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SCHIZOPHRENIA IN A BEAUTIFUL MIND FILM
A Thesis
Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
The Strata One Degree (S1)
NAIM KURNIAWATI
NIM. 104026000963
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT
LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”
JAKARTA
2008
SCHIZOPHRENIA IN A BEAUTIFUL MIND FILM
NAIM KURNIAWATI
NIM. 104026000963
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT
LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”
JAKARTA
2008
Dedicated to My Lovely Parents
“Mulyadi and Siti Sariasih”
Best whishes wherever you are and whatever you do,
Remember the days we have passed through together,
it’s not a blessing, nor a curse,
But to be together and be among us.
I might have hurt you or hurt by someone,
that's take a toll from the time we have to go on,
I will be remembered only by you when,
I will not be here and not to be with you.
It’s a world and it’s a life I want to be again,
Just to be with you and to share the love, desire, touch, agony and the pain.
Be happy and be well.
ABSTRACT
Naim Kurniawati, Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film. Thesis. Jakarta: English Letters and Humanities Faculty, State Islamic University Syarif
Hidayatullah, December 2008.
The Objective of this research is to analyze and to understand the
schizophrenia that is conveyed through narrative presentation of the film. As a whole, A Beautiful Mind wants to give information about schizophrenia through
some attempts to understand the mental illness from schizophrenic and all the people that interact with him. In this research, the writer questions on how the
narrative structure and the cinematic techniques of A Beautiful Mind film describe John Nash’s schizophrenia; and how the schizophrenia of John Nash is depicted in
the film. This research uses a qualitative method and the data will be qualitatively analyzed.
Analysis on the schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind film, using the theories
of film structure and schizophrenia, shows that this film tells the story from the
main character’s point of view. It follows the journey of Nash’s life from the point
where Nash is not even aware he has schizophrenia, to the point where Nash and
his wife find a way to manage his condition. The analysis result shows that the
choice of cinematic techniques creates a style to support and enhance narrative
form and the schizophrenia which is suffered by the main character. Moreover,
the main character suffers the major characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia and
does some treatments to recover his mental illness. Among many discourses about
schizophrenia, this film can be considered as having alternative to improve the
public understanding of schizophrenia.
APPROVEMENT
SCHIZOPHRENIA IN A BEAUTIFUL MIND FILM
A Thesis
Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
The Strata One Degree (S1)
Naim Kurniawati NIM. 104026000963
Approved by:
Advisor,
Dini Masitah S.S, M.Hum
NIP. 150 317 724
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT
LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”
JAKARTA
2008
LEGALIZATION
The thesis entitled “Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film” has been
defended before the Letters and Humanities Faculty’s Examination Committee on
December 4, 2008. The thesis has already been accepted as a partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the Strata One Degree.
Jakarta, December 4, 2008
Examination Committee
Chair Person,
Dr. H. M. Farkhan, M.Pd. NIP. 150 299 480
Secretary,
Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.Pd. NIP. 150 261 902
Members:
Examiner I,
Drs. H. Abdul Hamid, M.Ed.
NIP. 150 181 922
Examiner II,
Elve Oktafiyani, M.Hum
NIP. 150 317 725
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by
another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the
award of any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute of higher
learning, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.
Jakarta, December 4, 2008
Naim Kurniawati
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
All praises belong to Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful, and the
creator all the living things and the non living things from being nothing into
exist. The writer would like to start off by thanking Allah SWT. Thank you God
for always helping her, and guiding her in every step in living her life. Peace and
blessing be upon our prophet Muhammad SAW and all of his friends and
followers.
The writer would like to express her gratitude to her parents for their
constant love and guidance. They are the most amazing people that anyone could
ever know and make the writer who and what her today. The writer can never
thank them enough. The writer can never repay for all they have done for her. The
writer loves you both dearly.
The writer wants to thank her brothers and sister for supporting her in
finishing her thesis. Thank you so much for her brothers, Rahmat and Shahid, who
always help her, being so affectionate, and being so handy; for her little sister,
Awi, who always cheers her up and becomes so patient in listening to all her
stories and grievances. The writer also wants to thank her family members,
especially her cousins, Amp and Rina, thank you for always being there for her
whenever and wherever.
The writer expresses deep sense of gratitude and thankfulness to her guide
Dini Masitah S.S, M. Hum who has helped her at each and every point of her
research work with patience and enthusiasm. The writer has much indebted to
Mrs. Dini Masitah for her inspiring guidance, affection, generosity and everlasting
enthusiasm throughout the tenure of her research work, without that the thesis
would not have appeared in the present form.
The gratitude is dedicated to Dr. H. Abdul Chair, M.A, the Dean of
English Letters Department; Dr. H. Muhammad Farkhan M.Pd, the Head of
English Letters Department; Drs. A. Saefuddin, M.Pd., the Secretary of English
Letters Department; and all lecturers of English Letters Department who has
taught her during her study at Syarif Hidayatullah University.
The writer offers her gratitude to her classmates Yanti for her fruitful
discussion at various stages. The writer also would like to thank her best friends
Hilya, Lita, Fitri, Achwan and Kris for their support, time sharing, and
understanding.
A special thanks to Miss Rosida Erowati who has guided the writer and
helped her learning about film structure. Thank you for the time, patience and
kindness. All the writer’s friends in film discussion, Woro, Velma, Nova, Mela,
Habibie, Yanti, and Jay, thanks for sharing.
The writer heartily thanks to her neighbors, especially Sari; her best friend,
Dini; and her friends at YM for their great support and advice.
The writer would like to end now by saying thanks to everyone who has
supported her and to the person who is reading this. May Allah bless us.
Jakarta, December 4, 2008
The writer
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................ iii
APPROVEMENT ................................................................................... iv
LEGALIZATION .................................................................................... v
DECLARATION .................................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ......................................................................... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................ ix
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................ xii
LIST OF APPENDICES ......................................................................... xiii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study .......................................................... 1
B. Focus of the Study ................................................................... 3
C. Research Questions .................................................................. 3
D. Objectives of the Research ....................................................... 3
E. Significance of the Research .................................................... 3
F. Research Methodology ............................................................ 4
1. Method ............................................................................... 4
2. Technique of Data Analysis ................................................ 4
3. Unit of Analysis .................................................................. 4
4. Instruments ......................................................................... 5
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Narrative Structure in a Film .................................................... 6
B. The Cinematic Techniques ....................................................... 7
1. Mise-en-scène ..................................................................... 7
a. Setting .......................................................................... 8
b. Lighting ....................................................................... 9
c. Costumes and Make-up ................................................ 11
d. Behavior of the Figure .................................................. 11
2. Cinematography .................................................................. 12
a. The Photographic Aspects of the Shot ........................... 13
b. The Framing of the Shot ............................................... 15
c. The Duration of the Shot .............................................. 18
3. Editing ................................................................................ 19
4. Sound ................................................................................. 19
C. Schizophrenia .......................................................................... 20
1. The Major Symptoms Characteristic of Schizophrenia ........ 23
a. Delusions ...................................................................... 23
b. Hallucinations .............................................................. 24
c. Thought and Speech Disorder ....................................... 24
d. Disturbance of Emotional.............................................. 25
e. Disturbance of Motor Behavior .................................... 26
f. Other Mental Symptoms ............................................... 26
2. Subtypes of Schizophrenia .................................................. 26
a. Disorganized Type ........................................................ 26
b. Catatonic Type ............................................................. 27
c. Paranoid Type .............................................................. 27
d. Undifferentiated Type .................................................. 27
3. Treatment for Schizophrenia ............................................... 28
a. Medication.................................................................... 28
b. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) ................................ 28
c. Hospitalization ............................................................. 29
d. Psychosocial Treatments .............................................. 29
CHAPTER III RESEARCH FINDINGS
A. Narrative Structure in A Beautiful Mind Film ........................... 31
B. The Cinematic Techniques in A Beautiful Mind Film ............... 35
1. Mise-en-scène in Time and Space ....................................... 35
a. Mise-en-scène in Time.................................................. 35
b. Mise-en-scène in Space ................................................ 38
2. Cinematography .................................................................. 42
3. Sound ................................................................................. 45
C. A Schizophrenia Analysis of John Nash as the Main Character in
A Beautiful Mind Film ............................................................. 46
1. The Major Symptoms Characteristic of Schizophrenia ........ 46
a. Hallucinations .............................................................. 47
1). Auditory Hallucination and Visual Hallucination ... 47
2). Tactual Hallucination ............................................. 55
b. Delusions ..................................................................... 56
1). Delusion of Grandeur ............................................. 56
2). Delusion of Influence ............................................. 57
3). Delusion of Reference ............................................ 62
4). Delusion of Persecution ......................................... 63
c. Thought and Speech Disorder ....................................... 66
d. Disturbance of Emotional.............................................. 69
e. Disturbance of Motor Behavior .................................... 71
f. Social Withdrawal ........................................................ 72
g. Inability to Sustain Attention ........................................ 74
CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion .............................................................................. 77
B. Suggestion ............................................................................... 78
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................... 80
APPENDICES ......................................................................................... 83
LIST OF FIGURES
1. The Cinematic Techniques in A Beautiful Mind Film ..................... 35
2. A Schizophrenia Analysis of John Nash as the Main Character in A
Beautiful Mind Film ...................................................................... 46
LIST OF APPENDICES
1. Diagram of “Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film” .................. 83
2. All Love Can Be Lyrics from O.S.T. A Beautiful Mind .................. 84
3. Figures of Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film ....................... 85
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those
cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form,
a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful method for educating citizens
about mental illness or others societal problems. The visual elements of cinema
give motion pictures a universal power of communication.1
Film does not only become something that entertains but also can inspire the
viewer if it showed attractively. Many aspects of life become story theme in
film, for example psychology. Film as a medium to describe psychological
topics is including development over the life cycle (particularly childhood and
adolescence), family dynamics, and mental illness. Film with psychological
themes becomes popular for various reasons. Some psychological films
become popular because it is adapted from best seller novel or book for
example, American Psycho (2000). Some others based on true life story for
example, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006).
A Beautiful Mind film is one of the films that has psychological theme.
The film depicts someone who is suffering psychological problem played by
Russel Crowe as John Nash.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film, accessed on January 26, 2008.
The story begins when Nash in 1948 starts his study in Princeton
University. Nash’s friends are Martin Hansen, Sol, and Bender. He meets his
roommate Charles, a literature student, who soon becomes his best friend.
During the whole time that Nash studied in Princeton, he was trying to
come up with his own original idea. He makes a fruitful work in the concept of
governing dynamics, a theory in mathematical economics. After the conclusion of
Nash's studies as a student at Princeton, he accepts a prestigious appointment at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with his friends Sol and
Bender.
Five years later while teaching a class on Calculus, he meets Alicia, a
student with whom he falls in love and eventually marries. Nash’s life change
when he encounters a mysterious Department of Defense agent, William Parcher.
Nash is invited to a United States Department of Defense facility in The Pentagon
to crack a complex encryption of an enemy telecommunication.
