Psychological Disorder in “A Beautiful Mind” Movie
1. The main character of the movie “A Beautiful Mind” is John Nash, who is officially diagnosed with schizophrenia (Grazer et al, 2002). However, the movie depicts the middle of the twentieth century, when this diagnosis was also made for the condition known today as Asperger syndrome (Goldstein, 2002). Indeed, the movie is provided as an example of fiction describing a person with both Asperger and schizophrenia (Lyons & Fitzgerald, 2005) in literature.
2. In the first half of the video, Nash shows typical symptoms of Asperger syndrome. He can hardly understand the social context during the punch bowl scene, lacks facial expressions, and has awkward movements and posture. John experiences problems with expression of empathy, especially to females. It is easier for him to avoid communication with his future wife than to perform the “social ritual”, before they have an intercourse (Grazer et al, 2002). Moreover, John shares these ideas with females, as he is unable to imagine being in their shoes, which is typical for people with Asperger (Lyons & Fitzgerald, 2005). However, the strongest evidence for this diagnosis comes from his focused interests and their dominance over social interactions.
The second half of the video shows that Asperger syndrome cannot explain all the symptoms observed for John Nash. The man suffers from hallucinations and delusions, which have occupied the significant portion of his life. He is suspicious about people around, and confident about the presence of Russian microphones everywhere in the clinics (Grazer et al, 2002). His speech becomes poor and it seems that it is hard for John to keep to straight ideas. The ultimate diagnosis made by the psychiatrist suggests that schizophrenia is responsible of all the manifestations observed in the beginning of the movie. However, if John were not so oriented on making a significant contribution to science, it would be true. Schizophrenics are not usually interested in meeting goals, while Asperger syndrome makes people exclusively goal-oriented (Lyons & Fitzgerald, 2005). Thus, both conditions are present.
3. The life of John Nash is difficult. He states that the most challenging thing is to realize that events and people, who are important for you, have never existed. It is awful that the person suffering from schizophrenia cannot live the normal life either taking medication or refusing it (Grazer et al, 2002). The person must have an enormous will to struggle the hallucinations without the use of medication. Thus, living with schizophrenia is a complex task. Nevertheless, John manages to deal with his problem and to return to his position in Princeton. In the end of his life, John Nash wins the Nobel Prize, indicating that one can achieve the success even suffering from serious mental disorder.
References
Goldstein, G. (2002). High-functioning autism and schizophrenia: a comparison of an early and late onset neurodevelopmental disorder. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 17(5), 461-475. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0887-6177(01)00129-9
Grazer, B., Howard, R., Goldsman, A., Crowe, R., Harris, E., Connelly, J., Bettany, …
