PROCESS OF A SCHIZOPHRENICS DIALOGUES IN

A BEAUTIFUL MIND MOVIE

*Siska Pratiwi
**Rahmah

ABSTRACT
This study is concerned to transitivity system, focusing in the types of process
which were uttered by the schizophrenic in A Beautiful Mind movie,
JohnNash. This study was conducted by using descriptive qualitative method.
There were six types of process in transitivity system. The results of data
analysis showed the total numbers were: material process 44.67%, mental
process 18.83%, relational process 28.03%, behavioral process 1.17%, verbal
process 4.53% and existential process 2.77%. The most dominant process is
material process, that is the process which indicates indicates action; activities
and events, things happen and people or other actors do things or make them
happen. It occurred because many statements showedNashs activities with
real people and hallucination people especially when Nashs hallucination
friends about Charles, Parcher and Marcee were kept in his mind and he talked
much with them about their activities because he met his hallucination friends
intensively.

Keywords: schizophrenia, transitivity, process, movie

* Graduate Status
** Lecturer Status

INTRODUCTION
Formally, schizophrenia can be meant as one of psychosis types that causes
mental severe disorder that disrupts thought, speech and behavior. The symptoms faced
by schizophrenics are delusion, hallucination, motorist symptoms, emotional disorder,
and social withdrawal. Theres unusual language impairments which are uttered by
patients with schizophrenia. These unusual language impairments are highly variable
and often hard to characterize (Covington et.al, 2005).
In the last few decades, language has been studied in scientific way. Many
linguists appeared and interested in analyzing how language is structured and used
which is called Systemic Functional Linguistics. One of the application of functional
approach to study of language results in functional grammar. Experiential function is a
part of functional grammar which is also called as transitivity system in which the main
point of it is process. Process refers to activity done which are expressed by verbs.
(Halliday, 1994:80) Process consists of six types, they are:

Material process
Material process is process of doing. Halliday (1994:14) states that material
process is the outer experience which is the process of the outside world that indicates
action; activities and events, things happen, and people or other actors do things or
make them happen. For examples:
I read that novel.
He sold his new shoes.

Mental process
Mental process is process of sensing: feeling, thinking, perceiving. Some
processes involve not material action but phenomena described as states of mind or
psychological event. There are three types of mental process: (1) Affective or Reactive;
it is recognized through the use of verbs of liking, (2) Cognitive; it is recognized
through the use of verbs of thinking, knowing, and understanding, and(3) Perceptive; it
is recognized through the use of verbs of seeing, hearing etc. For examples:
I love watching movie. (Affective)

She heard the strange voice. (Perceptive)

I think about him. (Cognitive)

Relational process
Relational process is a process of being. Saragih (2005:4) states that relational
process construes being and relation among entities through (1) Identification; it is
about ascribing or classifying but defining (2) Attribution; it is the description about
something, and (3) Possession; it shows possession. For examples:
He is a doctor. (Identification)

I have a new car (Possession)

She is so beautiful. (Attribution)

Behavioral process
Halliday (1994: 139) states that behavioral process is the process of (typically
human) psychological and psychological behavior. For examples:
He is smiling.
She is yawning.

Verbal process
The term verbal process is defined as process of saying. Saragih (2010:9)
states that verbal process shows activities related to information. It includes asking,
offering, stating, and commanding. For examples:
I told about his secret.
She is shouting.

Existential process
Existential process represent that something exists or happen. Enggins
(2004:238) states that, Existential Processes represent experience by positing that
there was / is something. The existential process is usually indicated by word there
which will be followed by be. For examples:
There are many monkeys
There is a little girl over there.

Relating between schizophrenia and process, this research discusses about what
types of process and dominant process uttered by a schizophrenic in A Beautiful Mind
movie which is acted by Russel Crowe as John Nash.

Before this journal, there are also some relating journals which have been
published electronically, such as Using Transitivity as a Framework in Stylistic
Analysis of Virginia Wolfs Old Mrs. Grey by Bonifacio T Cunanan, student of
Bulacan State University in Philippines which the dominant process is Existential
Process (35.49%) and Process of Transitivity System in Weeping for My Smoking
Daughter by Wang Caili from Sozou University which gets Material Process (44.17%)
as the dominant process.

METHODOLOGY
Research Design
In conducting the research, the writer used qualitative method. Creswell (2001)
states that qualitative research is descriptive in that the researcher is interested in
process, meaning and understanding gained through words or pictures.

Data Collection
The data of this study were taken from original DVD of A Beautiful Mind.
This movie was produced by Universal Pictures in 2001. Then, there were some
procedures which have been done by the writer, namely:
1.

Watching the movie which titles A Beautiful Mind for several times

2.

Transcribing notes of the whole characters

3.

Transcribing notes of John Nashs dialogues.

Technique of Analyzing Data

After collecting the data, the dialogues were analyzed by using these following
steps:
1.

Dividing the dialogues into clauses

2.

Identifying the process of each clause by bolding the process

3.

Classifying the types of process in Nashs dialogues

4.

Calculating the percentage of the process by using this formula:

X = the percentage of the obtained items

F = frequency
N = the total of the items
5.

Determining the dominant process

6.

Making a conclusion by relating to the schizophrenics psychology.

