Schizophrenia In A Beutiful Mind Film

SCHIZOPHRENIA IN A BEAUTIFUL MIND FILM

A Thesis

Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

The Strata One Degree (S1)

NAIM KURNIAWATI NIM. 104026000963

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”

JAKARTA

SCHIZOPHRENIA IN A BEAUTIFUL MIND FILM

NAIM KURNIAWATI

NIM. 104026000963

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”

JAKARTA

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ABSTRACT

Naim Kurniawati, Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film. Thesis. Jakarta: English Letters and Humanities Faculty, State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, December 2008.

The Objective of this research is to analyze and to understand the schizophrenia that is conveyed through narrative presentation of the film. As a whole, A Beautiful Mind wants to give information about schizophrenia through some attempts to understand the mental illness from schizophrenic and all the people that interact with him. In this research, the writer questions on how the narrative structure and the cinematic techniques of A Beautiful Mind film describe John Nash’s schizophrenia; and how the schizophrenia of John Nash is depicted in the film. This research uses a qualitative method and the data will be qualitatively analyzed.

Analysis on the schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind film, using the theories of film structure and schizophrenia, shows that this film tells the story from the main character’s point of view. It follows the journey of Nash’s life from the point where Nash is not even aware he has schizophrenia, to the point where Nash and his wife find a way to manage his condition. The analysis result shows that the choice of cinematic techniques creates a style to support and enhance narrative form and the schizophrenia which is suffered by the main character. Moreover, the main character suffers the major characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia and does some treatments to recover his mental illness. Among many discourses about schizophrenia, this film can be considered as having alternative to improve the public understanding of schizophrenia.

APPROVEMENT

SCHIZOPHRENIA IN

A BEAUTIFUL MIND

FILM

A Thesis

Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

The Strata One Degree (S1)

Naim Kurniawati NIM. 104026000963

Approved by: Advisor,

Dini Masitah S.S, M.Hum NIP. 150 317 724

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT

LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”

JAKARTA

LEGALIZATION

The thesis entitled “Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film” has been defended before the Letters and Humanities Faculty’s Examination Committee on December 4, 2008. The thesis has already been accepted as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Strata One Degree.

Jakarta, December 4, 2008

Examination Committee Chair Person,

Dr. H. M. Farkhan, M.Pd. NIP. 150 299 480

Secretary,

Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.Pd. NIP. 150 261 902

Members:

Examiner I,

Drs. H. Abdul Hamid, M.Ed. NIP. 150 181 922

Examiner II,

Elve Oktafiyani, M.Hum NIP. 150 317 725

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.

Jakarta, December 4, 2008

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All praises belong to Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful, and the creator all the living things and the non living things from being nothing into exist. The writer would like to start off by thanking Allah SWT. Thank you God for always helping her, and guiding her in every step in living her life. Peace and blessing be upon our prophet Muhammad SAW and all of his friends and followers.

The writer would like to express her gratitude to her parents for their constant love and guidance. They are the most amazing people that anyone could ever know and make the writer who and what her today. The writer can never thank them enough. The writer can never repay for all they have done for her. The writer loves you both dearly.

The writer wants to thank her brothers and sister for supporting her in finishing her thesis. Thank you so much for her brothers, Rahmat and Shahid, who always help her, being so affectionate, and being so handy; for her little sister, Awi, who always cheers her up and becomes so patient in listening to all her stories and grievances. The writer also wants to thank her family members, especially her cousins, Amp and Rina, thank you for always being there for her whenever and wherever.

The writer expresses deep sense of gratitude and thankfulness to her guide Dini Masitah S.S, M. Hum who has helped her at each and every point of her research work with patience and enthusiasm. The writer has much indebted to Mrs. Dini Masitah for her inspiring guidance, affection, generosity and everlasting enthusiasm throughout the tenure of her research work, without that the thesis would not have appeared in the present form.

The gratitude is dedicated to Dr. H. Abdul Chair, M.A, the Dean of English Letters Department; Dr. H. Muhammad Farkhan M.Pd, the Head of English Letters Department; Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.Pd., the Secretary of English

Letters Department; and all lecturers of English Letters Department who has taught her during her study at Syarif Hidayatullah University.

The writer offers her gratitude to her classmates Yanti for her fruitful discussion at various stages. The writer also would like to thank her best friends Hilya, Lita, Fitri, Achwan and Kris for their support, time sharing, and understanding.

A special thanks to Miss Rosida Erowati who has guided the writer and helped her learning about film structure. Thank you for the time, patience and kindness. All the writer’s friends in film discussion, Woro, Velma, Nova, Mela, Habibie, Yanti, and Jay, thanks for sharing.

The writer heartily thanks to her neighbors, especially Sari; her best friend, Dini; and her friends at YM for their great support and advice.

The writer would like to end now by saying thanks to everyone who has supported her and to the person who is reading this. May Allah bless us.

Jakarta, December 4, 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ... iii

APPROVEMENT ... iv

LEGALIZATION... v

DECLARATION ... vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... ix

LIST OF FIGURES ... xii

LIST OF APPENDICES ... xiii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Focus of the Study ... 3

C. Research Questions ... 3

D. Objectives of the Research ... 3

E. Significance of the Research ... 3

F. Research Methodology ... 4

1. Method ... 4

2. Technique of Data Analysis ... 4

3. Unit of Analysis ... 4

4. Instruments ... 5

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK A. Narrative Structure in a Film ... 6

B. The Cinematic Techniques ... 7

1. Mise-en-scène ... 7

a. Setting ... 8

c. Costumes and Make-up ... 11

d. Behavior of the Figure ... 11

2. Cinematography ... 12

a. The Photographic Aspects of the Shot ... 13

b. The Framing of the Shot ... 15

c. The Duration of the Shot ... 18

3. Editing ... 19

4. Sound ... 19

C. Schizophrenia ... 20

1. The Major Symptoms Characteristic of Schizophrenia ... 23

a. Delusions ... 23

b. Hallucinations ... 24

c. Thought and Speech Disorder ... 24

d. Disturbance of Emotional... 25

e. Disturbance of Motor Behavior ... 26

f. Other Mental Symptoms ... 26

2. Subtypes of Schizophrenia ... 26

a. Disorganized Type ... 26

b. Catatonic Type ... 27

c. Paranoid Type ... 27

d. Undifferentiated Type ... 27

3. Treatment for Schizophrenia ... 28

a. Medication... 28

b. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) ... 28

c. Hospitalization ... 29

d. Psychosocial Treatments ... 29

CHAPTER III RESEARCH FINDINGS A. Narrative Structure in A Beautiful Mind Film ... 31

B. The Cinematic Techniques in A Beautiful Mind Film ... 35

a. Mise-en-scène in Time ... 35

b. Mise-en-scène in Space ... 38

2. Cinematography ... 42

3. Sound ... 45

C. A Schizophrenia Analysis of John Nash as the Main Character in A Beautiful Mind Film ... 46

1. The Major Symptoms Characteristic of Schizophrenia ... 46

a. Hallucinations ... 47

1). Auditory Hallucination and Visual Hallucination ... 47

2). Tactual Hallucination ... 55

b. Delusions ... 56

1). Delusion of Grandeur ... 56

2). Delusion of Influence ... 57

3). Delusion of Reference ... 62

4). Delusion of Persecution ... 63

c. Thought and Speech Disorder ... 66

d. Disturbance of Emotional... 69

e. Disturbance of Motor Behavior ... 71

f. Social Withdrawal ... 72

g. Inability to Sustain Attention ... 74

CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION A. Conclusion ... 77

B. Suggestion ... 78

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 80

LIST OF FIGURES

1. The Cinematic Techniques in A Beautiful Mind Film ... 35 2. A Schizophrenia Analysis of John Nash as the Main Character in A

LIST OF APPENDICES

1. Diagram of “Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film” ... 83 2. All Love Can Be Lyrics from O.S.T. A Beautiful Mind ... 84 3. Figures of Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film ... 85

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful method for educating citizens about mental illness or others societal problems. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication.1

Film does not only become something that entertains but also can inspire the viewer if it showed attractively. Many aspects of life become story theme in film, for example psychology. Film as a medium to describe psychological topics is including development over the life cycle (particularly childhood and adolescence), family dynamics, and mental illness. Film with psychological themes becomes popular for various reasons. Some psychological films become popular because it is adapted from best seller novel or book for example, American Psycho (2000). Some others based on true life story for example, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006).