Things get worse after Nash and Alicia married. Nash’s job as a secret
agent makes him feels in danger day after day. Finally, while giving a lecture,
Nash realizes that he is being watched by a hostile group of people. Although he
attempts to flee, he sent to a psychiatric facility. A psychiatrist reveals that the
Department of Defense agent William Parcher and Nash's secret assignment to
decode Soviet messages was in fact all a delusion. Even more surprisingly, Nash's
friend Charles and his niece Marcee are also only products of Nash's mind.
The writer is interested to view A Beautiful Mind, which a biography
based on the true life story of a mathematical prodigy, John Forbes Nash Jr. The
film is a brilliant and touching portrayal of the destruction of the mind by
schizophrenia. The schizophrenia of the main character is shown from film’s
narration and cinematic techniques of film form. That is why the writer would like
to analyze John Nash as of the main character who suffers from schizophrenia in
A Beautiful Mind film.
B. Focus of the Study
This research is focused on how the main character, John Nash, suffers
from schizophrenia depicted in A Beautiful Mind film, directed by Ron Howard.
C. Research Questions
1. How do the narrative structure and the cinematic techniques of A Beautiful
Mind film describe John Nash’s schizophrenia?
2. How is the schizophrenia of the main character depicted in the film?
D. Objectives of the Research
The objective of this research is to analyze and to understand the narrative
structure of A Beautiful Mind film; the cinematic techniques of the film; and the
schizophrenia suffered by John Nash as the main character in the film.
E. Significances of the Research
Through this research, the writer hopes that research would be beneficial
to readers in terms of it is information and knowledge. It is also hoped that the
result of this research can be used for the English Department, Faculty of
Humanities of State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta as one of the
references in the studying of narrative in different medium. Besides, the writer
expects that this research can give understanding about narrative and psychology
in film.
F. Research Methodology
1. Method
The writer uses qualitative method in doing this research. The writer also
uses the analytic descriptive writing to analyze the relationship between
psychological approach of the main character in the film with its narrative
and its form.
2. Technique of Data Analysis
In this research, the writer uses analytic descriptive writing in analyzing
this film. The writer collected the data from several sources that related to
the study. In narrative film, like A Beautiful Mind, narrative form and
cinematic elements become language to express ideas or event in the film.
3. Unit of Analysis
Analysis unit that is used in this research is the DVD film A Beautiful
Mind directed by Ron Howard released on 2002.
4. Instruments
In collecting data, the writer uses herself as instrument by watching,
understanding, identifying, classifying and analyzing the information
related to the data.
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Both of film and literary work has narrative. To convey the narrative, both
of them use different medium. Literary work uses language as its medium and
narrative film uniquely depend on visual, and sound elements to establish place
and time, develop characters, suggest themes and ideas, and create mood.
In this chapter, the writer will use theories of film structure and
schizophrenia to explain how A Beautiful Mind film depicts the schizophrenia of
the main character. The theories are narrative structure in film, cinematic
techniques, and schizophrenia.
A. Narrative Structure in Film
Phillips (1999) said that the structure of the story is important to
understand narrative film.2 If we want to understand a film, we cannot just see the
narrative but we also have to know the structure. Because it helps us to
comprehend the story and it also influence how viewer responds to the film. The
narrative in a film will not always be arranged chronologically and the
arrangement has important role in development of the story. So we cannot
separate narrative with its structure when we watch a film.
2 William H Phillips, Film: An Introduction (Boston: Bedford/ St.Martin’s, 1999), p. 275-276.
B. The Cinematic Techniques
To understand a narrative in film, we must be familiar with the medium
itself. According to Bordwell (1993), there are four sets of cinematic techniques:
two techniques of the shot, mise-en-scène and cinematography; the technique that
relates shot to shot, editing; and the relation of sound to film images.3
In any film, certain techniques tend to create a formal system of their own.
Every film develops specific techniques in patterned ways. Repetition is basic to
our understanding any film. It is useful to have term to help describe formal
repetitions, and the most common term is motif.4
Style is that formal system of the film organizes film techniques. Any film
will tend to rely on particular options in creating its style, and these are chosen by
the filmmaker within the constraints of historical circumstances. We may also
extend the term “style” to describe the characteristic use of techniques made by a
single filmmaker or a group filmmakers.5
The four of cinematic techniques will be explained below:
1. Mise-en-scène
In the original French, mise-en-scène means “staging an action,” and it
was first applied to the practice of directing plays. Mise-en-scène includes those
aspects of film that overlap with the art of the theater: setting, lighting, costumes
3 David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction (New York: Mc Graw Hill,
1993), p. 144. 4 Ibid. p. 57.
5 Ibid. p. 335.
and make-up, and the behavior of the figures.6 Those aspects of mise-en-scène
will be explained as follows:
a. Setting
The setting is literally the location where the action takes place, and it can
be artificially construction (as in studio sets) or natural (what is also termed
location shooting).7 The production designers must decide how to decorate their
sets and locations. Set decoration includes all props and furnishings, including
foliage and food, used in a given scene. When an object in the setting is motivated
to operate actively within the ongoing action, we can call it a “prop”.8 More often,
however, the effect of set decoration is collective. As in real life, we make
assumptions about film characters based on their environment. How characters
decorate their living room, or what they put into their medicine chests, can tell us
as much about them as the dialogue or action.
To get the most out of set decoration, production designers study the
script’s characters. Whether the story is contemporary, futuristic or period,
designers strive to create a credible everyday world. For period pieces, designers
conduct research at libraries and archives to help them achieve authenticity. For
futuristic or fantastic stories, they consult with scientists and engineers to create
sets that are both imaginative and believable. Sometimes, however, designers
choose drama over realism, selecting props or furnishings that may not be
absolutely accurate, but are emotionally true.
6 Ibid. p. 145.
7 Susan Hayward, Key Concepts in Cinema Studies (London: Routledge, 1996), p. 313.
8 David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 149.
In addition to architectural elements and set decoration, production
designers rely on color, tone and texture to help realize their vision. Often the
main characters in a script are assigned color and fabric palettes. When choosing a
palette, designers consider the characters’ emotional journey as well as their social
and cultural background. The chosen colors may show up in the characters’
costumes, in the props they use, or in the décor of their habitat. Colors can have
culturally specific symbolic meaning. In Western cultures, for example, red
usually denotes danger; white denotes purity. In the Chinese culture, white is the
color of death, and red signifies happiness and health.
Like any other visual technique, color in the mise-en-scène may function
as a motif.9 Color tones and shading are also important in art direction. Saturated,
deep colors convey a sense of seriousness and intensity, while bright colors
suggest lightness and delicacy. Black-and-white photography reproduces the
world exclusively in tones of black, gray and white. Therefore, a production
designer working on a black-and-white film must be aware of how the colors of
his or her set are going to translate into those tones.
b. Lighting
The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting have a profound effect on
the way an image is perceived. Light affects the way colors are rendered; both in
terms of hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the
composition. Much like movement in the cinema, the history of lighting
technology is intrinsically linked to the history of film style. Most mainstream
9 Maria Pramaggiore and Tom Wallis, Film: A Critical Introduction (London: Laurence King
Publishing Ltd, 2005), p. 86.
films rely on the three-point lighting style, and its genre variations. Other films,
for example documentaries and realist cinema, rely on natural light to create a
sense of authenticity.
There are various styles of lighting that a cinematographer can use.
Lighting style is generally determined in consultation with the director (and often
the production designer), and depends on the setting, mood and character of the
story or the scene. According to Boggs and Petrie (2000), there are two terms
designate different intensities of lighting: (a) Low-key lighting puts most of the
set in shadow; just a few highlights define the subject. This type of lighting
heightens suspense and creates a somber mood; thus, it is used in mystery and
horror films. (b) High-key lighting, in contrast, results in more light areas than
shadows, and subjects are seen in middle grays and highlights, with far less
contrast. High key lighting is suitable for comic and light moods, such in a
musical.10
Lighting also is used to create the illusion of depth and dimension, and to
illuminate different contours and textures. Depth can be emphasized by back- and
side-lighting the actors to create highlights on prominent features and leave the
background in shadow. Sometimes color gels are used over lights to enhance the
depth of a scene (warm tones might be used to light the actors, while cooler colors
might be used for the background lights, for example).
10
Joseph M. Boggs and Dennis W. Petrie, The Art of Watching Films, 5th
ed (U.S.A: Mayfield
Publishing Company, 2000), p. 102.
c. Costumes and Make-up
Costumes are part of the visual composition of each frame of film. Just as
the elements of a painting work together to create a harmonious image, costumes
must work with the lighting and sets. Color, shape, line, and texture are all
considered when designing costumes for a film. Color, one of the most important
elements in the designer’s tool kit, suggests the mood and atmosphere of a story.
Warm reds produce a different effect from subdued blues, for example. Costumes
are also used to focus attention on the major actors and the important action in a
scene. Costumes can change the shape of an actor’s body to reflect the period and
the personality of the character.
Like costume designers, makeup artists are storytellers. Whether the script
requires actors to look beautiful or ragged, younger or older, or like monsters or
other fantastic beings, makeup artists and hairstylists help audiences believe that
what they see on the film screen is real. Makeup artists and hairstylists do more
than make actors look attractive. The filmmaker works to visualize the complete
character. Like costume designers, makeup artists try to reflect the time period,
lifestyle, and social status and emotional or psychological changes of the
characters. Makeup artists and hairstylists use their skills to make sure that no
matter how much time has passed, the actors’ appearance is consistent from shot
to shot.
d. Behavior of the Figure
The director may also control the behavior of various figures in the mise-
en-scène. Here the word “figures” covers a wide range of possibilities, since the
figure may represent a person but could also be an animal, a robot, an object, or
even a pure shape. An actor’s performance consists of visual elements
(appearance, gestures, facial expression) and sound (voice, effects).11 The ultimate
goal of any actor should be to make us believe completely in the reality of the
character. If this goal to be achieved, actors must either develop or blessed with
several talents.12
2. Cinematography
In the book Film Art: An Introduction, Bordwell (1993) gave his
explanation about cinematographic properties as:
Mise-en-scène is at bottom a theatrical notion: The filmmaker stages an
event to be filmed. But a comprehensive account of cinema as an art
cannot stop with simply what is put in front of the camera. […] The
filmmaker also controls what we will call the cinematographic qualities of
the shot—not only what is filmed but also how it is filmed.
