreme mental health conditions such as schizophrenia can be daunting work. However having an awareness of what that individual may be like will not only put the psychologist at ease but also build empathy towards the individual who is suffering from schizophrenia. Films such as A Beautiful Mind that portray mental illness in an accurate manner can be valuable for both use within the field as a teaching tool and also in the general public to be used to build awareness about mental health. This could increase advocacy and funding for mental health programs and reduce the stigma often associated with these conditions.

References

A Beautiful Mind. Dir. Ron Howard. Perf. Russel Crowe and Jennifer Connelly. Dreamworks,2006.

Liddle, P. F. (1987). The symptoms of chronic schizophrenia. A re-examination of the positive-negative dichotomy. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 151(2), 145-151.

Nevid, J. Abnormal Psychology in a Changing World, 8th edition. Pearson Publishing, 2011.

Rosenstock, J. (2003). Beyond A Beautiful Mind: film choices for teaching schizophrenia.Academic Psychiatry, 27(2), 117-122.