A BEAUTIFUL MIND: HOLLYWOOD VS.

PSYCHOLOGY

A Beautiful Mind: Hollywood vs. Psychology

Megan Jackson
Angelo State University

A BEAUTIFUL MIND: HOLLYWOOD VS. PSYCHOLOGY

A Beautiful Mind: Hollywood vs. Psychology

The media holds what I believe to be the greatest power in this day and age; that
is, the power to influence peoples perception. The way we perceive can change the way
we should understand or regard certain illnesses. This is why it is extremely important to
note the differences in how Hollywood wants us to perceive a mental illness or
psychotic disorder compared to the real life evidence we should be basing our
understandings off of. The movie A Beautiful Mind is a perfect example of how
moviemakers can distort facts to make a psychotic disorder seem different than it actually
is.
A Beautiful Mind is a movie based on the real life story of John Nash, a brilliant
mathematician whose theories are still used in todays military, politics, and economics.
The movie represents his life and his daily struggles with paranoid schizophrenia. Many
believe it is one of the most accurate portrayals of schizophrenia compared to any other
movie made thus far. In some cases that is true. For example, we see on multiple
occasions, instances of Nashs catatonic behavior. He would display a very unpredictable
pattern of agitation in response to his delusions, which included shouting, fighting, and
putting other in danger. Also, Nash believed that his psychiatric facility was run by
Soviets and that he was constantly being conspired against. This is a perfect
representation of a persecutory delusion that we read about in our textbook on page 220.
This, as well as many other examples are great illustrations of what its like to have

A BEAUTIFUL MIND: HOLLYWOOD VS. PSYCHOLOGY

schizophrenia, however not all examples and ideas portrayed in the movie are as accurate
as they should be.
One of the first things that stood out at me as being inaccurate in this was how
realistic some of John Nashs delusions were. Although the persecutory delusion
mentioned in the previous paragraph was more accurate than the rest, some were just too
realistic to be true. The moviemakers had us believe that several characters in the
storyline were real acquaintances of Nashs. For example, while Nash was in college, he
had an extremely realistic delusion of a roommate, Charles. Charles is a best friend figure
throughout the movie and the conversations they have between each other are realistic
enough that even though it is a delusion, it is convincing to the audience that it is a real
person. Typically in patients with schizophrenia, their delusions are very unreal. They
believe things like aliens have taken over their body, that every word/thought they say is
being monitored, or that they are actually Michael Jackson reincarnated. It is very rare, if
at all, to have a delusion so lifelike that even someone on the outside would believe it. I
believe that in a real life situation, Charles would be described as a self-depiction (which
is not a schizophrenic attribute) rather than the delusion that the movie describes it as.
Another element of A Beautiful Mind that could easily allow an audience to
misunderstand this disorder is the fact that John Nash was a genius. Yes, in real life John
Nash was extremely intelligent, however this is not the case with most people who are
schizophrenic. Moviemakers allowed us to perceive that those with schizophrenia are
often times geniuses. However, schizophrenia can be diagnosed in any range in
intelligence. In fact, about 6% of people with Downs syndrome will be diagnosed with

A BEAUTIFUL MIND: HOLLYWOOD VS. PSYCHOLOGY

schizophrenia (Routhu & Prasher, 2016). This is why it is important not to generalize a
disorder based on one character.
One of the biggest things that stood out to me as something that should be
addressed about A Beautiful Mind is how Nashs character allowed people to think that
those with schizophrenia are dangerous to society. This is a huge misconception, and the
belief that those with schizophrenia are dangerous is not founded in evidence. In the
movie, Nash puts his own son in danger and almost allows him to drown and he throws a
desk out of his dorm window. These are not typical experiences that those with
schizophrenia have. Catatonic behavior is what most people experience and it is most
likely fits of shouting, swearing, or pacing according to the book on page 224. These
reactions are aim at their delusions and will rarely end in another person being hurt by the
catatonia.
Lastly, the movie shows how after a long period of bad side effects the from the
medication Nash was taking he decided to stop taking his medication and to get over his
delusions with sheer self-awareness and willpower. Although it is important to be selfaware and to use critical thinking about the illness to overcome it, it should not be done
without medication. I believe this account can allow those suffering with schizophrenia
false hope of being able to get better all on their own. Medication is a very important
factor in controlling both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and although
older medications for mental illnesses had effects that left those feeling like they had lost
themselves, newer medications can help those with psychotic disorders to lead a normal
life.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND: HOLLYWOOD VS. PSYCHOLOGY

Despite its misconceptions, the movie itself sends a positive message to those who
suffer with schizophrenia; willpower can go a long way in recovery and awareness. It is
very rare for moviemakers to able to portray mental illness in a correct manner simply
because it is not always glamorous or picture perfect. This is why it is important to
review the facts and evidence of an illness instead of perceiving a movie how Hollywood
intends, because even movies that are claimed to be entirely accurate portrayals of a
disease can be wrongly represented.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND: HOLLYWOOD VS. PSYCHOLOGY

References
Davis, J. M., Schaffer, C. B., Killian, G. A., Kinard, C., & Chan, C. (1980). Important
issues in the drug treatment of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 6(1), 70
87. Retrieved from
http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/6/1/70.short

Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2014). Abnormal psychology (6th ed.). United States: McGrawHill Education - Europe.

Routhu, S. K., & Prasher, V. P. (2016, February 19). Psychiatric morbidity in adults with
downs syndrome. Retrieved August 1, 2016, from University of Hertfordshire
Intellectual Disability and Health, http://www.intellectualdisability.info/mentalhealth/articles/psychiatric-morbidity-in-adults-with-downs-syndrome

Short, T., Thomas, S., Mullen, P., & Ogloff, J. (2013). Comparing violence in
schizophrenia patients with and without comorbid substance-use disorders to
community controls Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica,
http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/documents/comparing
%20violence%20in%20schizophrenia.pdf