Cinematographic qualities involve three factors: (1) the photographic aspects of the shot; (2) the framing of the shot; and (3) the duration of the
shot.13
When making a film, filmmaker will pay more attention to what will be
filmed in order to deliver his or her message to the viewer. Since film is a series of
frame that is projected onto a screen, a visual element becomes important thing in
making a film. To deliver the right message, filmmaker will control what is filmed
and how it is filmed. To control how an event is filmed, filmmaker uses
cinematographic qualities which are divided into three factors: the photographic
aspects of the shot; the framing of the shot; and the duration of the shot. Those
factors will be explained as follows:
11
David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 158. 12
Joseph M. Boggs and Dennis W. Petrie (2005), op.cit. p. 269. 13 David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 185.
a. The Photographic Aspects of the Shot
The camera does what a human eye does. That is, it creates perspective
and spatial relations with the rest of the world. However, unlike one's eye, a
cinematographer can select different lenses for different purposes. Variation in
focal length is one of the chief benefits of such an advantage. The focal length of
the lens in particular, determines the angle of view and, therefore, the field of
view. Bordwell (1993) said that there are three sorts of lenses on the basis of their
effects on perspective: the short-focal-length (wide-angle) lens; the middle-focal-
length (normal) lens; and the long-focal-length (telephoto) lens.14
There is one
sort of lens that offers the director a chance to manipulate focal length and to
transform perspective relations during a single shot. A zoom shot is a single shot
taken with a lens that has a variable focal length, thereby permitting the
cinematographer to change the distance between the camera and the object being
filmed, and rapidly move from a wide-angle shot to a telephoto shot in one
continuous movement; this camera technique makes an object in the frame appear
larger; movement towards a subject to magnify it is known as zoom in or
forward zoom, or reversed to reduce its size is known as zoom out/back or
backward zoom.15
Focal length not only affects how shape and scale are magnified distorted.
It also determines the lens’s depth of field. Depth of field the depth of
composition of a shot, i.e., where there are several planes (vertical spaces in a
frame): (1) a foreground, (2) a middle-ground, and (3) a background; depth of
14
Ibid. p. 191-192 15
Tim Dirks, Cinematic Terms, A Film-Making Glossary: Zoom (1996). Accessed on November
10, 2008. http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms20.html.
field specifically refers to the area, range of distance, or field (between the closest
and farthest planes) in which the elements captured in a camera image appear in
sharp or acceptable focus; as a rule of thumb, the area 1/3 in front of and 2/3
behind the subject is the actual distance in focus; depth of field is directly
connected, but not to be confused with focus.16 Depth of field should not be
confused with the concept of deep space. Bordwell (1993) explained that deep
space is a term for the way the filmmaker has staged the action on several
different planes, regardless of whether or not all of these planes are in focus.17
Like deep space, deep focus involves staging an event on film such that
significant elements occupy widely separated planes in the image. Unlike deep
space, deep focus related to depth of field—refers to an adjustment made
technically to insure that a camera shot retains its deep focus throughout all the
various planes (fore, middle, and back).18 Most cameras, including still cameras,
are designed to focus on objects at different distances from the lens. Because the
eye is ordinarily drawn to what it can see best—that is, to the object in sharpest
focus—the cinematographer can create a kind of three-dimensionality by using
rack focus—in one continuous shot focusing the camera lens, in turn, on objects
in different planes of depth (different distances from the camera).19
Special effects artists make things happen in films that might not normally
occur in real life. When the real thing is too expensive, too dangerous or
impossible to shoot, special effects artists are bought in. The first special effects in
16
Tim Dirks, Cinematic Terms, A Film-Making Glossary: Deep of focus (1996). Accessed on
November 10, 2008. http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms7.html 17
David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 194. 18
Tim Dirks (1996), op.cit. http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms7.html 19 Joseph M. Boggs and Dennis W. Petrie (2005), op.cit. p. 131.
the cinema were created while the film was being shot. These came to be known
as "in-camera" effects. Later, optical and digital effects were developed so that
editors and visual effects artists could more tightly control the process by
manipulating the film in post-production. Bordwell (1993) explained that there are
five techniques of special effects: glass shots (here portions of the setting are
painted onto a pane of glass and the camera shoots through it to film action
supposedly occurring in the painted setting); superimposition (the exposure of
more than one image on the same film strip); rear projection (a technique for
combining a foreground action with a background action filmed earlier); front
projection (composite process whereby footage meant to appear as the
background of a shot is projected from the front onto a screen; figures in the
foreground are filmed in front of the screen as well); and matte shot (a type of
process shot in which different areas of the image (usually actors and setting) are
photographed separately and combined in laboratory work).20
b. The Framing of the Shot
A frame refers to a single image, the smallest compositional unit of a
film's structure, captured by the camera on a strip of motion picture film - similar
to an individual slide in still photography; a series of frames juxtaposed and
shown in rapid succession make up a motion (or moving) picture; also refers to
the rectangular area within which the film image is composed by the filmmaker—
in other words, a frame is what we see (within the screen).21
20
David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 197-198. 21 Tim Dirks (1996), op.cit. http://www.filmsite.org/filmterms10.html
Many films are shot with a camera that appears to be at approximately the
same height as its subject. However, it is possible to film from a position that is
significantly lower or higher than the dominant element of the shot. In that case,
the image is described as low angle or high angle respectively. Angle of framing
can be used to indicate the relation between a character and the camera's point of
view or can simply be used to create striking visual compositions. According to
Bordwell (1993), there are three general categories of camera angles: the
straight-on angle (horizontal, on the same level), the high angle (above it,
looking down), and the low angle (looking up).22
Not only can the angle from which a camera films but the height also be a
significant element in a film. A low-level camera is placed close to the ground
whereas a high-level camera would be placed above the typical perspective shown
in the cinema. Camera level is used to signify sympathy for characters who
occupy particular levels in the image, or just to create pleasurable compositions.
Camera level is obviously used to a greater advantage when the difference in
height between objects or characters is greater.
The distance of framing is the apparent distance of the frame from the
mise-en-scène elements. It is also called camera distance and shot scale.
According to Hayward (1996), there are: (a) close-up: the subject framed the
camera fills the screen, close up can be used an objects and on parts of the body
other than the face; (b) medium close-up: close-up of one or two (sometimes
three) characters, generally framing the shoulders or chest and the head; (c)
22 David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 211.
medium shot: the shot of frames a character from the waist, hips or knees up (or
down); (d) medium long shot: halfway between a long and a medium shot; (e)
long shot: subject or characters are at some distance from the camera; they are
seen in full in their surrounding environment; (f) extreme long shot: the subject
or characters are very much to the background of the shot.23
Framing also contributes to cueing us to take a shot as “subjective.” A
film’s narration may present story information with some degree of psychological
depth. There are perceptual subjectivity (we might see shots taken from
character’s optical standpoint (the point-of view-shot also abbreviated as POV
shot) or hear sounds as the character would hear them), and mental subjectivity
(we might hear an internal commentary reporting the character’s thoughts, or we
might see the character’s “inner images,” representing memory, fantasy, dreams,
or hallucinations).24
In framing it is possible for the frame to move with respect to the framed
material. There are many ways to move a camera: in fluid long takes, rapid and
confusing motions, etc. that establishes the rhythm and point of view scene.
Bordwell (1993) gave four types of camera movement, they are: the pan (short
for “panorama”) movement rotates the camera on a vertical axis; the tilt
movement rotates the camera on a horizontal axis; in the tracking (or dolly or
trucking) shot, the camera as a whole does change position, traveling in any
direction along the ground—forward, backward, circularly, diagonally, or from
side to side; and in the crane shot the camera moves above ground level.
23
Susan Hayward (1996), op.cit. p. 317. 24 David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op.cit. p. 78.
Sometimes filmmaker does not want smooth camera movements, preferring a
bumpy, jiggling image. Commonly this sort of image is achieved through use of
the hand-held camera.25
Frame mobility functions primarily to keep our attention fastened on the
subject of the shot, and it subordinates itself to that subject’s movement. Camera
movement has several functions, all directly supportive of the narrative. First, and
least unusual, is its tendency to adhere to figure movement. Another function of
moving the camera independently of figure movement is to link characters with
one another. The camera carves into space to create connections that enrich the
film narrative’s form. Frame mobility can guide and shape our perception of a
film’s space and time. Frame mobility may be motivated by larger formal
concerns, or it may itself become the principal formal concern, motivating other
system. What is important to realize is that by attention to how filmmaker utilize
the mobile frame within specific contexts, we can gain a fuller understanding of
how our experience of a film is created.
c. The Duration of the Shot
The duration of the event on the screen may be manipulated by
adjustments in the camera’s or printer’s drive mechanism. Narrative films often
permit no simple equivalence of “real duration’ with screen duration. Long takes
constitutes a major resource for the filmmaker. Yet, a take is one run of the
camera that records a single shot.26
25
Ibid. p. 219-220. 26 Ibid. p. 235.
3. Editing
Editing may be thought of as the coordination of one shot with the next.
The film editor eliminates unwanted footage and joins the desired shots, the end
of one to the beginning of another. Bordwell (1993) explained these joins can be
different sorts, they are: a fade-out (gradually darkens the end of a shot to black);
a fade-in (accordingly lightens a shot from black); a dissolve (briefly
superimposes the end of shot A and the beginning of shot B); a wipe (shot B
replaces shot A by means of a boundary line moving across the screen), and a cut
(the most common means of joining two shots).27
4. Sound
Filmmakers have always understood the power that sound and music have
to enhance storytelling. Although silent films did not have dialogue or
soundtracks as we know them, organists, pianists or full orchestras supplied live
musical accompaniment in theaters, and often sound effects were created on the
spot by sound-effects specialists.
A modern soundtrack is created and assembled in many interconnected
stages by sound recordists, mixers, editors and music composers. Dialogue
recorded by the production sound mixer during filming, on location or on a
soundstage, makes up the initial layer of a film soundtrack. Using rhythm and
tempo, melodic harmony or dissonant tones, a film score conveys mood, emotion
and character in ways that dialogue alone cannot.
27 Ibid. p. 247.
Instrumental music is only part of the composer’s tool kit. Songs are often
employed to emphasize or comment on the dramatic action in non-musical films.
Whether a song is heard on the soundtrack or performed live in the film, the lyrics
may express or emphasize the thoughts or emotions of the characters. Original
songs, written specifically for a film, may either highlight a single dramatic or
emotional moment or make a statement about the entire film.
According to Bordwell (1993), there are two sources of sound, they are:
diegetic sound, if the source of sound is a character or object in the story space of
the film; and nondiegetic sound which is represented as coming from a source
outside the story space.28
Contrast between sound and image or between sound and silence is
effective to build tension or to deliver more information. Film sound is usually
associated with the people and objects onscreen. Overlapping sound can connect
unrelated settings, places or times.
D. Schizophrenia
Page (1947) explained that schizophrenia is a general term referring to a
group of severe mental disorders marked by a splitting, or disintegration, of the
personality. The most striking clinical features include general psychological
disharmony, emotional impoverishment, dilapidation of thought process, absence
of social rapport, delusions, hallucinations, and peculiarities of conduct.29
28
Ibid. p. 307. 29 James D. Page, Abnormal Psychology ( New Delhi: Mcgraw-Hill Inc, 1947), p. 236.