A Beautiful Mind film is one of the films that has psychological theme. The film depicts someone who is suffering psychological problem played by Russel Crowe as John Nash.

1

The story begins when Nash in 1948 starts his study in Princeton University. Nash’s friends are Martin Hansen, Sol, and Bender. He meets his

roommate Charles, a literature student, who soon becomes his best friend.

During the whole time that Nash studied in Princeton, he was trying to come up with his own original idea. He makes a fruitful work in the concept of governing dynamics, a theory in mathematical economics. After the conclusion of Nash's studies as a student at Princeton, he accepts a prestigious appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with his friends Sol and Bender.

Five years later while teaching a class on Calculus, he meets Alicia, a student with whom he falls in love and eventually marries. Nash’s life change when he encounters a mysterious Department of Defense agent, William Parcher. Nash is invited to a United States Department of Defense facility in The Pentagon

to crack a complex encryption of an enemy telecommunication.

Things get worse after Nash and Alicia married. Nash’s job as a secret agent makes him feels in danger day after day. Finally, while giving a lecture, Nash realizes that he is being watched by a hostile group of people. Although he attempts to flee, he sent to a psychiatric facility. A psychiatrist reveals that the Department of Defense agent William Parcher and Nash's secret assignment to decode Soviet messages was in fact all a delusion. Even more surprisingly, Nash's friend Charles and his niece Marcee are also only products of Nash's mind.

The writer is interested to view A Beautiful Mind, which a biography based on the true life story of a mathematical prodigy, John Forbes Nash Jr. The

film is a brilliant and touching portrayal of the destruction of the mind by schizophrenia. The schizophrenia of the main character is shown from film’s narration and cinematic techniques of film form. That is why the writer would like to analyze John Nash as of the main character who suffers from schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind film.

B. Focus of the Study

This research is focused on how the main character, John Nash, suffers from schizophrenia depicted in A Beautiful Mind film, directed by Ron Howard.

C. Research Questions

1. How do the narrative structure and the cinematic techniques of A Beautiful Mind film describe John Nash’s schizophrenia?

2. How is the schizophrenia of the main character depicted in the film?

D. Objectives of the Research

The objective of this research is to analyze and to understand the narrative structure of A Beautiful Mind film; the cinematic techniques of the film; and the schizophrenia suffered by John Nash as the main character in the film.

E. Significances of the Research

Through this research, the writer hopes that research would be beneficial to readers in terms of it is information and knowledge. It is also hoped that the

result of this research can be used for the English Department, Faculty of Humanities of State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta as one of the references in the studying of narrative in different medium. Besides, the writer expects that this research can give understanding about narrative and psychology in film.

F. Research Methodology 1. Method

The writer uses qualitative method in doing this research. The writer also uses the analytic descriptive writing to analyze the relationship between psychological approach of the main character in the film with its narrative and its form.

2. Technique of Data Analysis

In this research, the writer uses analytic descriptive writing in analyzing this film. The writer collected the data from several sources that related to the study. In narrative film, like A Beautiful Mind, narrative form and cinematic elements become language to express ideas or event in the film. 3. Unit of Analysis

Analysis unit that is used in this research is the DVD film A Beautiful Mind directed by Ron Howard released on 2002.

4. Instruments

In collecting data, the writer uses herself as instrument by watching, understanding, identifying, classifying and analyzing the information related to the data.

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Both of film and literary work has narrative. To convey the narrative, both of them use different medium. Literary work uses language as its medium and narrative film uniquely depend on visual, and sound elements to establish place and time, develop characters, suggest themes and ideas, and create mood.

In this chapter, the writer will use theories of film structure and schizophrenia to explain how A Beautiful Mind film depicts the schizophrenia of the main character. The theories are narrative structure in film, cinematic techniques, and schizophrenia.

A. Narrative Structure in Film

Phillips (1999) said that the structure of the story is important to understand narrative film.2 If we want to understand a film, we cannot just see the narrative but we also have to know the structure. Because it helps us to comprehend the story and it also influence how viewer responds to the film. The narrative in a film will not always be arranged chronologically and the arrangement has important role in development of the story. So we cannot separate narrative with its structure when we watch a film.

2

B. The Cinematic Techniques

To understand a narrative in film, we must be familiar with the medium itself. According to Bordwell (1993), there are four sets of cinematic techniques: two techniques of the shot, mise-en-scène and cinematography; the technique that relates shot to shot, editing; and the relation of sound to film images.3

In any film, certain techniques tend to create a formal system of their own. Every film develops specific techniques in patterned ways. Repetition is basic to our understanding any film. It is useful to have term to help describe formal repetitions, and the most common term is motif.4

Style is that formal system of the film organizes film techniques. Any film will tend to rely on particular options in creating its style, and these are chosen by the filmmaker within the constraints of historical circumstances. We may also extend the term “style” to describe the characteristic use of techniques made by a single filmmaker or a group filmmakers.5

The four of cinematic techniques will be explained below: 1. Mise-en-scène

In the original French, mise-en-scène means “staging an action,” and it was first applied to the practice of directing plays. Mise-en-scène includes those aspects of film that overlap with the art of the theater: setting, lighting, costumes

3

David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction (New York: Mc Graw Hill, 1993), p. 144.

4

Ibid. p. 57.

5

and make-up, and the behavior of the figures.6 Those aspects of mise-en-scène will be explained as follows:

a. Setting

The setting is literally the location where the action takes place, and it can be artificially construction (as in studio sets) or natural (what is also termed location shooting).7 The production designers must decide how to decorate their sets and locations. Set decoration includes all props and furnishings, including foliage and food, used in a given scene. When an object in the setting is motivated to operate actively within the ongoing action, we can call it a “prop”.8 More often, however, the effect of set decoration is collective. As in real life, we make assumptions about film characters based on their environment. How characters decorate their living room, or what they put into their medicine chests, can tell us as much about them as the dialogue or action.

To get the most out of set decoration, production designers study the script’s characters. Whether the story is contemporary, futuristic or period, designers strive to create a credible everyday world. For period pieces, designers conduct research at libraries and archives to help them achieve authenticity. For futuristic or fantastic stories, they consult with scientists and engineers to create sets that are both imaginative and believable. Sometimes, however, designers choose drama over realism, selecting props or furnishings that may not be absolutely accurate, but are emotionally true.

6

Ibid. p. 145.

7

Susan Hayward, Key Concepts in Cinema Studies (London: Routledge, 1996), p. 313.

8

In addition to architectural elements and set decoration, production designers rely on color, tone and texture to help realize their vision. Often the main characters in a script are assigned color and fabric palettes. When choosing a palette, designers consider the characters’ emotional journey as well as their social and cultural background. The chosen colors may show up in the characters’ costumes, in the props they use, or in the décor of their habitat. Colors can have culturally specific symbolic meaning. In Western cultures, for example, red usually denotes danger; white denotes purity. In the Chinese culture, white is the color of death, and red signifies happiness and health.