DISCUSSION AND RESULT

Summary
A Beautiful Mind tells about the story of a paranoid schizophrenic,
JohnForbesNash. Firstly, he stayed at a simple house in Virginia. He was a shy, loner,
introvert and strange man. He was also an arrogant man and proud of his cleverness. It
was proven by refusing to follow the class which he thought that it just wasted his time
and made his brain blunt. So he spent his time out of class to get original idea to reach
his doctorate and he would get working at Wheeler Defense Lab at MIT.
This story started when the young Nash in 1948 studied at Princeton University.
His roommate was Charles Herman who could understand him so far and he had a little
niece, Marcee. He obsessed to mathematic very much even he wrote many formulations
on windowpane at his bedroom and library until unconsciously he found a new concept
which had different theory with modern world economic man, Adam Smith. His
concept was named equilibrium theory. His dreams came true. He was not only getting
his doctorate, but also he was received as researcher and teacher at MIT.
His life changed since he was asked Pentagon to break the secret code which
was sent by Soviet army. He met a secret agent over there, William Parcher. He worked
as spy man. His new job made him obsess until he forgot time and live in his own
world.
Alicia Larde, a beautiful student, made him conscious that he also needed love.
When they got married, his behavior became stranger and he felt that he was in danger
because of his job as secret agent. He looked so frighten day by day. Until one day,
when he presented his paper in a seminar in Harvard, Dr. Rosen who worked as
psychiatry caught and took him to mental hospital. Because of that incident, the fact
said that Nash was a paranoid schizophrenic. Some incidents which he had done were
only his delusion. There was no his roommate at Princeton University, Charles and his
niece, Marcee and even Parcher with his secret project was only his delusion.

Fortunately, Alicia was a faithful wife and never tired to give support for his
husband. Because of his wifes support, love and affection, Nash tried to fight against
his schizophrenia.

Analysis
After collecting the data, the dialogues were classified based on the types of
process. Here are the explanations of the analysis:

Material Process
The verbs which were found that indicate as material process are read, work,
publish, find, distinguish, extract, destroy, pressed, fight, stole, improve, write, search,
show, arrange, get, follow, buy, move, block, go, give, come, take, repatriate, do, attend,
begin, order, pick, isolate, and many other verbs. From 685 clauses, 306 clauses are
realized as material process. For examples:
I
Actor
Hansen
Actor
If

your pre-prints-both of them

Goal

have read
Material Process

has
just
published
Process: Circumstance Material

You
Actor

could arrange
Material Process

another paper
Goal

another meeting
Goal

Mental Process
The verbs which were found that indicate as mental process are know, want,
hope, look, see, remind, assume, feel, need, like, love, realize, suppose, think, expect,
believe, want, remember, seem, miss, listen, watch, hurt, wonder, enjoy, and some other
verbs. From 685 clauses, 129clauses are realized as mental process. For examples:
You
Senser

know
MentalProcess

Oppenheimer
Phenomenon

=>Cognition

I
Senser

dont like
Mental Process

People
Phenomenon

much
Circumstance

They
Senser

may be listening
Mental Process

=> Perceptive

=> Affection

Relational Process
The verbs which were found that indicate as relational process are is, am, are,
was, were, get, have has, have been, should be, can be, must have appeared, must be,
will be, and would be. From 685 clauses, 192clauses are realized as relational
process.For examples:
It
Token

is
Relational Process

Martin
Value

I
Carrier

am
Relational Process

a patient man,
Attribute

I
Possessor

Had
Relational Process

=> Identification

Martin

=> Attribution

the first move => Possession

Possessed

Behavioral Process
The verbs which were found that indicate as behavioral process are dream, have
sex, keep staring, listen, and give up. From 685 clauses, 8 clauses are realized as
behavioral process. For examples:
We
Behaver
I
Behaver

have sex
Behavioral Process
can't keep staring
Behavioral Process
I
Behaver

Should
Process:

into space
circumstance
Marry
Behavioral

her?

Verbal Process
The verbs which were found that indicate as verbal process are say, tell, ask,
talk, call, and squawk. From 685 clauses, 31 clauses are realized as verbal process. For
examples:
I
Sayer

won't talk
Verbal Process

I
Sayer

couldnt tell
Verbal Process

We
Sayer

just have to talk

Verbal Process

to you
Receiver
you
Receiver
quietly
Circumstance

Again
Circumstance

Existential Process
Here are some analysis about existential process: there could be, there is, and
there are. From 685 clauses, 19clauses are realized as existential process.
For examples:
There

still
Circumstance

Is
Existential Process
There

might be
Existential Process
there

are
Existential Process

something
Existent

a difference?
Existent
at least
Circumstance

10 others
Existent

Result
After identifying and analyzing the process of transitivity system in Nashs
dialogues from A Beautiful Mind movie, the writer found all types of process of
transitivity system, namely material process, mental process, relational process,
behavioral process, verbal process and existential process.
The result of the analysis can be seen in this following table:
No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Types of Process
Material Process
Mental Process
Relational Process
Behavioral Process
Verbal Process
Existential Process
Total

Frequency (Clauses)
306
129
192
8
31
19
685

Percentage (%)
44. 67
%
18. 83
%
28. 03
%
1. 17
%
4. 53
%
2. 77
%
100. 00
%

CONCLUSIONAND SUGGESTION
Conclusion
The dominant process was

Material process (306 clauses, 44.67%). Then, it was

related to the symptoms, delusion and hallucination. The reason why material process
was the dominant process in this analysis because when Nashs hallucination about
Charles, Parcher and Marcee was kept in his mind and he talked much with them. He
talked much with them about their activities because he met his hallucination friends
intensively. Because of many statements about the activities, the analysis shows that
material process is the dominant process.

Suggestion
It is suggested for those students who are studying language and discourse
analysis to use transitivity theory in observing further study and it is expected that the
future research can do the analysis other aspects of lexicogrammar i.e. theme/rheme or
mood/residue that applied to other texts.

REFERENCES
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Creswell, John W. 2001. Research Design: Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches.
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Cunanan, Bonifacio T. 2011. Using Transitivity as a Framework in Stylistic Analysis of
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Enggins, Suzanne. 1994. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistic. London :
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Halliday, M.A.K. 1994. An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward
Arnold
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