Microsoft Encarta (2007) defines schizophrenia as a severe psychiatric
disorder with symptoms of emotional instability, detachment from reality, and
withdrawal into the self.30
The psychotic disorder for the first time was identified as “demence
precoce” in 1860 by a Belgian psychiatrist, Benedict Muler (1809-1873). In 1893,
a Germany psychiatrist, Emil Kraepelin called dementia praecox to make a
distinction in the psychotic disorders. Kraepelin believed that dementia praecox
was a disease process that caused by specific pathology in the body. Kraepelin
described dementia praecox as delusions, hallucinations, and disturbance of motor
behavior—a major symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia for this time.31
In 1911, a Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) changed the term
dementia praecox into schizophrenia. The term schizophrenia comes from the
Greek words shcizien, meaning “split” and phren, meaning “mind”. Bleuler
believed that schizophrenia was marked by a splitting of mental associations and
thought and a divorce of mental processes from other processes such as one’s
feelings and behavior.32 In 1957, the psychiatrist Kurt Schneider (1887–1967)
listed the forms of psychotic symptoms that he thought distinguished
schizophrenia from other psychotic disorders. These are called first-rank
symptoms (delusions and hallucinations) and second-rank symptoms (mood
disorder and thought disorder).33
30
Microsoft Encarta. Oxford. Schizophrenia (2007). 31
Jeffrey S. Nevid, et al, Psikologi Abnormal. (Jilid 1 dan Jilid 2, judul asli: Abnormal Psychology
in a Changing World 5th
Edition), (Jakarta: Erlangga, 2005), p. 104. 32
David Hothersall, Psychology (U.S.A: A Bell & Howell Company, 1985), p. 469. 33 Jeffrey S. Nevid, et al, (2005), op.cit. p. 105.
Nevid, et al. (2005), quoting DSM-IV34
, define a person to be diagnosed
with schizophrenia must display characteristic positive symptoms: delusions,
hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized behavior or catatonic
behavior, and negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening. For a significant
portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, one or more major areas of
functioning such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care, are markedly below
the level achieved prior to the onset. The continuous signs of the disturbance
persist for at least six months. This six-month period must include at least one
month of symptoms (or less, if successfully treated). Additional criteria are also
given that exclude the diagnosis; thus schizophrenia cannot be diagnosed if
symptoms of mood disorder or pervasive developmental disorder are present, or
the symptoms are the direct result of a substance (e.g., abuse of a drug or
medication) or a general medical condition.35
The real cause of schizophrenia is still unknown. According to Nevid, et.
al., (2005), there are a number of factors that contributes to the development of
schizophrenia in a person, and those are biological factors and psychosocial
factors.36
Biological factors includes: genetic factors that involved in the expresses
of schizophrenia; neurotransmitter imbalances (it has been suggested that
schizophrenics have too much of the neurotransmitter dopamine at certain brain
centers; abnormal brain structure; the causal factors that can initially come
together in early neurodevelopment, including during pregnancy. Psychosocial
34
DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The DSM-IV is the most
recent major classification of mental disorders and contain eighteen major classifications and
describes more than 200 specific disorders. It is published in 1994. 35
Ibid. 36 Ibid. p. 136.
factors: evidence suggests that genetic and environmental factors can act in
combination to result in schizophrenia. The idea of an inherent vulnerability (or
diathesis) in some people, which can be unmasked by biological, psychological or
environmental stressors, is known as the stress-diathesis model. Evidence
suggests that the diagnosis of schizophrenia has a significant heritable component
but that onset is significantly influenced by environmental factors or stressors.
1. The Major Symptoms Characteristic of Schizophrenia
Nevid et al, (2005) explained the major symptoms characteristic of
schizophrenia are delusions, hallucinations, thought and speech disorder,
disturbance of emotional, and disturbance of motor behavior, and other mental
symptoms.37
a. Delusions
According to Wiramihardja (2005), delusion is false belief held by a
person that appears obviously untrue to other people in the person’s culture. For
example, a man may believe that Martians have implanted a microchip in his
brain that controls his thoughts.38
According to Nevid, et al.,(2005), there are four common types of
delusions as follows: Delusion of Persecution ( for example “CIA come to arrest
him”); Delusion of Reference (people in a bus are talking about him or people on
TV make him as a joke); Delusion of Influence (he believes that his thought,
feeling, impulses or his action is being controlled by the power from the outside
37
Ibid. 38
Sutardjo A. Wiramihardja, Pengantar Psikologi Abnormal (Bandung: PT. Refika Aditama,
2005), p. 138.
like evil); Delusion of Grandeur (he believes that himself has special mission, or
has a great irrational plan to save the world).39
The definition about delusions above will be used in determining
schizophrenia of the main character in the research. The writer assumes that those
delusions applied in A Beautiful Mind.
b. Hallucinations
Hallucinatory phenomena consisting of the perception of nonexistent
external stimuli are more common in schizophrenia than in any other mental
disease.40
In Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life, there are types of
hallucinations: Auditory Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense of
hearing); Visual Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense sight);
Olfactory Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense of smell); Gustatory
Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense of taste); and Tactual
Hallucination (hallucination involving the sense of touch).41
From the explanation of hallucinations above, the writer only uses
auditory hallucination, visual hallucination, and tactual hallucination because the
writer assumes that the main character experiences those three types of
hallucination in the film. Further analysis will be analyzed in chapter III.
c. Thought and Speech Disorder
According to Darley et al., (1986), the thought disturbances of
schizophrenia are centered on the person’s inability to organize ideas coherently.
39
Jeffrey S. Nevid, et al, (2005), op.cit. p. 111. 40
James D. Page (1947), op.cit. p. 239. 41
James C. Coleman and William E. Broen, Jr, Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life (United
States of America: University of California at Los Angeles, 1972) p. 271.
Often such people have trouble sticking to one topic at a time (loose associations).
The ends of their statements are only distantly related to the beginnings. For
some, the only true is that key words in their statements rhyme (clang
associations). Yet others are so unaffected by the usual rules of communication
that they use their own private words (neologisms) that have meaning to no one
else.42
d. Disturbance of Emotional
According to Hothersall (1985), virtually all schizophrenic display
alteration in emotional reactions to events or people, blunting is a considerable
reduction in the intensity of emotional reaction relative to what would be
considered normal in that situation; flattening is a virtual absence of emotional
responding.43
Individuals may complain that they can barely feel pain or joy.
Inappropriateness of affect is evident when the schizophrenic’s emotional
reactions do not correspond to the content of his or her speech or meet the
situational demands. For example, someone suffering from schizophrenia may,
while reporting the recent death of a parent, laugh or giggle.
Berenbaum & Oltmanns (1990), as quoted by Nevid et al. (2005), define
that there is not clear enough whether the disturbance of emotional of people
suffering from schizophrenia is a disturbance in their inability to express their
emotion, to report the emotion that they feel, or they really experience an
emotion.44
42
John M. Darley, et. al, Psychology, 3rd
ed (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1986), p. 582. 43
David Hothersall, (1985), op.cit. p. 473. 44 Jeffrey S. Nevid, et al, (2005), op.cit. p. 116-117.
e. Disturbance of Motor Behavior
According to Hothersall (1985) the motor behavior of schizophrenic is
frequently abnormal: they may be agitated or excited, and may wave or gesture
wildly. They also often engage in repetitive, but apparently purposeless
behavior.45
f. Other Mental Symptoms
Nevid et al., (2005) said that people with schizophrenia tend to withdraw
themselves and not to interact with other people. They enjoy their own thought
and fantasies world. They also have inability to sustain attention.46
From those explanations above, we can conclude that schizophrenia is a
chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorders that has been recognized throughout
recorded history characterized by hallucinations, delusions, thought and speech
disorder, disturbance of emotional, disturbance of motor behavior, social
withdrawal, and inability to sustain attention.
2. Subtypes of Schizophrenia
According to Halonen and Santrock (1999), there are four main types of
schizophrenia that generally recognized,47
and they are:
a. Disorganized Type
Disorganized schizophrenia (hebephrenic schizophrenia) is a
schizophrenic disorder in which an individual has delusions and hallucinations
that have a little or no recognizable meaning-hence, the label “disorganized”. A
45
David Hothersall, (1985), op.cit. p. 473. 46
Jeffrey S. Nevid, et al, (2005), op.cit. p. 136. 47
Jane S. Halonen and John W. Santrock, Psychology: Contexts and Applications, 3rd
ed (U.S.A:
Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc, . 1999)
disorganized schizophrenic withdraws from human contact and might regress to
silly, childlike gestures and behavior. Many of those individuals were isolated or
maladjusted during adolescence.
b. Catatonic Type
Catatonic schizophrenia is a schizophrenic disorder characterized by
bizarre motor behavior, which sometimes takes the form of a completely
immobile stupor. Even in this stupor, catatonic schizophrenic are completely
conscious of what is happening around them. An individual in a catatonic state
sometimes shows waxy flexibility; for example, if the person’s arms raised and
then allowed to fall, the arm stays in the new position.
c. Paranoid Type
Paranoid schizophrenia is a schizophrenic disorder characterized by
delusions of reference, grandeur, and persecution. The delusions usually form a
complex, elaborate system based on a complete misinterpretation of actual events.
It is not unusual for schizophrenics to develop all three delusions in the following
order.
d. Undifferentiated Type
Undifferentiated schizophrenia is a schizophrenic disorder characterized
by disorganized behavior, hallucinations, delusions, and incoherence. This
category of schizophrenia is used when an individual’s symptoms either don’t
meet the criteria for the other types or they meet the criteria for more than one of
the other types.
From the explanation of types of schizophrenia above, the writer assumes
that the main character suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Further analysis of
schizophrenia of the main character will be discussed in chapter III.
3. Treatment for Schizophrenia
Because the causes of schizophrenia are still unknown, current treatments
focus on eliminating the symptoms of the disease.
a. Medication
The mainstay of psychiatric treatment for schizophrenia is an antipsychotic
medication. These can reduce the symptoms of psychosis like hallucination and
delusion.48
Antipsychotic medications have been available since the mid-1950s. They
effectively alleviate the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. While these drugs
have greatly improved the lives of many patients, they do not cure schizophrenia.
b. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
Electroshock therapy or known as Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a full
body seizure, or convulsion, is brought about by passing a quick jolt of electric
current (about 100volts) through the brain. The individual immediately loses
consciousness. The body becomes rigid, and then the muscles begin to twitch
violently. The seizure lasts up to about a minute, but the patient remains
unconscious for several more minutes before waking in a temporarily confused
state. The patient has no memory of what has happened during the treatment and
48 Jeffrey S. Nevid, et al, (2005), op.cit. p. 131.
usually for some period before that. ECT patients may forget other past memories
as well, though this is not common.
c. Hospitalization
Hospitalization is preferred when dealing with patients who exhibit severe
symptoms of schizophrenia. The aim of hospitalization is to prevent them from
hurting or injuring themselves and gain stability as they take medication.
d. Psychosocial Treatments
Numerous studies have found that psychosocial treatments can help
patients who are already stabilized on antipsychotic medication deal with certain
aspects of schizophrenia, such as difficulty with communication, motivation, self-
care, work, and establishing and maintaining relationships with others. Learning
and using coping mechanisms to address these problems allows people with
schizophrenia to attend school, work, and socialize. In these cases, the
psychosocial treatments help most, and many useful treatment approaches have
been developed to assist people suffering from schizophrenia.