Like any other visual technique, color in the mise-en-scène may function as a motif.9 Color tones and shading are also important in art direction. Saturated, deep colors convey a sense of seriousness and intensity, while bright colors suggest lightness and delicacy. Black-and-white photography reproduces the world exclusively in tones of black, gray and white. Therefore, a production designer working on a black-and-white film must be aware of how the colors of his or her set are going to translate into those tones.

b. Lighting

The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting have a profound effect on the way an image is perceived. Light affects the way colors are rendered; both in terms of hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the composition. Much like movement in the cinema, the history of lighting technology is intrinsically linked to the history of film style. Most mainstream

9

Maria Pramaggiore and Tom Wallis, Film: A Critical Introduction (London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2005), p. 86.

films rely on the three-point lighting style, and its genre variations. Other films, for example documentaries and realist cinema, rely on natural light to create a sense of authenticity.

There are various styles of lighting that a cinematographer can use. Lighting style is generally determined in consultation with the director (and often the production designer), and depends on the setting, mood and character of the story or the scene. According to Boggs and Petrie (2000), there are two terms designate different intensities of lighting: (a) Low-key lighting puts most of the set in shadow; just a few highlights define the subject. This type of lighting heightens suspense and creates a somber mood; thus, it is used in mystery and horror films. (b) High-key lighting, in contrast, results in more light areas than shadows, and subjects are seen in middle grays and highlights, with far less contrast. High key lighting is suitable for comic and light moods, such in a musical.10

Lighting also is used to create the illusion of depth and dimension, and to illuminate different contours and textures. Depth can be emphasized by back- and side-lighting the actors to create highlights on prominent features and leave the background in shadow. Sometimes color gels are used over lights to enhance the depth of a scene (warm tones might be used to light the actors, while cooler colors might be used for the background lights, for example).

10

Joseph M. Boggs and Dennis W. Petrie, The Art of Watching Films, 5th ed (U.S.A: Mayfield Publishing Company, 2000), p. 102.

c. Costumes and Make-up

Costumes are part of the visual composition of each frame of film. Just as the elements of a painting work together to create a harmonious image, costumes must work with the lighting and sets. Color, shape, line, and texture are all considered when designing costumes for a film. Color, one of the most important elements in the designer’s tool kit, suggests the mood and atmosphere of a story. Warm reds produce a different effect from subdued blues, for example. Costumes are also used to focus attention on the major actors and the important action in a scene. Costumes can change the shape of an actor’s body to reflect the period and the personality of the character.

Like costume designers, makeup artists are storytellers. Whether the script requires actors to look beautiful or ragged, younger or older, or like monsters or other fantastic beings, makeup artists and hairstylists help audiences believe that what they see on the film screen is real. Makeup artists and hairstylists do more than make actors look attractive. The filmmaker works to visualize the complete character. Like costume designers, makeup artists try to reflect the time period, lifestyle, and social status and emotional or psychological changes of the characters. Makeup artists and hairstylists use their skills to make sure that no matter how much time has passed, the actors’ appearance is consistent from shot to shot.

d. Behavior of the Figure

The director may also control the behavior of various figures in the mise-en-scène. Here the word “figures” covers a wide range of possibilities, since the

figure may represent a person but could also be an animal, a robot, an object, or even a pure shape. An actor’s performance consists of visual elements (appearance, gestures, facial expression) and sound (voice, effects).11 The ultimate goal of any actor should be to make us believe completely in the reality of the character. If this goal to be achieved, actors must either develop or blessed with several talents.12

2. Cinematography

In the book Film Art: An Introduction, Bordwell (1993) gave his explanation about cinematographic properties as:

Mise-en-scène is at bottom a theatrical notion: The filmmaker stages an event to be filmed. But a comprehensive account of cinema as an art cannot stop with simply what is put in front of the camera. […] The filmmaker also controls what we will call the cinematographic qualities of the shot—not only what is filmed but also how it is filmed. Cinematographic qualities involve three factors: (1) the photographic aspects of the shot; (2) the framing of the shot; and (3) the duration of the shot.13

When making a film, filmmaker will pay more attention to what will be filmed in order to deliver his or her message to the viewer. Since film is a series of frame that is projected onto a screen, a visual element becomes important thing in making a film. To deliver the right message, filmmaker will control what is filmed and how it is filmed. To control how an event is filmed, filmmaker uses cinematographic qualities which are divided into three factors: the photographic aspects of the shot; the framing of the shot; and the duration of the shot. Those factors will be explained as follows:

11

David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 158.

12

Joseph M. Boggs and Dennis W. Petrie (2005), op.cit. p. 269.

13

a. The Photographic Aspects of the Shot

The camera does what a human eye does. That is, it creates perspective and spatial relations with the rest of the world. However, unlike one's eye, a cinematographer can select different lenses for different purposes. Variation in focal length is one of the chief benefits of such an advantage. The focal length of the lens in particular, determines the angle of view and, therefore, the field of view. Bordwell (1993) said that there are three sorts of lenses on the basis of their effects on perspective: the short-focal-length (wide-angle) lens; the middle-focal-length (normal) lens; and the long-focal-middle-focal-length (telephoto) lens.14 There is one sort of lens that offers the director a chance to manipulate focal length and to transform perspective relations during a single shot. A zoom shot is a single shot taken with a lens that has a variable focal length, thereby permitting the cinematographer to change the distance between the camera and the object being filmed, and rapidly move from a wide-angle shot to a telephoto shot in one continuous movement; this camera technique makes an object in the frame appear larger; movement towards a subject to magnify it is known as zoom in or forward zoom, or reversed to reduce its size is known as zoom out/back or backward zoom.15

Focal length not only affects how shape and scale are magnified distorted. It also determines the lens’s depth of field. Depth of field the depth of composition of a shot, i.e., where there are several planes (vertical spaces in a frame): (1) a foreground, (2) a middle-ground, and (3) a background; depth of

14

Ibid. p. 191-192

15

Tim Dirks, Cinematic Terms, A Film-Making Glossary: Zoom (1996). Accessed onNovember 10, 2008. http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms20.html.

field specifically refers to the area, range of distance, or field (between the closest and farthest planes) in which the elements captured in a camera image appear in sharp or acceptable focus; as a rule of thumb, the area 1/3 in front of and 2/3 behind the subject is the actual distance in focus; depth of field is directly connected, but not to be confused with focus.16 Depth of field should not be confused with the concept of deep space. Bordwell (1993) explained that deep space is a term for the way the filmmaker has staged the action on several different planes, regardless of whether or not all of these planes are in focus.17 Like deep space, deep focus involves staging an event on film such that significant elements occupy widely separated planes in the image. Unlike deep space, deep focus related to depth of field—refers to an adjustment made technically to insure that a camera shot retains its deep focus throughout all the various planes (fore, middle, and back).18 Most cameras, including still cameras, are designed to focus on objects at different distances from the lens. Because the eye is ordinarily drawn to what it can see best—that is, to the object in sharpest focus—the cinematographer can create a kind of three-dimensionality by using rack focus—in one continuous shot focusing the camera lens, in turn, on objects in different planes of depth (different distances from the camera).19

Special effects artists make things happen in films that might not normally occur in real life. When the real thing is too expensive, too dangerous or impossible to shoot, special effects artists are bought in. The first special effects in

16

Tim Dirks, Cinematic Terms, A Film-Making Glossary: Deep of focus (1996). Accessed on November 10, 2008. http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms7.html

17

David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 194.

18

Tim Dirks (1996), op.cit. http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms7.html

19

the cinema were created while the film was being shot. These came to be known as "in-camera" effects. Later, optical and digital effects were developed so that editors and visual effects artists could more tightly control the process by manipulating the film in post-production. Bordwell (1993) explained that there are five techniques of special effects: glass shots (here portions of the setting are painted onto a pane of glass and the camera shoots through it to film action supposedly occurring in the painted setting); superimposition (the exposure of more than one image on the same film strip); rear projection (a technique for combining a foreground action with a background action filmed earlier); front projection (composite process whereby footage meant to appear as the background of a shot is projected from the front onto a screen; figures in the foreground are filmed in front of the screen as well); and matte shot (a type of process shot in which different areas of the image (usually actors and setting) are photographed separately and combined in laboratory work).20

b. The Framing of the Shot

A frame refers to a single image, the smallest compositional unit of a film's structure, captured by the camera on a strip of motion picture film - similar to an individual slide in still photography; a series of frames juxtaposed and shown in rapid succession make up a motion (or moving) picture; also refers to the rectangular area within which the film image is composed by the filmmaker— in other words, a frame is what we see (within the screen).21

20

David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 197-198.

