The Portrayal Of Schizophreni A Beautiful Mind And The...

The Portrayal of Schizophrenia In A Beautiful Mind and The Realities of The Illness In the movie A Beautiful Mind, Russell Crow performs the part of a schizophrenic. Mental illnesses possess a negative connotation in society. The illness schizophrenia is not rare, but is not completely understood yet. The portrayal of this mental illness in A Beautiful Mind is not correct, but it is not wrong either. Hollywood tends to exaggerate situations, but they also depict a few of schizophrenia’s symptoms appropriately. The movie is based on the award-winning mathematician John Nash who went on to win The Nobel Prize. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that is not well known. Media creates a misconception about this illness and gives people the wrong idea. This illness is in a state of psychosis, which means that person’s thoughts and perceptions are removed from reality (King, 2014). The symptoms of schizophrenia are not black and white. However, there are symptoms that are certain. Positive symptoms â€Å"reflect something added a bove and beyond normal behavior†, whereas, â€Å"negative symptoms reflect social withdrawal, behavioral deficits, and the loss or decrease of normal functions† (King, 2014, pg. 518). People diagnosed with schizophrenia tend to distance themselves from others due to the way their mind works. In the media, schizophrenia is often confused with other mental illnesses. Hollywood tends to over exaggerate the truth in order to captivate an audience, and sometimes facts