People with schizophrenia can take an active role in managing their own
illness. Once they learn basic facts about schizophrenia and the principles of
schizophrenia treatment, they can make informed decisions about their care.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is useful for patients with symptoms that
persist even when they take medication. The cognitive therapist teaches people
with schizophrenia how to test the reality of their thoughts and perceptions, how
to “not listen” to their voices, and how to shake off the apathy that often
immobilizes them. This treatment appears to be effective in reducing the severity
of symptoms and decreasing the risk of relapse.
Rehabilitation emphasizes social and vocational training to help people
with schizophrenia function more effectively in their communities. Because
people with schizophrenia frequently become ill during the critical career-forming
years of life (ages 18 to 35) and because the disease often interferes with normal
cognitive functioning, most patients do not receive the training required for skilled
work. Rehabilitation programs can include vocational counseling, job training,
money management counseling, assistance in learning to use public
transportation, and opportunities to practice social and workplace communication
skills.
Patients with schizophrenia are often discharged from the hospital into the
care of their families, so it is important that family members know as much as
possible about the disease to prevent relapses. Family members should be able to
use different kinds of treatment adherence programs and have an arsenal of coping
strategies and problem-solving skills to manage their ill relative effectively.
Knowing where to find outpatient and family services that support people with
schizophrenia and their caregivers is also valuable. Numerous studies have found
that well-organized family intervention program can increase schizophrenic’s
social function and reduce the schizophrenia.49
49 Ibid, p. 135.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH FINDINGS
As the writer said before in theoretical framework that to be diagnosed as a
schizophrenic, a person must display characteristic symptoms like delusions,
hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized behavior, and affective
flattening. At least in six months, a person must show the continuous signs of the
disturbance. Schizophrenia also cannot be diagnosed if symptoms of mood
disorder or pervasive developmental disorder are present, or the symptoms are the
direct result of a substance or a general medical condition.
To understand schizophrenia of the main character in A Beautiful Mind
film, the writer will analyze the narrative structure of the story, cinematic
techniques, and how the filmmaker utilizes cinematic techniques to support the
narrative and the schizophrenia of the main character. Moreover, the writer will
analyze the schizophrenia of the main character in A Beautiful Mind film.
A. Narrative Structure in A Beautiful Mind
To understand the story in A Beautiful Mind film, we have to relate it to
narrative expectations which spectators would thus be looking for events and
references keyed to John Forbes Nash’s life. The title A Beautiful Mind cue
audience’s expectations that it is adapted from a biography of the same name by
Sylvia Nasar, a story of John Forbes Nash Jr., the mathematics genius who
formulated the concept of game theory, which became a foundation for
contemporary economics. During the Cold War50, Nash develops schizophrenia
and he becomes delusional and paranoid. Finally, he recovers and wins a 1994
Nobel Prize. A Beautiful Mind DVD’s cover features a picture of face of a man
with tense, curious, and in sharp looking into the window (see Appendix 3).
It is important to analyze the structure of the story in A Beautiful Mind.
Phillips (1996) said that the structure of the story is important to understand
narrative film. The writer applies the structure in fictional film that Phillips has
explained in the book Film: An Introduction, they are “characters, goals, and
conflicts”, to understand the narrative in A Beautiful Mind.
The protagonist in A Beautiful Mind is John Nash, who is also the main
character in the film. The film begins in 1948 when Nash arrives at Princeton
University as a recipient of the prestigious Carnegie Prize for mathematics. He
meets his roommate Charles, a literature student, who soon becomes his best
friend. He struggles to find an original idea to get his doctorate. He becomes
obsessive in the competitive academic environment. He keeps to himself for the
most part—an intensely unsociable man—and only occasionally finds himself
interacting with a group of other promising math and science graduate students,
Martin Hansen, Sol, and Bender.
50
Cold War is the term used to describe the state of conflict, tension, and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies from the mid-
1940s to the early 1990s. Throughout this period, rivalry between the two superpowers was
expressed through military coalitions, propaganda, espionage, weapons development, industrial
advances, and competitive technological development, e.g., the space race. Both superpowers
engaged in costly defense spending, a massive conventional and nuclear arms race, and
numerous proxy wars.
The first conflict happen when Nash challenged to play Go by Hansen.
During the game they are talking about Bender and Sol who correctly completed
Allen's proof of Peyrot's Conjecture. Hansen has got two weapons briefs under
security review by the D.O.D., while Nash has not published his paper yet. The
game end with Nash’s lost.
To find his original idea, Nash spends days on end in the campus library,
works out dense calculations on the leaded-glass windows of his dorm room and
library, and dismisses classroom instructions. Another conflict happens when
Nash flubs a conversation with an attractive woman in a bar. However, the
experience is what ultimately inspires his fruitful work in the concept of
governing dynamics, a theory in mathematical economics. Later, he is rewarded a
job with an important defense company, where he eventually works for high-class
government operations at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along
with his friends Sol and Bender.
While taking a research and teaching position at MIT, Nash meets a
gorgeous physics student named Alicia. He is also approached by a mysterious
government recruiter named William Parcher, who persuades him to work as an
enemy code-breaker. Nash and Alicia begin dating, and despite of his lack of his
social skills, their relationship grows and soon they marry.
Nash’s job becomes increasingly dangerous. After being chased by the
Russians and an exchange of gunfire, Nash becomes increasingly paranoid and
begins to behave erratically. While giving a lecture, Nash realizes that he is being
watched by a hostile group of people. Although he attempts to flee, he is forcibly
sedated and sent to a psychiatric facility. Nash is convinced that he has been
hallucinating. The Department of Defense agent William Parcher and Nash's
secret assignment to decode Soviet messages was in fact all a delusion. Even more
surprisingly, Nash's friend Charles and his niece Marcee are also only products of
Nash's mind. He is paranoid schizophrenia. He realizes that a split has occurred,
that what seems real to him is not. The mind that served him so well and so
brilliantly is now betraying him.
Nash observing the ways in which he copes with his illness together with
Alicia as the wife who always forgave, always encouraged and ultimately brought
her husband back to life. He recovers and wins a 1994 Nobel Prize
The structure of the story in A Beautiful Mind use standard pattern. In A
Beautiful Mind John Nash as the main character tries to reach his goal by finding
his own original idea. At same point he does not realize that he is schizophrenic.
He faces all the problems and finally reaches his goal. He overcomes
schizophrenia and attains a true sense of accomplishment by winning a Nobel
Prize.
The plot and story is in chronological structure although there is a
flashback. The story is ingenious way because it manages to keep the viewer as
much in the dark as the main character, John Nash. The viewer will not realize
that Charles, Parcher, and Marcee are not real because the filmmaker utilizes the
cinematic techniques to support the narrative (the cinematic techniques of A
Beautiful Mind will be explained in details later).
B. The Cinematic Techniques in A Beautiful Mind
1. Mise-en-scène in Time and Space
a. Mise-en-scène in Time
Philips (1999) explained that time in all fictional film are imprecise.51
Bordwell (1993) also explained that the importance of time in a film is related to
causes and their effects in narrative. Bordwell has divided time into two parts;
they are temporal order and temporal duration.52
Both Philips and Bordwell
emphasize the important of time to construct the film’s story.
To understand A Beautiful Mind, time becomes important thing because a
plot uses film techniques to manipulate time. A Beautiful Mind is release in 2001
but it tells a story that takes place over about forty years (from 1940s to 1990s).
To construct the viewer’s perspective about time in the film, the director uses
mise-en-scène in detail to transform the world in which Nash’s lives. It is the
director’s effort to help the viewer to understand the plot time and the story time
as a whole.
Howard uses inter titles in the film to manipulate the time for example,
Figure 1 and 2. These inter titles guide the viewer to the development of Nash’s
life. By manipulating time will support the narrative and shaping the viewer’s
sense of time in A Beautiful Mind (see Appendix 3 for mise-en-scène in time and
space).
51
William H. Phillips (1999), op. cit. p. 304. 52 David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (1993), op. cit. p. 70-71.
Figure 1 Figure 2
From the Figures above, Figure 1 shows the time on September 1947
which Nash arrives at Princeton University. Figure 2 shows the time in 1953 at
the Pentagon.
By cutting and special effect techniques, Howard also compressed the
story time. We can see the season changes in short time by those technique while
Nash is doing his thesis. A crane shot moves backward from medium long shot to
extreme long shot of Nash (Figure 3, 4, 5, and 6). The frame shows the season
changes from winter to summer.
Figure 3 Figure 4
Figure 5 Figure 6
From the Figures above, the filmmaker uses the same place to describe the
season changes. We can see snow falls down outside when winter (Figure 3). It
gradually disappears (Figure 4) and turns to spring (Figure 5). Then the season
change to summer (Figure 6). The color in the four Figures also gradually changes
to depict the season change in the film.
We can see the main character’s physical appearance is changed by using
mise-en-scène (Figure 7, 8, 9, and 10) to support the narrative time and also the
condition of the main character who suffers from schizophrenia (further analysis
about schizophrenia will be explained later).
Figure 7 Figure 8
Figure 9 Figure 10
From the Figures above, Figure 7 shows Nash’s physical appearance in
1947 when he studies in university. In Figure 8 shows his physical appearance
when he gives lecture in Harvard University. In Figure 9 shows his physical
appearance in 1955 after he has to do treatment in hospital because of his
schizophrenia. In Figure 10 shows his physical appearance when he gives speech
at Nobel Prize Ceremony in 1994. The filmmaker considers the costume and
make-up of the main character to reflect the period of his adolescence to old age.
The plot in A Beautiful Mind presents events in straightforward
chronological orders. Yet, there is a flashback when the main character finally
realizes that he still suffers from schizophrenia.
A Beautiful Mind’s plot cues us to construct story duration which the
viewer infers from the main character’s journey. This entire period is presented in
plot duration. The use of flashback allows the plot to concentrate its revelation of
story material into a very short period. But there is also screen duration, or
running time about 135 minutes. Here, an event that takes only a few moments in
the story is stretched out to several minutes of the screen time by means of the
technique of film editing.
b. Mise-en-scène in Space
Bordwell (1993) said that space is also important in narrative film.53 In A
Beautiful Mind, the events tend to occur in Princeton, New Jersey where Nash’s
live. As the writer said before that the story time in this film takes place over forty
years (from 1940s to 1990s). Howard considers setting in more detail to
manipulate space by using mise-en-scène and emphasizes historical authenticity.
The realism in settings is largely a matter of viewing conventions. The inter titles
also use to construct the space in the film (see Figure 1 and 2 in p. 36; appendix 3
about mise-en-scène in time and space; and Figure 11 and 12 below). In Figure 2
(p. 36) shows that the events occur in Princeton University. In Figure 3 (p. 36)
53 Ibid, p. 72.
shows the events occur in the Pentagon. In Figure 11 (below) shows the events
occur in Wheeler Defense Labs M.I.T. Campus. In Figure 12 (below) shows the
events occur in Harvard University when Nash attends National Mathematics
Conference.