21

Many films are shot with a camera that appears to be at approximately the same height as its subject. However, it is possible to film from a position that is significantly lower or higher than the dominant element of the shot. In that case, the image is described as low angle or high angle respectively. Angle of framing can be used to indicate the relation between a character and the camera's point of view or can simply be used to create striking visual compositions. According to Bordwell (1993), there are three general categories of camera angles: the straight-on angle (horizontal, on the same level), the high angle (above it, looking down), and the low angle (looking up).22

Not only can the angle from which a camera films but the height also be a significant element in a film. A low-level camera is placed close to the ground whereas a high-level camera would be placed above the typical perspective shown in the cinema. Camera level is used to signify sympathy for characters who occupy particular levels in the image, or just to create pleasurable compositions. Camera level is obviously used to a greater advantage when the difference in height between objects or characters is greater.

The distance of framing is the apparent distance of the frame from the mise-en-scène elements. It is also called camera distance and shot scale. According to Hayward (1996), there are: (a) close-up: the subject framed the camera fills the screen, close up can be used an objects and on parts of the body other than the face; (b) medium close-up: close-up of one or two (sometimes three) characters, generally framing the shoulders or chest and the head; (c)

22

medium shot: the shot of frames a character from the waist, hips or knees up (or down); (d) medium long shot: halfway between a long and a medium shot; (e) long shot: subject or characters are at some distance from the camera; they are seen in full in their surrounding environment; (f) extreme long shot: the subject or characters are very much to the background of the shot.23

Framing also contributes to cueing us to take a shot as “subjective.” A film’s narration may present story information with some degree of psychological depth. There are perceptual subjectivity (we might see shots taken from character’s optical standpoint (the point-of view-shot also abbreviated as POV shot) or hear sounds as the character would hear them), and mental subjectivity (we might hear an internal commentary reporting the character’s thoughts, or we might see the character’s “inner images,” representing memory, fantasy, dreams, or hallucinations).24

In framing it is possible for the frame to move with respect to the framed material. There are many ways to move a camera: in fluid long takes, rapid and confusing motions, etc. that establishes the rhythm and point of view scene. Bordwell (1993) gave four types of camera movement, they are: the pan (short for “panorama”) movement rotates the camera on a vertical axis; the tilt movement rotates the camera on a horizontal axis; in the tracking (or dolly or trucking) shot, the camera as a whole does change position, traveling in any direction along the ground—forward, backward, circularly, diagonally, or from side to side; and in the crane shot the camera moves above ground level.

23

Susan Hayward (1996), op.cit. p. 317.

24

Sometimes filmmaker does not want smooth camera movements, preferring a bumpy, jiggling image. Commonly this sort of image is achieved through use of the hand-held camera.25

Frame mobility functions primarily to keep our attention fastened on the subject of the shot, and it subordinates itself to that subject’s movement. Camera movement has several functions, all directly supportive of the narrative. First, and least unusual, is its tendency to adhere to figure movement. Another function of moving the camera independently of figure movement is to link characters with one another. The camera carves into space to create connections that enrich the film narrative’s form. Frame mobility can guide and shape our perception of a film’s space and time. Frame mobility may be motivated by larger formal concerns, or it may itself become the principal formal concern, motivating other system. What is important to realize is that by attention to how filmmaker utilize the mobile frame within specific contexts, we can gain a fuller understanding of how our experience of a film is created.

c. The Duration of the Shot

The duration of the event on the screen may be manipulated by adjustments in the camera’s or printer’s drive mechanism. Narrative films often permit no simple equivalence of “real duration’ with screen duration. Long takes constitutes a major resource for the filmmaker. Yet, a take is one run of the camera that records a single shot.26

25

Ibid. p. 219-220.

26

3. Editing

Editing may be thought of as the coordination of one shot with the next. The film editor eliminates unwanted footage and joins the desired shots, the end of one to the beginning of another. Bordwell (1993) explained these joins can be different sorts, they are: afade-out (gradually darkens the end of a shot to black); a fade-in (accordingly lightens a shot from black); a dissolve (briefly superimposes the end of shot A and the beginning of shot B); a wipe (shot B replaces shot A by means of a boundary line moving across the screen), and a cut (the most common means of joining two shots).27

4. Sound

Filmmakers have always understood the power that sound and music have to enhance storytelling. Although silent films did not have dialogue or soundtracks as we know them, organists, pianists or full orchestras supplied live musical accompaniment in theaters, and often sound effects were created on the spot by sound-effects specialists.

A modern soundtrack is created and assembled in many interconnected stages by sound recordists, mixers, editors and music composers. Dialogue recorded by the production sound mixer during filming, on location or on a soundstage, makes up the initial layer of a film soundtrack. Using rhythm and tempo, melodic harmony or dissonant tones, a film score conveys mood, emotion and character in ways that dialogue alone cannot.

27

Instrumental music is only part of the composer’s tool kit. Songs are often employed to emphasize or comment on the dramatic action in non-musical films. Whether a song is heard on the soundtrack or performed live in the film, the lyrics may express or emphasize the thoughts or emotions of the characters. Original songs, written specifically for a film, may either highlight a single dramatic or emotional moment or make a statement about the entire film.

According to Bordwell (1993), there are two sources of sound, they are: diegetic sound, if the source of sound is a character or object in the story space of the film; and nondiegetic sound which is represented as coming from a source outside the story space.28

Contrast between sound and image or between sound and silence is effective to build tension or to deliver more information. Film sound is usually associated with the people and objects onscreen. Overlapping sound can connect unrelated settings, places or times.

D. Schizophrenia

Page (1947) explained that schizophrenia is a general term referring to a group of severe mental disorders marked by a splitting, or disintegration, of the personality. The most striking clinical features include general psychological disharmony, emotional impoverishment, dilapidation of thought process, absence of social rapport, delusions, hallucinations, and peculiarities of conduct.29

28

Ibid. p. 307.

29

Microsoft Encarta (2007) defines schizophrenia as a severe psychiatric disorder with symptoms of emotional instability, detachment from reality, and withdrawal into the self.30

The psychotic disorder for the first time was identified as “demence precoce” in 1860 by a Belgian psychiatrist, Benedict Muler (1809-1873). In 1893, a Germany psychiatrist, Emil Kraepelin called dementia praecox to make a distinction in the psychotic disorders. Kraepelin believed that dementia praecox

was a disease process that caused by specific pathology in the body. Kraepelin described dementia praecox as delusions, hallucinations, and disturbance of motor behavior—a major symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia for this time.31

In 1911, a Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) changed the term

dementia praecox into schizophrenia. The term schizophrenia comes from the Greek words shcizien, meaning “split” and phren, meaning “mind”. Bleuler believed that schizophrenia was marked by a splitting of mental associations and thought and a divorce of mental processes from other processes such as one’s feelings and behavior.32 In 1957, the psychiatrist Kurt Schneider (1887–1967) listed the forms of psychotic symptoms that he thought distinguished schizophrenia from other psychotic disorders. These are called first-rank symptoms (delusions and hallucinations) and second-rank symptoms (mood disorder and thought disorder).33

30

Microsoft Encarta. Oxford. Schizophrenia (2007).

31

Jeffrey S. Nevid, et al, Psikologi Abnormal. (Jilid 1 dan Jilid 2, judul asli: Abnormal Psychology in a Changing World 5th Edition), (Jakarta: Erlangga, 2005), p. 104.

