Schizophrenia In The Film A Beautiful Mind

Throughout the film, A Beautiful Mind (2001), the main character John Nash experiences a series of strange events that ultimately lead him to believe that he is being pursued by top officials in the CIA. Later in the film, we come to find out that most of the events in addition to some of the characters are just a figment of John's imagination as he is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. According to the DSM-IV-TR, criteria for this type of schizophrenia under Axis I consists of "preoccupation with delusions or frequent auditory hallucinations" and "no evidence of marked disorganized speech" (Butcher et al., 2008, p. 368). These symptoms are quite evident when John converses with his supposed college roommate, Charles, and also with Charles's niece, Marcee. Feeling deeply connected to
Many individuals with paranoid schizophrenia often believe that someone or an organization is attacking them, attempting to harm and disrupt their lives, and because they are "convinced by their paranoid beliefs", "no amount of reasoning will change their minds" (LWS, 2015). Psychologists suggest that individuals are "less troubled" by negative symptoms of schizophrenia, including "social withdrawal and blunted emotions", in contrast to positive symptoms, such as "delusions and hallucinations" (LWS, 2015, para. 11), and this is accurate concerning John; although he is socially withdrawn and does not express his emotions well, these symptoms do not worsen his condition in the way that his delusions and hallucinations