Figure 11 Figure 12
Selecting the elements of setting to manipulate space in A Beautiful Mind
is important to support the narrative. There are a lot of details that had to have
gone into considering the basic elements in costume and set design. The
characters follow the standard fashion. For example, in 1950s, the women wear
the popular circle skirt and their hair is wavy (Figure 13 and 14).
Figure 13 Figure 14
The scene probably is a fairly accurate depiction of the way male graduate
students might have talked in the 1950s while having a beer (Figure 15). The
graduate student Nash and some male friends are having drinks in a bar when a
group of attractive women walk in. One of the women is a particularly attractive
blonde (Figure 16).
Figure 15 Figure 16
John Nash : […] Does anyone else feel she should be moving in slow
motion?
Bender : Will she want a large wedding, ya think?
Sol : Shall we say swords, gentlemen? Pistols at dawn?
A pen in A Beautiful Mind becomes a prop for Nash as the main character.
At the beginning of the film’s plot, the pen is used by Nash to find his original
idea. For example, there is a shot of Nash’s hand when he is doing his work
(Figure 17). Later, Nash uses the pen to find hidden code in select periodicals
(Figure 18). In the end of the film, a pen is reserved for a member of the
department, Nash that makes the achievement of a lifetime (Figure 19) and makes
Nash wins a Nobel Prize.
Figure 17 Figure 18
Figure 19
Howard’s A Beautiful Mind displays changing color schemes. In the first
portion of A Beautiful Mind, the settings and costumes are mostly brown and
black to create gloomy atmosphere and to show the condition of Nash that suffers
from schizophrenia. Besides, black, brown, and blue color become motif that
appears through Nash’s dress. Red color appears in mise-en-scène through a
woman’s dress in local bar (Figure 20) and Alicia’s dress (Figure 21). In the film,
only the women wear red color has interacted with Nash. The red color of the
women’s dress represents the meaning of love that Nash looks for. The changing
of lighting and color schemes is also to emphasize the condition of the main
character. For example, Figure 22 shows the condition of Nash suffers from
schizophrenia when he plays Go with Hansen in his adolescence and Figure 23
shows the condition of Nash after he has some treatments when he plays Go with
Hansen in his old age. The filmmaker uses the same place to depict the change of
lighting and color schemes and to emphasize the condition of the main character.
Figure 22 Figure 23
2. Cinematography
Bordwell (1993) said that the aspects of cinematography in film have two
functions. First, film style can function to support and enhance narrative form.
Second, film style may become separate from narrative and attracting our
attention in its own right.54
Related to A Beautiful Mind as the object of analysis,
the writer uses the first function of film style.
Howard utilizes deep focus cinematography, symmetrically frame, and
compositional balance to shape our expectations about where significant action
will be located on the screen. Deep focus cinematography techniques also support
the main character, Nash who suffers from schizophrenia where Nash’s world
seemed to be closing in on him (for example, Figure 24 and 25). These techniques
become motif in this film.
Figure 24 Figure 25
54 Ibid, p. 144
Howard also directs the viewer’s attention by using deep-space mise-en-
scène (figure behavior and lighting placement in space (Figure 26 and 27). The
viewer can watch the characters’ expression (Figure 28 and 29) because they play
frontally.
Figure 26 Figure 27
Figure 28 Figure 29
Another film technique that is used in A Beautiful Mind is framing.
Bordwell (1993) gives explanation about framing as;
(But,) in a film, the frame is not simply a neutral border; it produces a
certain vantage point onto the material within the image. In cinema the
frame is important because it actively defines the image for us.55
As the main character, Nash is presented in every scene and everything the
viewers learn gets tunneled through him. Most of the film is restricted to Nash’s
range of knowledge. Howard reinforces this by using mental subjectivity shot.
These techniques are also to emphasize the schizophrenia of the main character.
At certain points, however the narration becomes more unrestricted. This occurs
55 Ibid, p. 201.
when Nash is taken to psychiatric hospital. The viewer is allowed to see other
character’s perspective and therefore the truth of Nash’s illness. This is achieved
by coupling POV shots, first what Nash’s sees, then the reality of what the other
character sees. At the climax, when Parcher asked Nash to kill his wife, there is a
flashback when Nash recalling the past. The shot of Marcee, Charles, Nash
himself, Dr. Rosen, Alicia, and Parcher appear in the frame in short by using cut,
dissolve, and framing techniques when flashback. Then, Nash realizes that Alicia
and Charles never coexist in interactive field.
The framing also emphasizes the narrative form in this film. Howard uses
medium shot and close up to show Nash’s expression clearly and the awkward
gesture of Nash. Because of the way it is shot, the viewer is more effectively
brought into the full range of emotions that is experienced by the main character
throughout the film, which makes the story not only more enjoyable, but also
more believable as well.
The film uses subtle special effects to illuminate the idea of Nash’s
perspective—seeing the world in numbers and theories. A notable area where
special effects are key is when John's working out an equation or coming to a
conclusion. This flash of light is present when John works anything out. This
ranges from looking for codes to establishing a suitable way of impressing
women. Another notable area of special effects are a scene where ray of sun in a
glass to the orange and end in a tie (Figure 30, 31, and 32), where numbers pop
out in different sequences during a code breaking (Figure 33 and 34), and where
Nash connects the stars to make designs for Alicia (Figure 35).
Figure 30 Figure 31
Figure 32 Figure 33
Figure 34 Figure 35
3. Sound
The sound in A Beautiful Mind works well to tell the story of Nash’s
progression from genius to paranoia to determination. In one hand, the sources of
diegetic sound only appear when Nash plays phonograph (see Appendix 3). On
the other hand, nondiegetic sound becomes motif in this film. The score,
composed by James Horner, contains complex rhythms and layers of
instrumentation, all working to convey the complexity of the character and the
mood of his abstract world for example, when Nash doing his job as code breaker.
The use of Charlotte Church as vocal background conveys not only grace but also
a more mature timbre that seems to inspire awe quite well. The nondiegetic sound
also comes from mental voices of Nash when flashback.
As the story progresses, as with all scores for film, there are not only
certain themes of numbers and theories that continue to reemerge, but also there
are variations to give a sense of passage of time that has taken place. All of this
working together provides a greater sense of emotion and continuity in the
narrative story line. The filmmakers consider the synchronization of sound in the
film. They are correctly aligning the visual and audio portions of a film so that the
image and sound are heard and seen simultaneously.
C. A Schizophrenia Analysis of John Nash as the Main Character in
A Beautiful Mind Film
In A Beautiful Mind, John Nash as the main character is depicted as
paranoid schizophrenic. The major symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia can
be seen from the main character who suffers from the mental illness through his
dialogue and scene in the film.
1. The Major Symptoms Characteristic of Schizophrenia
The major symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia are hallucinations,
delusions, thought and speech disorder, disturbance of emotional, and disturbance
of motor behavior, social withdrawal and inability to sustain attention. In the
following analysis, the writer will explain every symptom that is suffered by the
main character in details to understand the schizophrenia of the main character.
a. Hallucinations
1). Auditory Hallucination and Visual Hallucination
Auditory Hallucination refers to hearing something when nothing in the
environment actually caused the sensation. Visual Hallucination refers to seeing
something when nothing in the environment actually caused the sensation.
Howard’s A Beautiful Mind introduced Nash’s auditory hallucination firstly and
visual hallucination later. This is not only provides a visual clue, but establishes
the hallucinations from Nash’s point of view.
Nash’s first hallucination is a roommate named Charles Herman, a
literature student at Princeton University in 1947. While Nash looking through the
window, he heard a voice of someone speaks in his room. The camera pans
quickly to the right side, from Nash’s POV shot, we see a man enters the room
and introduces himself as Nash’s roommate (Figure 36) and then leaves him alone
in his room. In Figure 37, a shot of Nash’s expressions of wonder in medium shot
after shaking hand with Charles.
Figure 36 Figure 37
Man : Oh, Christ. The prodigal roommate arrives.
John Nash : Roommate?
Man : […] John Nash?
John Nash : Hello.
Man : Charles Herman. Pleased to meet you.
Nash wonders when Charles comes to his dorm room by saying
“roommate?” This word indicates his surprise. Nash guides the viewer that he is
not sure whether Charles is real or not. We know later that Charles is Nash’s
hallucination when Nash is taken to MacArthur Psychiatric Hospital by a
psychiatrist named Dr. Rosen because he is diagnosed as schizophrenic. From the
dialogue below, Nash feels betrayed by Charles because he thinks Charles tells the
Russians that he works for the government (see Appendix 3). Though Dr. Rosen
says there is no one, Nash keeps telling Dr. Rosen that Charles is in the room.
John Nash : Charles? Charles? I didn't mean to get you involved in this.
I'm- I'm sorry. Charles? The prodigal roommate revealed.
"Saw my name on the lecture slate." You lying son of a
bitch!
Dr. Rosen : Who are you talking to? Tell me who you see.
John Nash : How do you say, "Charles Herman" in Russian? How do
you say it in Russian?
Dr. Rosen : There's no one there, John. There's no one there.
John Nash : He's right there. He's right there.
Dr. Rosen tells Alicia that Nash is schizophrenic. Nash’s first hallucination
is Charles. Dr. Rosen tells Alicia that Nash does not have a roommate because he
lived in single dorm room.
Dr. Rosen : Possibly since graduate school? At least that's when his
hallucinations seem to have begun.
Alicia : What are you talking about? What hallucinations?
Dr. Rosen : One, so far, that I am aware of. An imaginary roommate
named Charles Herman.
[…] Dr. Rosen : I phoned Princeton. According to their housing records,
John lived alone.
The other proof that Charles is only Nash’s hallucination is from the
camera shot. The film’s narrative requires us to take narrator’s version within
Nash’s knowledge. The director reinforces this by using mental subjectivity shot
because it is important for understanding the ideas and emotions of Nash.
However, it is interesting how this is done in such way that at first the viewer is
part of the constructed inner world of Nash and cannot separates the real from
fiction. Then the viewer is slowly allowed into the reality of the other character’s
perspective for example, Figure 39, 40, and 41. It happens when Nash realized
that he is schizophrenic and tries to socialize in Princeton University.
Figure 38 Figure 39
Figure 40 Figure 41
From the Figures above, in Figure 38, a low angle from Nash’s POV shot,
we see Charles asks him to say to Martin that he is genius. A tracks shot from
Hansen’s POV, we see no one there (Figure 39) and tracks back to see Nash’s
reaction to ignore what Charles said (Figure 40). In Figure 41 we can see
Hansen’s expression when he looks Nash behavior.
Another Nash’s hallucination is William Parcher. In 1953, he meets
William Parcher, a government agent that seeks out Nash’s intelligence in the
field of code-breaking. While Nash going outside after his work in M.I.T,
someone called his name. The camera zoom in seeing Nash walking outside the
room and pans to the right side to a voice behind him, ending with a framing on a
man standing outside (Figure 43). Nash stops and looks back (Figure 42) to a man
behind him who introduces himself as William Parcher.