32

David Hothersall, Psychology (U.S.A: A Bell & Howell Company, 1985), p. 469.

33

Nevid, et al. (2005), quoting DSM-IV34, define a person to be diagnosed with schizophrenia must display characteristic positive symptoms: delusions,

hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized behavior or catatonic

behavior, and negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening. For a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, one or more major areas of functioning such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care, are markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset. The continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least six months. This six-month period must include at least one month of symptoms (or less, if successfully treated). Additional criteria are also given that exclude the diagnosis; thus schizophrenia cannot be diagnosed if symptoms of mood disorder or pervasive developmental disorder are present, or the symptoms are the direct result of a substance (e.g., abuse of a drug or medication) or a general medical condition.35

The real cause of schizophrenia is still unknown. According to Nevid, et. al., (2005), there are a number of factors that contributes to the development of schizophrenia in a person, and those are biological factors and psychosocial factors.36 Biological factors includes: genetic factors that involved in the expresses of schizophrenia; neurotransmitter imbalances (it has been suggested that schizophrenics have too much of the neurotransmitter dopamine at certain brain centers; abnormal brain structure; the causal factors that can initially come together in early neurodevelopment, including during pregnancy. Psychosocial

34

DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The DSM-IV is the most recent major classification of mental disorders and contain eighteen major classifications and describes more than 200 specific disorders. It is published in 1994.

35 Ibid. 36

factors: evidence suggests that genetic and environmental factors can act in combination to result in schizophrenia. The idea of an inherent vulnerability (or diathesis) in some people, which can be unmasked by biological, psychological or environmental stressors, is known as the stress-diathesis model. Evidence suggests that the diagnosis of schizophrenia has a significant heritable component but that onset is significantly influenced by environmental factors or stressors.

1. The Major Symptoms Characteristic of Schizophrenia

Nevid et al, (2005) explained the major symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia are delusions, hallucinations, thought and speech disorder, disturbance of emotional, and disturbance of motor behavior, and other mental symptoms.37

a. Delusions

According to Wiramihardja (2005), delusion is false belief held by a person that appears obviously untrue to other people in the person’s culture. For example, a man may believe that Martians have implanted a microchip in his brain that controls his thoughts.38

According to Nevid, et al.,(2005), there are four common types of delusions as follows: Delusion of Persecution ( for example “CIA come to arrest him”); Delusion of Reference (people in a bus are talking about him or people on TV make him as a joke); Delusion of Influence (he believes that his thought, feeling, impulses or his action is being controlled by the power from the outside

37

Ibid. 38

Sutardjo A. Wiramihardja, Pengantar Psikologi Abnormal (Bandung: PT. Refika Aditama, 2005), p. 138.

like evil); Delusion of Grandeur (he believes that himself has special mission, or has a great irrational plan to save the world).39

The definition about delusions above will be used in determining schizophrenia of the main character in the research. The writer assumes that those delusions applied in A Beautiful Mind.

b. Hallucinations

Hallucinatory phenomena consisting of the perception of nonexistent external stimuli are more common in schizophrenia than in any other mental disease.40 In Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life, there are types of hallucinations: Auditory Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense of hearing); Visual Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense sight); Olfactory Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense of smell); Gustatory Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense of taste); and Tactual Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense of touch).41

From the explanation of hallucinations above, the writer only uses auditory hallucination, visual hallucination, and tactual hallucination because the writer assumes that the main character experiences those three types of hallucination in the film. Further analysis will be analyzed in chapter III.

c. Thought and Speech Disorder

According to Darley et al., (1986), the thought disturbances of schizophrenia are centered on the person’s inability to organize ideas coherently.

39

Jeffrey S. Nevid, et al, (2005), op.cit. p. 111.

40

James D. Page (1947), op.cit. p. 239.

41

James C. Coleman and William E. Broen, Jr, Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life (United States of America: University of California at Los Angeles, 1972) p. 271.

Often such people have trouble sticking to one topic at a time (loose associations). The ends of their statements are only distantly related to the beginnings. For some, the only true is that key words in their statements rhyme (clang associations). Yet others are so unaffected by the usual rules of communication that they use their own private words (neologisms) that have meaning to no one else.42

d. Disturbance of Emotional

According to Hothersall (1985), virtually all schizophrenic display alteration in emotional reactions to events or people, blunting is a considerable reduction in the intensity of emotional reaction relative to what would be considered normal in that situation; flattening is a virtual absence of emotional responding.43 Individuals may complain that they can barely feel pain or joy. Inappropriateness of affect is evident when the schizophrenic’s emotional reactions do not correspond to the content of his or her speech or meet the situational demands. For example, someone suffering from schizophrenia may, while reporting the recent death of a parent, laugh or giggle.

Berenbaum & Oltmanns (1990), as quoted by Nevid et al. (2005), define that there is not clear enough whether the disturbance of emotional of people suffering from schizophrenia is a disturbance in their inability to express their emotion, to report the emotion that they feel, or they really experience an emotion.44

42

John M. Darley, et. al, Psychology, 3rd ed (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1986), p. 582.

43

David Hothersall, (1985), op.cit. p. 473.

44

e. Disturbance of Motor Behavior

According to Hothersall (1985) the motor behavior of schizophrenic is frequently abnormal: they may be agitated or excited, and may wave or gesture wildly. They also often engage in repetitive, but apparently purposeless behavior.45

f. Other Mental Symptoms

Nevid et al., (2005) said that people with schizophrenia tend to withdraw themselves and not to interact with other people. They enjoy their own thought and fantasies world. They also have inability to sustain attention.46

From those explanations above, we can conclude that schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorders that has been recognized throughout recorded history characterized by hallucinations, delusions, thought and speech disorder, disturbance of emotional, disturbance of motor behavior, social withdrawal, and inability to sustain attention.

2. Subtypes of Schizophrenia

According to Halonen and Santrock (1999), there are four main types of schizophrenia that generally recognized,47 and they are:

a. Disorganized Type

Disorganized schizophrenia (hebephrenic schizophrenia) is a schizophrenic disorder in which an individual has delusions and hallucinations that have a little or no recognizable meaning-hence, the label “disorganized”. A

45

David Hothersall, (1985), op.cit. p. 473.

46

Jeffrey S. Nevid, et al, (2005), op.cit. p. 136.

47

Jane S. Halonen and John W. Santrock, Psychology: Contexts and Applications, 3rd ed (U.S.A: Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc, . 1999)

disorganized schizophrenic withdraws from human contact and might regress to silly, childlike gestures and behavior. Many of those individuals were isolated or maladjusted during adolescence.

b. Catatonic Type

Catatonic schizophrenia is a schizophrenic disorder characterized by bizarre motor behavior, which sometimes takes the form of a completely immobile stupor. Even in this stupor, catatonic schizophrenic are completely conscious of what is happening around them. An individual in a catatonic state sometimes shows waxy flexibility; for example, if the person’s arms raised and then allowed to fall, the arm stays in the new position.

c. Paranoid Type

Paranoid schizophrenia is a schizophrenic disorder characterized by delusions of reference, grandeur, and persecution. The delusions usually form a complex, elaborate system based on a complete misinterpretation of actual events. It is not unusual for schizophrenics to develop all three delusions in the following order.

d. Undifferentiated Type

Undifferentiated schizophrenia is a schizophrenic disorder characterized by disorganized behavior, hallucinations, delusions, and incoherence. This category of schizophrenia is used when an individual’s symptoms either don’t meet the criteria for the other types or they meet the criteria for more than one of the other types.

From the explanation of types of schizophrenia above, the writer assumes that the main character suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Further analysis of schizophrenia of the main character will be discussed in chapter III.

