A Beautiful Mind - Movie Review

Film Evaluation

A Beautiful Mind stars Russell Crowe in the real life story of Mathematician, John Nash. The movie begins with John Nash attending Princeton University as a grad student. John is a quiet man. He is very intelligent, but socially inept. Because of his personality, John spends much of his time alone or with his roommate, Charles. John graduates and becomes a professor at MIT. While working at MIT, John Nash begins to work on a top secret military project. We soon learn that his project is not real, but a figment of his imagination. We learn that his best friend, Charles, never existed either. John Nash is schizophrenic.

Schizophrenia is a rare disorder that causes delusions and dissociation with reality. A Beautiful Mind gave an accurate portrayal of schizophrenia and what a person with the disease may experience. In the movie, John Nash thought that he was working on top secret military projects and created imaginary people with which he could associate. Schizophrenia is briefly addressed in SPED 2300 as an emotional or behavioral disorder. Since schizophrenia only occurs in about 1% of the general population, and most cases are prominent between the ages of 15 and 45, it is not something that we are likely to see as teachers and is not discussed in depth. Because schizophrenia is rare and we are unlikely to observe the disability first hand, that is why I believe that A Beautiful Mind is a great movie to introduce the disorder.