Social withdrawal A Schizophrenia Analysis of John Nash as the Main Character in

Charles : Maybe youre just better... with the old integers than you are with people. John Nash : My first grade teacher, she told me... that I was born with two helpings of brain, but only half a helping of heart. Charles : Wow She sounds lovely John Nash : The truth is that I- I dont like people much. And they dont much like me. Fixated on his search for an original idea, Nash separates himself from people further. He spends days on end in the campus library, works out dense calculations on the leaded-glass windows of his dorm room and dismisses classroom instruction. Charles : Youve been in here for two days. John Nash : You know Hansens just published another paper? I cant even find a topic for my doctorate. When Nash works in M.I.T. and meets Parcher, he tells Parcher that he does not like people or they do not much like them either. Parcher : So, John, no family, no close friends- Why is that? John Nash : I like to think its because Im a lone wolf. But mainly its because people dont like me. Nash is inability to interact with other people. He flubs a conversation with an attractive woman in a bar by saying “essentially we’re talking about fluid exchange” and the woman slap Nash and leaves him. John Nash : I dont exactly know what Im required to say... in order for you to have intercourse with me, but could we assume that I said all that? Essentially were talking about fluid exchange, right? So, could we just go straight to the sex? Woman : Oh, that was sweet. Have a nice night, asshole Nash’s world seemed to be closing in on him. He does not realize that he withdraws himself gradually. He misses the class while he supposes to teach. Alicia : Everyone waited half an hour. John Nash : For? Alicia : Class. You missed class today. John Nash : Oh. I suspect that... nobody missed me. Nash also busies with his work as secret agent and almost forgets that he has a date with Alicia in her birthday. John Nash : Alicia, please dont be angry. I just lost track of time at work... again. In fact, a schizophrenic like Nash has inability to socialize with real people, for example, an attractive woman in a bar. He withdraws himself from other people and creates his imaginary friend. His world seemed to be closing in on him.

g. Inability to sustain Attention

Nash has i nability to sustain attention. He does not seem focus to find a topic for his doctorate while all his friends already finished. Nash’s professor asks him to focus . Proffesor : Well, try seeing accomplishment. John Nash : Is there a difference? Proffesor : John, you havent focused. Im sorry, but up to this point, your record doesnt warrant any placement at all. Nash also has inability to sustain attention when he has a date with Alicia. In Figure 88 and 89, we see Alicia tries to get Nash’s attention. Figure 88 Figure 89 Alicia : Here. Me. Your date? The film’s narration end with end titles Figure 90 and 91 “Nash’s theories have influenced global trade negotiations, national labor relations, and even breakthroughs in evolutionary biology. John and Alicia live in Princeton, New Jersey. John keeps regular office hours in the mathematics Department. He still walks to campus everyday.” The end titles make closure interpretation that Nash improves enough to live a more normal life, even though his hallucinations and delusions never disappear. Figure 90 Figure 91 A Beautiful Mind film utilizes the narrative and cinematic technique to describe the schizophrenia that is suffered by Nash. The choice of cinematic techniques is to emphasize the condition of Nash who suffers from schizophrenia. A Beautiful Mind makes schizophrenia visible and suggests that those who suffer from it are not unlike the rest of us. The film makes us wonder whether Nash, through his intense study, might have precipitated or hastened a condition that was already inevitable. By embracing creative thought, the film asks, does one give conventional thinking up and with it one’s grasp on stability? Once that door to change thinking is opened, are will and sanity potentially sacrificed?