Figure 42 Figure 43
Man : Professor Nash. William Parcher. Big Brother... at your
service.
John Nash : What can I do for the Department of Defense? Are you here
to give me a raise?
In the film, Parcher’s appearance is supported by mise-en-scène. As a
secret agent he always wears black suit as the stereotype of a secret agent. He is
the only man in the film who always wears hat that interact with Nash. He even
wears it indoors and never put off, and in American culture it is considered
impolite. He does not wear his hat except in his own office. Here, the director
guides the viewer that Parcher will be the key of Nash delusional thinking.
The first proof, that William Parcher is only Nash’s hallucination, is when
Dr. Rosen asked Alicia to get the details of her husband’s work to clarify things
because Nash mentioned a supervisor, William Parcher. Alicia, desperate to help
her husband, goes to see what Nash done in his office (Figure 44), visits a drop-
box in an empty house (Figure 45 and 46) and retrieves the never-opened "top
secret" documents that Nash had delivered there.
Figure 44
Figure 45 Figure 46
From the Figures above, Figure 44, we see Alicia and Nash’s friend when
they are in Nash’s office. In Figure 45 in long shot of Alicia from the back and
Figure 46, in medium shot, we see Alicia’s expression when she saw the house. In
reality, Nash’s work seems scary and weird to other people, the secret location is
an abandoned, dilapidated mansion, and the key pad that Nash types his code into
no longer function.
In the hospital Alicia tells Nash that there is no William Parcher and
shows him the document (Figure 47) that Nash done the work as code breaker.
When confronted with this evidence, Nash is finally convinced that he has been
hallucinating. In Figure 48 shows us Nash’s confusing expression in close-up shot
when he heard what Alicia said.
Figure 47 Figure 48
Alicia : There is no William Parcher.
John Nash : Of course there is. I've been working for him.
Alicia : Doing what? Breaking codes? Dropping packages in a
secret mailbox... for the government to pick up?
John Nash : How could you know that?
Alicia : Sol followed you.
John Nash : He thought it was harmless. Sol followed me? They've never
been opened.
Alicia : It isn't real. There is no conspiracy, John. There is no
William Parcher. It's in your mind. Do you understand,
baby? You're sick. You're sick, John.
The other hallucination of Nash is Marcee, Charles’ niece. In the film, the
character of Marcee firstly introduces through the dialogue of Charles when he
and Nash are talking in the library.
Charles: Well, my niece knows that, John, and she's about this high.
Later, Marcee appears while Nash doing his job, he heard someone ask
him. The camera tilts up and through Nash’s POV shot, we see a young girl
(Figure 49).
Figure 49
Marcee : What are you doing?
John Nash : I'm attempting to isolate patterned reoccurrences... within
periodicals over time. And you?
Marcee : You talk funny, Mr. Nash.
John Nash : Do I know you?
Marcee : My uncle says you're very smart... but not very nice, so I
shouldn't pay no mind if you're mean to me.
John Nash : And who might your uncle be?
Charles : The prodigal roommate... returns. Come here.
John Nash : Charles, Charles, Charles.
Nash feels strange about the appearance of Marcee by saying “Do I know
you?” Nash himself is not sure whether Marcee is real or not. In the film, Charles
tells Nash that his sister died in a car accident because his sister’s husband was too
drunk. So Charles takes good care of his niece.
Nash creates Marcee as his other imaginary friends because he cannot
interact with another girl except Alicia. In this film, there are only three girls that
really interact with Nash. The first is the blonde girl which Nash flubs a
conversation with her. Then, Alicia. Finally is Marcee, Charles’ niece.
Besides hallucination of meeting the three people (Charles, Parcher, and
Marcee), Nash hallucinates that he ever goes to the Pentagon to break the code
because he is invited by a General (see Appendix 3).
[man] : Doctor. General, this is Wheeler team leader Dr. John
Nash.
General : Glad you could come, Doctor.
John Nash : Hello.
Nash also hallucinates that he ever goes to a secret laboratory with
William Parcher (see Appendix 3).
William Parcher : […] Have you ever been here?
John Nash : We were told during our initial briefing... That these
warehouses were abandoned.
At the plot climax in the film, Nash finally realizes that he is
schizophrenic. It happens while bathing his infant son; Nash becomes distracted
and wanders off. Alicia barely manages to save their child from drowning. When
she confronts Nash, he claims that his friend Charles was watching their son.
Alicia runs to the phone to call the psychiatric hospital for emergency assistance.
Charles, Marcee, and Parcher all appear to Nash and urge him to kill his wife
rather than allow her to lock him up again. After Alicia flees the house in terror,
Nash steps in front of her car to prevent her from leaving (see Appendix 3). After
a moment, Nash states "She never gets old" as he observes that Marcee is the
same age that she was when he first met her several years before and he realizes
that Alicia and Charles never coexist in the same interactive field. Here, we know
that Marcee is another Nash’s hallucinations like Charles and Parcher.
John Nash : I understand. She never gets old. Marcee can't be real. She
never gets old.
Many of Nash's hallucinations can be seen as symbols of problems he
faces, or characteristics he doesn't possess. The first example is Charles. Charles
appears at a moment in which Nash feels particularly isolated. Charles is a
representation of Nash's desire to have a close personal friend. The roommate
continues to stay “in contact” with Nash through out his adult life and later this
roommate’s niece, Marcee enters Nash’s mind as another coinciding
hallucination. Charles and Marcee fulfilled his need for companionship, family
(he is called Uncle), and belonging. Another example is William Parcher. Parcher
appears a time where Nash does not feel his work is greatly important. Parcher
tells Nash that Nash is exactly what he needs and no other person can do what
Nash does. Parcher may represent Nash’s desire to be needed. He appealed to his
pride by saying “You’re the best natural code breaker" to him.
2). Tactual Hallucination
Tactual Hallucination refers to touching something when nothing in the
environment actually caused the sensation. In the film, Nash believes an implant
to be planted in his arm (Figure 50). The device allows Nash to see a code under a
ultra-violet light (Figure 51) to gain entrance to a secret location where he is to
leave the cracked codes.
Figure 50 Figure 51
William Parcher : That's got a little zap to it, doesn't it? He just
implanted a radium diode. Don't worry, it's safe. The
isotope decays predictably. As a result, these numbers
change overtime. They're the access codes to your
drop spot.
After Alicia tells Nash that he has been hallucinating, there is an intense
scene presented, where Nash tries to remove an implant that believes to be planted
in his arm (Figure 52).
Figure 52
b. Delusions
The hallucination of William Parcher is the key factor in Nash’s delusional
thinking. In A Beautiful Mind, Nash experiences delusions of grandeur, delusions
of influence, delusions of reference, and delusions of persecution. Those things
will be explained in details as follows:
1). Delusion of Grandeur
Delusion of Grandeur is false belief of an individual that he is very special
or has special powers or abilities.
In A Beautiful Mind, Nash has delusion of grandeur of being a secret
government aide that is helping the U.S. finds bombs throughout the country that
were placed here by the Russians because he is the best code breaker. This is
shown in the scene when Nash was invited to the Pentagon to break the code. He
is invited to a United States Department of Defense facility in The Pentagon to
crack a complex encryption of an enemy telecommunication. He is able to
decipher the code mentally.
General : Ever just know something, Dr. Nash?
John Nash : Constantly.
General : We've developed several ciphers. If you'd like to review our
preliminary data... Doctor?
John Nash : […] I need a map. 46-13-08, 67-46-90. Starkey Corners,
Maine. 48-03-01, 91-26-35. Prairie Portage, Minnesota.
These are latitudes and longitudes. There are a least 10
others. They appear to be routing orders across the border
into the U.S.
General : Extraordinary. Gentlemen, we need to move on this.
Nash’s natural ability as a code breaker brings him to attention of William
Parcher who hooks him up for further classified project. When Parcher meets
Nash walking out from M.I.T., he tells Nash that he saw Nash’s performance at
The Pentagon.
William Parcher : […] Impressive work at the Pentagon.
John Nash : Yes, it was.
Parcher offers Nash a job working on a top secret mission to find hidden
codes in magazines and newspapers. Parcher’s opinion emphasizes Nash belief
that he is the best code breaker. In Figure 53, from Parcher’s POV shot, we see
Nash’s expression of proud when he heard that he is the best natural code-breaker.
Figure 53
William Parcher : By telling you what I'm about to tell you, I am
increasing your security clearance... to top secret.
Disclosure of secure information can result in
imprisonment. Get it?
John Nash : What operation? Those are a good idea.
[…]
William Parcher : […] You see, John, what distinguishes you... is that
you are, quite simply, the best natural code-breaker I
have ever seen.
John Nash : What exactly is it that you would like me to do?
William Parcher : Commit this list of periodicals to memory. Scan each
new issue, find any hidden codes, decipher them.
2). Delusion of Influence
Delusion of Influence is false belief of an individual that “enemies” are
influencing him in various ways, as with complicated gadgets which send out
waves that interfere with his thoughts or “poor filth” into his mind.
In this film, Nash’s delusion of influence is shown in the scene in which
Nash has to prove his genius as code breaker.
General : […] We've been intercepting radio transmissions from
Moscow. The computer can't detect a pattern, but I'm sure
it's code.
John Nash : Why is that, General?
General : Ever just know something, Dr. Nash?
John Nash : Constantly.
Later, Nash is influenced by Parcher who offers Nash a job working on a
top secret mission to seek out secret messages in mainstream media that Russian
are inserting to mobilize U.S. operations. Parcher’s opinion emphasizes Nash’s
belief that he is the best code breaker. Nash’s delusion of grandeur as the best
code-breaker is strengthened by his delusion of influence. In Figure 54, a straight
angle of Nash’s face shot when he memorized the list of periodicals.
Figure 54
William Parcher : Commit this list of periodicals to memory. Scan each
new issue, find any hidden codes, decipher them.
Then, Nash’s job as secret agent becomes increasingly dangerous. After
being chased by the Russians and an exchange of gunfire, Nash becomes
increasingly paranoid and begins to behave erratically. Nash tells Parcher that he
wants to quit from the job because Alicia is pregnant, but Parcher influences Nash
to keep working for him by saying that the Russians know that Nash has been
working for him. So, if Nash quit, Parcher will not keep Nash safety from the
Russians. He is showing his gun to Nash when he says that (Figure 55). In Figure
56, we see Nash’s expression of fear when he heard what Parcher said.
Figure 55 Figure 56
John Nash : William, my circumstance has changed. Alicia's
pregnant.
William Parcher : I told you attachments were dangerous. You chose to
marry the girl. I did nothing to prevent it. The best
way to ensure everybody's safety... is for you to
continue your work.
John Nash : Well, I'll just quit.
William Parcher : You won't.
John Nash : Why would I not?
William Parcher : Because I keep the Russians from knowing you work
for us. You quit working for me, I quit working for
you.