3. Treatment for Schizophrenia

Because the causes of schizophrenia are still unknown, current treatments focus on eliminating the symptoms of the disease.

a. Medication

The mainstay of psychiatric treatment for schizophrenia is an antipsychotic

medication. These can reduce the symptoms of psychosis like hallucination and delusion.48

Antipsychotic medications have been available since the mid-1950s. They effectively alleviate the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. While these drugs have greatly improved the lives of many patients, they do not cure schizophrenia.

b. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Electroshock therapy or known as Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a full body seizure, or convulsion, is brought about by passing a quick jolt of electric current (about 100volts) through the brain. The individual immediately loses consciousness. The body becomes rigid, and then the muscles begin to twitch violently. The seizure lasts up to about a minute, but the patient remains unconscious for several more minutes before waking in a temporarily confused state. The patient has no memory of what has happened during the treatment and

48

usually for some period before that. ECT patients may forget other past memories as well, though this is not common.

c. Hospitalization

Hospitalization is preferred when dealing with patients who exhibit severe symptoms of schizophrenia. The aim of hospitalization is to prevent them from hurting or injuring themselves and gain stability as they take medication.

d. Psychosocial Treatments

Numerous studies have found that psychosocial treatments can help patients who are already stabilized on antipsychotic medication deal with certain aspects of schizophrenia, such as difficulty with communication, motivation, self-care, work, and establishing and maintaining relationships with others. Learning and using coping mechanisms to address these problems allows people with schizophrenia to attend school, work, and socialize. In these cases, the psychosocial treatments help most, and many useful treatment approaches have been developed to assist people suffering from schizophrenia.

People with schizophrenia can take an active role in managing their own illness. Once they learn basic facts about schizophrenia and the principles of schizophrenia treatment, they can make informed decisions about their care.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is useful for patients with symptoms that persist even when they take medication. The cognitive therapist teaches people with schizophrenia how to test the reality of their thoughts and perceptions, how to “not listen” to their voices, and how to shake off the apathy that often

immobilizes them. This treatment appears to be effective in reducing the severity of symptoms and decreasing the risk of relapse.

Rehabilitation emphasizes social and vocational training to help people with schizophrenia function more effectively in their communities. Because people with schizophrenia frequently become ill during the critical career-forming years of life (ages 18 to 35) and because the disease often interferes with normal cognitive functioning, most patients do not receive the training required for skilled work. Rehabilitation programs can include vocational counseling, job training, money management counseling, assistance in learning to use public transportation, and opportunities to practice social and workplace communication skills.

Patients with schizophrenia are often discharged from the hospital into the care of their families, so it is important that family members know as much as possible about the disease to prevent relapses. Family members should be able to use different kinds of treatment adherence programs and have an arsenal of coping strategies and problem-solving skills to manage their ill relative effectively. Knowing where to find outpatient and family services that support people with schizophrenia and their caregivers is also valuable. Numerous studies have found that well-organized family intervention program can increase schizophrenic’s social function and reduce the schizophrenia.49

49

CHAPTER III RESEARCH FINDINGS

As the writer said before in theoretical framework that to be diagnosed as a schizophrenic, a person must display characteristic symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized behavior, and affective flattening. At least in six months, a person must show the continuous signs of the disturbance. Schizophrenia also cannot be diagnosed if symptoms of mood disorder or pervasive developmental disorder are present, or the symptoms are the direct result of a substance or a general medical condition.

To understand schizophrenia of the main character in A Beautiful Mind film, the writer will analyze the narrative structure of the story, cinematic techniques, and how the filmmaker utilizes cinematic techniques to support the narrative and the schizophrenia of the main character. Moreover, the writer will analyze the schizophrenia of the main character in A Beautiful Mind film.

A. Narrative Structure in A Beautiful Mind

To understand the story in A Beautiful Mind film, we have to relate it to narrative expectations which spectators would thus be looking for events and references keyed to John Forbes Nash’s life. The title A Beautiful Mind cue audience’s expectations that it is adapted from a biography of the same name by

Sylvia Nasar, a story of John Forbes Nash Jr., the mathematics genius who formulated the concept of game theory, which became a foundation for contemporary economics. During the Cold War50, Nash develops schizophrenia and he becomes delusional and paranoid. Finally, he recovers and wins a 1994 Nobel Prize. A Beautiful Mind DVD’s cover features a picture of face of a man with tense, curious, and in sharp looking into the window (see Appendix 3).

It is important to analyze the structure of the story in A Beautiful Mind. Phillips (1996) said that the structure of the story is important to understand narrative film. The writer applies the structure in fictional film that Phillips has explained in the book Film: An Introduction, they are “characters, goals, and conflicts”, to understand the narrative in A Beautiful Mind.

The protagonist in A Beautiful Mind is John Nash, who is also the main character in the film. The film begins in 1948 when Nash arrives at Princeton University as a recipient of the prestigious Carnegie Prize for mathematics. He meets his roommate Charles, a literature student, who soon becomes his best friend. He struggles to find an original idea to get his doctorate. He becomes obsessive in the competitive academic environment. He keeps to himself for the most part—an intensely unsociable man—and only occasionally finds himself interacting with a group of other promising math and science graduate students, Martin Hansen, Sol, and Bender.

50

Cold War is the term used to describe the state of conflict, tension, and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s. Throughout this period, rivalry between the two superpowers was expressed through military coalitions, propaganda, espionage, weapons development, industrial advances, and competitive technological development, e.g., the space race. Both superpowers engaged in costly defense spending, a massive conventional and nuclear arms race, and numerous proxy wars.

The first conflict happen when Nash challenged to play Go by Hansen. During the game they are talking about Bender and Sol who correctly completed Allen's proof of Peyrot's Conjecture. Hansen has got two weapons briefs under security review by the D.O.D., while Nash has not published his paper yet. The game end with Nash’s lost.

To find his original idea, Nash spends days on end in the campus library, works out dense calculations on the leaded-glass windows of his dorm room and library, and dismisses classroom instructions. Another conflict happens when Nash flubs a conversation with an attractive woman in a bar. However, the experience is what ultimately inspires his fruitful work in the concept of

governing dynamics, a theory in mathematical economics. Later, he is rewarded a job with an important defense company, where he eventually works for high-class government operations at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with his friends Sol and Bender.

While taking a research and teaching position at MIT, Nash meets a gorgeous physics student named Alicia. He is also approached by a mysterious government recruiter named William Parcher, who persuades him to work as an enemy code-breaker. Nash and Alicia begin dating, and despite of his lack of his social skills, their relationship grows and soon they marry.

Nash’s job becomes increasingly dangerous. After being chased by the Russians and an exchange of gunfire, Nash becomes increasingly paranoid and begins to behave erratically. While giving a lecture, Nash realizes that he is being watched by a hostile group of people. Although he attempts to flee, he is forcibly

sedated and sent to a psychiatric facility. Nash is convinced that he has been

hallucinating. The Department of Defense agent William Parcher and Nash's secret assignment to decode Soviet messages was in fact all a delusion. Even more surprisingly, Nash's friend Charles and his niece Marcee are also only products of Nash's mind. He is paranoid schizophrenia. He realizes that a split has occurred, that what seems real to him is not. The mind that served him so well and so brilliantly is now betraying him.

Nash observing the ways in which he copes with his illness together with Alicia as the wife who always forgave, always encouraged and ultimately brought her husband back to life. He recovers and wins a 1994 Nobel Prize

The structure of the story in A Beautiful Mind use standard pattern. In A Beautiful Mind John Nash as the main character tries to reach his goal by finding his own original idea. At same point he does not realize that he is schizophrenic. He faces all the problems and finally reaches his goal. He overcomes schizophrenia and attains a true sense of accomplishment by winning a Nobel Prize.

The plot and story is in chronological structure although there is a flashback. The story is ingenious way because it manages to keep the viewer as much in the dark as the main character, John Nash. The viewer will not realize that Charles, Parcher, and Marcee are not real because the filmmaker utilizes the cinematic techniques to support the narrative (the cinematic techniques of A Beautiful Mind will be explained in details later).

