Schizophrenia In John Nash's Film A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind successfully portrays John Nash’s story of living with schizophrenia while still being a brilliant mathematician, husband, and father. The effectiveness of the film comes from it’s ability to lead the audience into John’s mind without realizing he was experiencing delusions and hallucinations. Charles, Marcee, and Parcher and the events and conversations associated with these characters appear so real that it is a genuine shock to the audience to discover that they exist only in John’s imagination. This very realistic portrayal of John’s hallucinations and delusions help the audience to understand just how real they are to the person experiencing them and why it is so difficult for someone suffering from schizophrenia to decipher …show more content…
Without Alicia’s unconditional love and commitment to John despite his illness, he probably would have been forced to stay in the psychiatric facility. With her support, he learns to accept his illness and chooses to cope with it by ignoring his hallucinations rather than dealing with the effects of the medication again. Though he still experiences the hallucinations, he is able to continue living a normal life and begins teaching again, which shows that those with mental illness can still thrive.

The way this film effectively portrays the realistic nature of delusions and hallucinations, the effects of mental illness and antipsychotic medications on normalcy of life, and the importance of loving, supportive relationships is all crucial in providing insight and understanding for someone aspiring to be a mental health professional who may work with individuals and their families dealing with mental