Psychology in Film Review

The film "A Beautiful Mind " directed by Ron Howard depicts a heroic life story of an outstanding mathematician John Forbes Nash (Russell Crowe haunted by both his genius and his mental derangement . The picture traces the mathematician`s struggle to save his personal life and career after John is diagnosed with schizophrenia and is falling into insanity I have chosen this film because it exemplifies several psychological concepts and theories , such as the mentioned psychiatric condition of schizophrenia , and the psychological processes associated with what is known as cognitive dissonance

Speaking about

the diagnosis that the main character portrays , it is ironic that the very word schizophrenia , which can be translated as "a shattered mind , is such a fitting characterization of the Nash`s condition . People with schizophrenia left untreated usually manifest disorganized patterns of thinking and have auditory hallucinations and delusions , often quite acute . In this connection , the film depicts such symptoms of schizophrenia in a very vivid and distressing way , moreover that we as viewers learn that what we had previously perceived as reality and as key people in the life of Nash were actually his hallucinatory visions . In this regard , the psychological theory that best explains the behavior of the protagonist of the film is known as cognitive dissonance . This concept belongs to the realm of study of cognitive processing underlying our psychological mechanisms and functions , and postulates that conflicting cognitions represent a kind of a driving force that makes us find new methods of dealing with situation to reduce the level of a cognitive dissonance , in this way simultaneously instigating us to undergo the process of learning . We can find examples of cognitive dissonance in the film when Nash realizes that many of his experiences are in fact hallucinatory , and begins to learn to intellectually control some of his delusions . On ground of all this , I would say that due to its plot , character development , and visual effects , the film "A Beautiful Mind " indeed portrays the discussed psychological issues in both an accurate and a very impressive way

References

Howard , R (2002 . A Beautiful Mind . Universal Studios Home Video

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