B. The Cinematic Techniques in A Beautiful Mind 1. Mise-en-scène in Time and Space

a. Mise-en-scène in Time

Philips (1999) explained that time in all fictional film are imprecise.51 Bordwell (1993) also explained that the importance of time in a film is related to causes and their effects in narrative. Bordwell has divided time into two parts; they are temporal order and temporal duration.52 Both Philips and Bordwell emphasize the important of time to construct the film’s story.

To understand A Beautiful Mind, time becomes important thing because a plot uses film techniques to manipulate time. A Beautiful Mind is release in 2001 but it tells a story that takes place over about forty years (from 1940s to 1990s). To construct the viewer’s perspective about time in the film, the director uses mise-en-scène in detail to transform the world in which Nash’s lives. It is the director’s effort to help the viewer to understand the plot time and the story time as a whole.

Howard uses inter titles in the film to manipulate the time for example, Figure 1 and 2. These inter titles guide the viewer to the development of Nash’s life. By manipulating time will support the narrative and shaping the viewer’s sense of time in A Beautiful Mind (see Appendix 3 for mise-en-scène in time and space).

51

William H. Phillips (1999), op. cit. p. 304.

52

Figure 1 Figure 2

From the Figures above, Figure 1 shows the time on September 1947 which Nash arrives at Princeton University. Figure 2 shows the time in 1953 at the Pentagon.

By cutting and special effect techniques, Howard also compressed the story time. We can see the season changes in short time by those technique while Nash is doing his thesis. A crane shot moves backward from medium long shot to extreme long shot of Nash (Figure 3, 4, 5, and 6). The frame shows the season changes from winter to summer.

Figure 3 Figure 4

From the Figures above, the filmmaker uses the same place to describe the season changes. We can see snow falls down outside when winter (Figure 3). It gradually disappears (Figure 4) and turns to spring (Figure 5). Then the season change to summer (Figure 6). The color in the four Figures also gradually changes to depict the season change in the film.

We can see the main character’s physical appearance is changed by using mise-en-scène (Figure 7, 8, 9, and 10) to support the narrative time and also the condition of the main character who suffers from schizophrenia (further analysis about schizophrenia will be explained later).

Figure 7 Figure 8

Figure 9 Figure 10

From the Figures above, Figure 7 shows Nash’s physical appearance in 1947 when he studies in university. In Figure 8 shows his physical appearance when he gives lecture in Harvard University. In Figure 9 shows his physical appearance in 1955 after he has to do treatment in hospital because of his schizophrenia. In Figure 10 shows his physical appearance when he gives speech

at Nobel Prize Ceremony in 1994. The filmmaker considers the costume and make-up of the main character to reflect the period of his adolescence to old age.

The plot in A Beautiful Mind presents events in straightforward chronological orders. Yet, there is a flashback when the main character finally realizes that he still suffers from schizophrenia.

A Beautiful Mind’s plot cues us to construct story duration which the viewer infers from the main character’s journey. This entire period is presented in plot duration. The use of flashback allows the plot to concentrate its revelation of story material into a very short period. But there is also screen duration, or running time about 135 minutes. Here, an event that takes only a few moments in the story is stretched out to several minutes of the screen time by means of the technique of film editing.

b. Mise-en-scène in Space

Bordwell (1993) said that space is also important in narrative film.53 In A Beautiful Mind, the events tend to occur in Princeton, New Jersey where Nash’s live. As the writer said before that the story time in this film takes place over forty years (from 1940s to 1990s). Howard considers setting in more detail to manipulate space by using mise-en-scène and emphasizes historical authenticity. The realism in settings is largely a matter of viewing conventions. The inter titles also use to construct the space in the film (see Figure 1 and 2 in p. 36; appendix 3 about mise-en-scène in time and space; and Figure 11 and 12 below). In Figure 2 (p. 36) shows that the events occur in Princeton University. In Figure 3 (p. 36)

53

shows the events occur in the Pentagon. In Figure 11 (below) shows the events occur in Wheeler Defense Labs M.I.T. Campus. In Figure 12 (below) shows the events occur in Harvard University when Nash attends National Mathematics Conference.

Figure 11 Figure 12

Selecting the elements of setting to manipulate space in A Beautiful Mind is important to support the narrative. There are a lot of details that had to have gone into considering the basic elements in costume and set design. The characters follow the standard fashion. For example, in 1950s, the women wear the popular circle skirt and their hair is wavy (Figure 13 and 14).

Figure 13 Figure 14

The scene probably is a fairly accurate depiction of the way male graduate students might have talked in the 1950s while having a beer (Figure 15). The graduate student Nash and some male friends are having drinks in a bar when a

group of attractive women walk in. One of the women is a particularly attractive blonde (Figure 16).

Figure 15 Figure 16

John Nash : […] Does anyone else feel she should be moving in slow motion?

Bender : Will she want a large wedding, ya think?

Sol : Shall we say swords, gentlemen? Pistols at dawn?

A pen in A Beautiful Mind becomes a prop for Nash as the main character. At the beginning of the film’s plot, the pen is used by Nash to find his original idea. For example, there is a shot of Nash’s hand when he is doing his work (Figure 17). Later, Nash uses the pen to find hidden code in select periodicals (Figure 18). In the end of the film, a pen is reserved for a member of the department, Nash that makes the achievement of a lifetime (Figure 19) and makes Nash wins a Nobel Prize.

Figure 19

Howard’s A Beautiful Mind displays changing color schemes. In the first portion of A Beautiful Mind, the settings and costumes are mostly brown and black to create gloomy atmosphere and to show the condition of Nash that suffers from schizophrenia. Besides, black, brown, and blue color become motif that appears through Nash’s dress. Red color appears in mise-en-scène through a woman’s dress in local bar (Figure 20) and Alicia’s dress (Figure 21). In the film, only the women wear red color has interacted with Nash. The red color of the women’s dress represents the meaning of love that Nash looks for. The changing of lighting and color schemes is also to emphasize the condition of the main character. For example, Figure 22 shows the condition of Nash suffers from schizophrenia when he plays Go with Hansen in his adolescence and Figure 23 shows the condition of Nash after he has some treatments when he plays Go with Hansen in his old age. The filmmaker uses the same place to depict the change of lighting and color schemes and to emphasize the condition of the main character.

Figure 22 Figure 23

2. Cinematography

Bordwell (1993) said that the aspects of cinematography in film have two functions. First, film style can function to support and enhance narrative form. Second, film style may become separate from narrative and attracting our attention in its own right.54 Related to A Beautiful Mind as the object of analysis, the writer uses the first function of film style.

Howard utilizes deep focus cinematography, symmetrically frame, and compositional balance to shape our expectations about where significant action will be located on the screen. Deep focus cinematography techniques also support the main character, Nash who suffers from schizophrenia where Nash’s world seemed to be closing in on him (for example, Figure 24 and 25). These techniques become motif in this film.

Figure 24 Figure 25

54

Howard also directs the viewer’s attention by using deep-space mise-en-scène (figure behavior and lighting placement in space (Figure 26 and 27). The viewer can watch the characters’ expression (Figure 28 and 29) because they play frontally.

