A BEAUTIFUL MIND AND HOTEL RWANDA

A Beautiful Mind and Hotel Rwanda

A Beautiful Mind and Hotel Rwanda

A Beautiful Mind

How did John Nash's mental illness evolve into noticeable schizophrenia?

The movie visualizes his hallucinations as three individuals, a roommate and friend, a little girl and a government operative who hired him to locate hidden messages in magazines. After his initial diagnosis, Nash is subjected to shock therapy and strong medication. The medication did help him, but he found that his mathematical and cognitive abilities were severely diminished so he stopped taking it. The end of the movie shows Nash receiving the Nobel Prize for his doctoral thesis in 1994 with an interview being conducted to ascertain his sanity. Nash claims he is sane under his current medication.

What is the difference between genius and madness and who makes that determination?

The idea of a link between genius and madness has long fascinated people. There are still a number of contentious issues. For example how does one define “genius” and “madness”? The boundaries between normal, abnormal, and supernormal, are arbitrary and blurred, and there may never be a satisfactory resolution. What may seem eccentric behavior to one observer may be regarded as madness by another. A crazy nut to some may be considered a genius by others. And if a genius is too far ahead of his time, his brilliant ideas might not be appreciated except posthumously. John Forbes Nash is a mathematical genius that is described as having "two helpings of brain and only half a helping of heart." His heroic struggle with mental illness and the incredible toll that took on his marriage forms the heart and soul of A Beautiful Mind. The social responsibilities presented in the film are evident today in how Nash's theories have influenced global trade negotiations, and even breakthroughs in evolutionary biology.

How are stereotypes of mental illness perpetuated by an uninformed public?

A common misconception propagated by entertainment is schizophrenia and multiple disassociation disorder are synonymous terms for the same disorder. These illnesses are two separate disorders with schizophrenia being the inability to differentiate between reality and fantasy. Multiple disassociation disorder is the personification of multiple personalities within a single person. Another problem is the reaction by average citizens to people diagnosed with schizophrenia. A schizophrenic man fired weapons inside the United States Capitol building. Laurie Flynn, executive director for the National Associates for the Mentally Ill, worried about the public backlash from the shooting towards individuals who suffer from schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. The overall public reaction to mental illness is fear. With the possibility of a serial murder living next door, as in Disturbia, movies featuring the mentally ill create a climate of fear of those suffering from it.

Is there a stigma in relation to being diagnosed with a mental illness?

The social stigma associated with mental disorders is a widespread problem. Some people believe those with serious mental illnesses cannot recover, or are to blame for problems. The US Surgeon General stated in 1999 that: "Powerful and pervasive, ...