Title
Running title: “A Beautiful Mind” which deals with the subject of schizophrenia, critically evaluate the film in terms of whether it offers a realistic portrayal of this condition. Does it inform or misinform the public?
Extended essay
Evanthia Sideridou
CITY College International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for ENG205
17/12/2010
Dr. S. Hannam
Over the past years more and more movies are made and respectively more and more people are used to watch to them. Although films are a medium for entertainment, they are also a medium to transmit information about any field. Recent years, many movies have been made about psychological disorders. Much research attention has been grown through the past last years on mental illness and media (M. Anderson, 2003). This interest is because the representation of mental illness through movies can have a significant effect on the public (McKeown & Clancy, 1995 as cited in M. Anderson, 2003). The film we are going to talk about is the "Beautiful Mind". This film is a true story and it portrays the life of John Nash, a nobelist mathematician, who had schizophrenia. The story also includes characteristics of a love story, between John Nash (Russel Crow) and his wife Alicia (Jennifer Connelly). The Beautiful Mind has been attacked for presenting myths about schizophrenia (Wilkinson, 2002 & David, 2002), but is it right? The movie A Beautiful Mind provides a realistic view of schizophrenia and we are going to explore this by the symptoms and the treatment of this mental illness. The films in general have a positive effect on the public's perception as they are informed about things that they do not know at all. In some cases this is exactly what makes people to be misinformed. As somebody does not know something about a mental illness, the film makers can present the exact mental illness in the way they want and as a result people who experience
Extended essay
Evanthia Sideridou
CITY College International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for ENG205
17/12/2010
Dr. S. Hannam
Over the past years more and more movies are made and respectively more and more people are used to watch to them. Although films are a medium for entertainment, they are also a medium to transmit information about any field. Recent years, many movies have been made about psychological disorders. Much research attention has been grown through the past last years on mental illness and media (M. Anderson, 2003). This interest is because the representation of mental illness through movies can have a significant effect on the public (McKeown & Clancy, 1995 as cited in M. Anderson, 2003). The film we are going to talk about is the "Beautiful Mind". This film is a true story and it portrays the life of John Nash, a nobelist mathematician, who had schizophrenia. The story also includes characteristics of a love story, between John Nash (Russel Crow) and his wife Alicia (Jennifer Connelly). The Beautiful Mind has been attacked for presenting myths about schizophrenia (Wilkinson, 2002 & David, 2002), but is it right? The movie A Beautiful Mind provides a realistic view of schizophrenia and we are going to explore this by the symptoms and the treatment of this mental illness. The films in general have a positive effect on the public's perception as they are informed about things that they do not know at all. In some cases this is exactly what makes people to be misinformed. As somebody does not know something about a mental illness, the film makers can present the exact mental illness in the way they want and as a result people who experience