Figure 26 Figure 27

Figure 28 Figure 29

Another film technique that is used in A Beautiful Mind is framing. Bordwell (1993) gives explanation about framing as;

(But,) in a film, the frame is not simply a neutral border; it produces a certain vantage point onto the material within the image. In cinema the frame is important because it actively defines the image for us.55

As the main character, Nash is presented in every scene and everything the viewers learn gets tunneled through him. Most of the film is restricted to Nash’s range of knowledge. Howard reinforces this by using mental subjectivity shot. These techniques are also to emphasize the schizophrenia of the main character. At certain points, however the narration becomes more unrestricted. This occurs

55

when Nash is taken to psychiatric hospital. The viewer is allowed to see other character’s perspective and therefore the truth of Nash’s illness. This is achieved by coupling POV shots, first what Nash’s sees, then the reality of what the other character sees. At the climax, when Parcher asked Nash to kill his wife, there is a flashback when Nash recalling the past. The shot of Marcee, Charles, Nash himself, Dr. Rosen, Alicia, and Parcher appear in the frame in short by using cut, dissolve, and framing techniques when flashback. Then, Nash realizes that Alicia and Charles never coexist in interactive field.

The framing also emphasizes the narrative form in this film. Howard uses medium shot and close up to show Nash’s expression clearly and the awkward gesture of Nash. Because of the way it is shot, the viewer is more effectively brought into the full range of emotions that is experienced by the main character throughout the film, which makes the story not only more enjoyable, but also more believable as well.

The film uses subtle special effects to illuminate the idea of Nash’s perspective—seeing the world in numbers and theories. A notable area where special effects are key is when John's working out an equation or coming to a conclusion. This flash of light is present when John works anything out. This ranges from looking for codes to establishing a suitable way of impressing women. Another notable area of special effects are a scene where ray of sun in a glass to the orange and end in a tie (Figure 30, 31, and 32), where numbers pop out in different sequences during a code breaking (Figure 33 and 34), and where Nash connects the stars to make designs for Alicia (Figure 35).

Figure 30 Figure 31

Figure 32 Figure 33

Figure 34 Figure 35

3. Sound

The sound in A Beautiful Mind works well to tell the story of Nash’s progression from genius to paranoia to determination. In one hand, the sources of diegetic sound only appear when Nash plays phonograph (see Appendix 3). On the other hand, nondiegetic sound becomes motif in this film. The score, composed by James Horner, contains complex rhythms and layers of instrumentation, all working to convey the complexity of the character and the mood of his abstract world for example, when Nash doing his job as code breaker. The use of Charlotte Church as vocal background conveys not only grace but also

a more mature timbre that seems to inspire awe quite well. The nondiegetic sound also comes from mental voices of Nash when flashback.

As the story progresses, as with all scores for film, there are not only certain themes of numbers and theories that continue to reemerge, but also there are variations to give a sense of passage of time that has taken place. All of this working together provides a greater sense of emotion and continuity in the narrative story line. The filmmakers consider the synchronization of sound in the film. They are correctly aligning the visual and audio portions of a film so that the image and sound are heard and seen simultaneously.

C. A Schizophrenia Analysis of John Nash as the Main Character in A Beautiful Mind Film

In A Beautiful Mind, John Nash as the main character is depicted as paranoid schizophrenic. The major symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia can be seen from the main character who suffers from the mental illness through his dialogue and scene in the film.

1. The Major Symptoms Characteristic of Schizophrenia

The major symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia are hallucinations, delusions, thought and speech disorder, disturbance of emotional, and disturbance of motor behavior, social withdrawal and inability to sustain attention. In the following analysis, the writer will explain every symptom that is suffered by the main character in details to understand the schizophrenia of the main character.

a. Hallucinations

1). Auditory Hallucination and Visual Hallucination

Auditory Hallucination refers to hearing something when nothing in the environment actually caused the sensation. Visual Hallucination refers to seeing something when nothing in the environment actually caused the sensation. Howard’s A Beautiful Mind introduced Nash’s auditory hallucination firstly and visual hallucination later. This is not only provides a visual clue, but establishes the hallucinations from Nash’s point of view.

Nash’s first hallucination is a roommate named Charles Herman, a literature student at Princeton University in 1947. While Nash looking through the window, he heard a voice of someone speaks in his room. The camera pans quickly to the right side, from Nash’s POV shot, we see a man enters the room and introduces himself as Nash’s roommate (Figure 36) and then leaves him alone in his room. In Figure 37, a shot of Nash’s expressions of wonder in medium shot after shaking hand with Charles.

Figure 36 Figure 37

Man : Oh, Christ. The prodigal roommate arrives.

John Nash : Roommate?

Man : […] John Nash?

John Nash : Hello.

Nash wonders when Charles comes to his dorm room by saying “roommate?” This word indicates his surprise. Nash guides the viewer that he is not sure whether Charles is real or not. We know later that Charles is Nash’s hallucination when Nash is taken to MacArthur Psychiatric Hospital by a psychiatrist named Dr. Rosen because he is diagnosed as schizophrenic. From the dialogue below, Nash feels betrayed by Charles because he thinks Charles tells the Russians that he works for the government (see Appendix 3). Though Dr. Rosen says there is no one, Nash keeps telling Dr. Rosen that Charles is in the room.

John Nash : Charles? Charles? I didn't mean to get you involved in this. I'm- I'm sorry. Charles? The prodigal roommate revealed. "Saw my name on the lecture slate." You lying son of a bitch!

Dr. Rosen : Who are you talking to? Tell me who you see.

John Nash : How do you say, "Charles Herman" in Russian? How do you say it in Russian?

Dr. Rosen : There's no one there, John. There's no one there. John Nash : He's right there. He's right there.

Dr. Rosen tells Alicia that Nash is schizophrenic. Nash’s first hallucination is Charles. Dr. Rosen tells Alicia that Nash does not have a roommate because he lived in single dorm room.

Dr. Rosen : Possibly since graduate school? At least that's when his hallucinations seem to have begun.

Alicia : What are you talking about? What hallucinations?

Dr. Rosen : One, so far, that I am aware of. An imaginary roommate named Charles Herman.

[…]

Dr. Rosen : I phoned Princeton. According to their housing records, John lived alone.

The other proof that Charles is only Nash’s hallucination is from the camera shot. The film’s narrative requires us to take narrator’s version within

D 7 6 >

Appendix 3. Figures of Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film

No. Figures Definition

1.

Figure 1

A Beautiful Mind DVD’s cover features a picture of face of a man with tense, curious, and in sharp looking into the window

2.

Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2

Mise-en-scène in Time and Space: Figure 2.1 shows the time on October 1954 when he drops a document in a house; Figure 2.2 shows the time of Nash’s life a year later; Figure 2.3 shows the time on April 1956; Figure 2.4 shows the time of Nash’s life

Figure 2.3 Figure 2.4

Figure 2.5 Figure 2.6

Figure 2.7

two months later; Figure 2.5 shows the time of Nash’s life on October 1978; Figure 2.6 shows the time of Nash’s life on March 1994; and Figure 2.7 shows the time of Nash’s life when he receives a Nobel Prize on December 1994.

3. Diegetic sound appear

Figure 3

phonograph and Charles comes enter the room and turn it off.

4.

Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2

A crane shot from Nash’s POV shot (Figure 4.1), we see Charles is sitting in another place and In Figure 4.2, a shot of Nash lay on the floor looking at Charles when he feels betrayed. 5.

In Figure 5.1, a medium shot of Nash when he is shaking hand with a General.

In Figure 5.2, we see Nash in a secret laboratory.

Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2 6.

Figure 6

The turning point, where we find out that what we believed to be true was not. It becomes apparent that John suffers from schizophrenia and elements of his life are fictitious.

7.

Figure 7.1 Figure 7.2

Nash’s delusion of influence when Parcher asks him to kill Alicia and Charles tries to convince him to do what Parcher says and Marcee also appears. The Figures is taken from Nash’s POV.

8. Nash’s delusion of

persecution in which the Russians are persecuting him. After being chased by the Russians and an exchange of gunfire,

Figure 8.1 Figure 8.2

Nash becomes weird when he arrives at home.

9.

Figure 9.1 Figure 9.2

Nash also acts so strange in his house (Figure 9.1). He begins to feel paranoia. In Figure 9.2 we see Alicia’s expression after Nash leaves the room without light on.