John Nash Mental Illness

Movies are made for entertainment. People go to movies to feel emotions, whether those are humor, sadness, joy, fear, or a combination of all. These films can be fiction, non-fiction, animated, etc., and, although many of them are made well, they often miss a lot of facts. Mental illnesses have been illustrated in films in a number of styles, but their depiction is often inaccurate or altered.
People often feel sympathy for characters with cancer, but not for people with mental illnesses (Sass). This all changed with the release of A Beautiful Mind. The movie depicted mental illness in a way that had never been done before, and it intrigued many audiences. The main character in the film was John Nash (played by Russell Crowe), who was

based off of a real schizophrenic. The film depicted his illness by portraying him as a loose cannon that becomes violent or forgetful in extreme cases when he is not on his medicine.

John Nash is critical of the film for depicting visual hallucinations that he had never seen (Khan). This portrayal in the film was inaccurate, but it did capture audiences’ attentions, and spread awareness while extracting empathy for schizophrenia like no other film had done before. One additional flaw to the film is the misconception that schizophrenia or other similar disorders enhance brain functionality. This is false, and, in fact, A Beautiful Mind helps establish and expand the stereotype that geniuses emerge from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (Sass). In reality, John Nash had a very bright future with his mind, and he studied at Carnegie for chemical engineering before switching to math (Khan). He developed the disease later in his life, and rather than help him focus or concentrate on his studies, it only hindered him. One study on schizophrenia reveals, “There is often a creative aspect to many people who develop schizophrenia, even though the disease usually devastates the ability to express their potential,” (Sass) John Nash reviews the film’s depiction of himself, saying, “I don’t regard it as giving

accurate information about me as this particular person...I think it’s helpful in relation to mental illness...It encourages families to hope for a better outcome,” (Nash). Although the film itself does not portray Nash’s symptoms accurately, it is just a film, and is meant to entertain and create awareness rather than inform. Many other movies depict disorders, but sometimes it is not the focus, but just an aspect.
The film Finding Nemo may not be centered around mental disorders, but it is an important element. In the movie, Marlin, the main character, loses his son Nemo, and he tries to find his son with the help of another fish named Dory. The only problem is that Dory has short-term memory loss, and makes things very difficult along the way. Dory is a perfect example of the portrayal of amnesia in film (Brinckman). She has trouble remembering people and objectives, but being with Marlin helps her sustain memories, much like those who cope with anterograde amnesia out of the water. One analysis of the film writes, “Though she may be oblivious (for comical effect) to the frustrations that Marlin expresses, Dory truly finds her place at home with Marlin and develops a familial, interdependent, and supportive relationship with him,” (Brinckman). The role of family is very important to those who live with short-term memory loss, as well as positivity, and repetition. Dory remains the most optimistic character in the entire movie, and although Marlin’s pessimistic nature occasionally rubs off on her, she is almost always hopeful. In times of trouble, she turns to her go-to sanguine phrase, ‘just keep swimming.’