Nash’s delusion of influence also appears after he does some treatment in
hospital. In this case, his delusions reappear when he stops his medication
treatment (as the writer mentioned before in Chapter II that antipsychotic
medication can reduce hallucination and delusion so if he stops the medication it
can triggers hallucination and delusion to reappear). That night he sees a
silhouette of a man outside his house. He goes outside the house to the back of his
house and surprises when he meets Parcher there. He thinks Parcher is not real
because Dr. Rosen says that Nash is schizophrenic who cannot distinguish
between what is real and not. Yet, Parcher influences him that it is impossible to
list their personnel in Wheeler because they are a secret agent. Parcher apologizes
to Nash and asks Nash to go back to work as a code breaker. Nash believes in
what Parcher said so he starts to do his work as secret agent.
William Parcher : It's good to see you, John. It's been a while.
John Nash : Parcher?
William Parcher : Yes, sir.
John Nash : You're not real!
[…]
John Nash : Dr. Rosen said-
William Parcher : Rosen! That quack! "Schizophrenic break from
reality", right? Psychological bullshit! Look at me,
John. John, look at me. Do I look like I'm imagined?
John Nash : Wheeler has no record of you.
William Parcher : Do you think we list our personnel? John, I'm sorry
you had to go through all this. I've gone to a great
deal of trouble to get you back. I can restore your
status at Wheeler. I can let the world know what you
did. But I need you now, soldier.
John Nash : I was so scared you weren't real.
Nash’s delusions of influence also appear when he is influenced by his
hallucination friends to kill his wife. It happens while bathing his infant son; Nash
becomes distracted and wanders off. Alicia barely manages to save their child
from drowning. When she confronts Nash, he claims that his friend Charles was
watching their son. Alicia runs to the phone to call the psychiatric hospital for
emergency assistance. Parcher appears to Nash and urges him to kill his wife
rather than allow her to lock him up again. In Figure 57, from Nash’s POV shot,
we see Parcher talks to Nash. In Figure 58, we see Alicia carries the baby and
looks back, but no one there. In Figure 59, we see there are only Nash and Alicia.
This is a scene when Nash tries pulls Parcher away from his wife because he tries
to shot Alicia.
Figure 57 Figure 58
Figure 59
William Parcher : You've got to stop her, John.
John Nash : You leave her out of this.
Alicia : Who are you talking to?
John Nash : It's not her fault.
Alicia : John.
William Parcher : She'll compromise us again.
John Nash : No, she won't. You'll go back to the hospital.
Alicia : John, answer me!
William Parcher : Countless people will die.
John Nash : Alicia, please, put the phone down.
William Parcher : I can't let that happen.
Alicia : Yes, hello? Hi, I need Dr. Rosen. Is he in?
William Parcher : I'm sorry, John.
John Nash : No-oo! Alicia? [Baby crying]
William Parcher : You know what you have to do, Nash.
Alicia : Get away from me.
In this time, Charles also tries to convince Nash to do what Parcher says
and Marcee also appears (see Appendix 3).
Charles : John, Christ, John, please do what he says.
William Parcher : Move, soldier. Now.
Marcee : Uncle John?
Charles : John, please!
There is another scene that shows Nash’s delusions still appear when Nash
is doing his social treatment to socialize in Princeton University. Parcher appears
and tries to influence Nash by saying that he is a useless man. In Figure 60, we
see Parcher follows Nash and tries to influence him. In Figure 61, a shot of Nash
in long shot tries to ignore Parcher. In Figure 62, a shot of Hansen who tries to
make Nash calm.
Figure 60 Figure 61
Figure 62
William Parcher : Is this what you are, soldier? Some useless ghoul? The
local madman?
John Nash : I'm not a soldier.
William Parcher : You're gonna end up in a cell! Old, worthless,
discarded.
John Nash : There's no mission.
3). Delusion of Reference
Delusion of Reference is false belief of an individual that things in the
environment seem to be directly related to him even though they are not. For
example, it may seem as if people are talking about him or special personal
messages are being communicated to him through the TV, radio, or other media.
In the film, Nash has delusion of reference in which people are talking
about him. Because his job as secret agent, he feels the Russians are spying him.
In Figure 63, the scene at the governor’s party, the camera pan right to see a group
of individuals talking together through a shot from Nash’s POV shot and cut to
Figure 64, a shot of Nash and Alicia. Here, Nash is convinced that they are talking
about and against him.
Figure 63 Figure 64
4). Delusion of Persecution
Delusion of Persecution is false belief of an individual that he is plagued
by feelings of paranoia and an irrational yet unshakable belief that someone is
plotting against him or out to harm him.
Nash has experiences the delusion of persecution in which the Russians
are persecuting him. After being chased by the Russians and an exchange of
gunfire, Nash becomes weird. He comes home late and Alicia asks him why he
did not call her, but Nash just walking through Alicia to the room and locks the
door. Alicia wonders and asks Nash to open the door (see Appendix 3).
Alicia : […] John... Please, talk to me. Tell me what happened. John,
open the door. Come on, open the door! Let me in! Talk to me!
John! Open the door!
Nash becomes increasingly paranoid and to behave erratically in his class.
He becomes suspicious and sensitive. In Figure 65, Nash looking carefully
through the window. The next shot (Figure 66), a high angle through the window
toward the street outside, shows us people walks out from the car from his point
of view. The camera pan left (Figure 67), a straight-on angle of the students in a
class, shows us what Nash sees, from his point of view. In Figure 68, we see
Nash’s expression after he is looking into the window and see the students.
Figure 65 Figure 66
Figure 67 Figure 68
When Nash meets Parcher, he tells him that he afraid of his dangerously
job. He believes that Russians are spying him.
John Nash : William. This is not what I signed on for. Every time a
car backfires or a door slams-
William Parcher : I understand- better than you could possibly imagine.
You need to calm down, John. […]
Nash also acts so strange in his house. He becomes angry when Alicia
turns the light on of his room. He also asks Alicia to go to her sister’s house and
not too far from the crowd but Alicia refused (see Appendix 3).
John Nash : Turn it off! Turn off the light! Why would you do that? Why
would you turn the light on?
Alicia : What is wrong with you?
John Nash : You have to go to your sister's. I left the car out the back.
You take Commonwealth. No side streets, you stay where
it's crowded.
An automobile horn sounding in the night is to most people a
commonplace and meaningless stimulus; but to a paranoid who regards himself as
the center of the universe, the blare is a signal from his persecutors.56
This is
shown when Nash finally looking carefully through the window (Figure 69). The
next shot in Figure 70, a straight-on angle through the window toward the street
outside, shows us a man park his car from his point of view.
Figure 69 Figure 70
As the writer said before that the hallucination of William Parcher is the
key factor in Nash’s delusional thinking, all the delusions and hallucinations that
Nash experienced is referred to paranoid schizophrenia type which the theme is
about hallucinations and delusion of grandeur and delusion of persecution. After
56 James D. Page (1947), op. cit. p. 255.
observing Nash’s behavior, Alicia informs a psychiatric hospital. Later, while
giving a lecture in National Mathematics Conference at Harvard University, Nash
realizes that he is being watched by a hostile group of people. Although he
attempts to flee, he is forcibly sedated and sent to a psychiatric facility. Nash
believes that the Soviets were trying to extract information from him, and that
being taken by the officials of a psychiatric facility was a kidnapping by Soviet
agents named Dr. Rosen. In fact, Dr. Rosen tells Alicia that Nash is a paranoid
schizophrenic in the hospital.
Alicia : What's wrong with him?
Dr. Rosen : John has schizophrenia. People with this disorder are often
paranoid.
c. Thought and Speech Disorder
As the writer mentioned before in theoretical framework, the thought
disturbances of schizophrenia are centered on the person’s inability to organize
ideas coherently. The speech of people with schizophrenia may be garbled or hard
to understand.
The thought and speech disorder of Nash is shown in his rhyme (clang
associations) statements. This is shown in the scene when Nash shows the
symptom through his words when he is challenged by his friend, Hansen to play
Go. He says “Terrified, mortified, petrified, stupefied...by you. No starch. Pressed
and folded.”
Martin Hansen : Nash is going to stun us all with his genius. Which is
another way of saying... he doesn't have the nerve to
compete. You scared?
John Nash : Terrified. Mortified. Petrified. Stupefied... by you. No
starch. Pressed and folded.
According to Wiramihardja (2005), schizophrenic person sometimes
suddenly shouting to say his word,57
it also happens with the main character in A
Beautiful Mind. There is a scene when Nash tells Charles that he tries to find his
original idea, he works out dense calculations on the leaded-glass windows of his
dorm room and dismisses classroom instruction as “the findings of lesser
mortals.” He emphasizes the word of “lesser mortals” with high tone. From the
Figure 71 below, we see people looking up when they heard Nash shouting.
Figure 71
John Nash : You know half these schoolboys are already published? I
cannot waste time with these classes... and these books.
Memorizing the weaker assumptions of lesser mortals!
Another scene also shows that Nash suddenly shouting to say his word. It
happens when Nash spends his days in library. Nash tells Charles that he cannot
even find a topic for his doctorate while his friend already published another
paper. Nash tells Charles again that he is trying to find his original idea. Yet,
Charles interrupts Nash’s sentence and asks when Nash last eat. He tells Nash that
he has no respect for cognitive reverie and only has enormous respect for pizza
and beer. Later, Charles is going outside library and followed by Nash which says
“I have respect for beer” in high tone. From the Figure 72 below, we see other
people looking at Nash because he is shouting.
57 Sutardjo A. Wiramihardja (2005), op. cit. p. 143
Figure 72
John Nash : See, if I could derive an equilibrium... where prevalence is a
non-singular event, where nobody loses, can you imagine
the effect that would have... on conflict scenarios, and arms
negotiations...
Charles : When did you last eat? When did you last eat?
John Nash : currency exchange?
Charles : You know food.
John Nash : You have no respect for cognitive reverie, you know that?
Charles : Yes. But pizza- Now, pizza I have enormous respect for. And
of course beer.
John Nash : I have respect for beer. I have respect for beer!
Paranoid schizophrenic has coherent in his thoughts and statements. He is
capable to tell how people are plotting against him.58 This is also shown when
Nash tells that the Russians are spying him and asks someone to call the
Department of Defense because they are trying to arrest him.
John Nash : […] Stop! I don't know anything! Stop! I- I don't know
anything! My name is John Nash. I'm being held against my
will. Somebody call the Department of Defense. My name is
John Nash. I'm being held against my will!
Nash also tells Alicia that the Russian plotted against him. His stating it
quite coherently that he is doing top secret work for government and the Russians
try to stop his work by keeping him in psychiatric hospital because they feels
threatened. In Figure 73, we see Nash tells the story with curios looking around
58 Ibid, p. 146.
because he afraid that Russian heard what he is going to say. In Figure 74, we see
Alicia’s expression when she heard Nash is telling his story.
Figure 73 Figure 74
John Nash : Everything's gonna be all right. Everything's gonna be all
right. We just have to talk quietly. They may be listening.
There may be microphones. I'm gonna tell you everything
now. It's breaking with protocol... but you need to know,
because you have to help me get out of here. I've been
doing top secret work for the government. There's a threat
that exists... of catastrophic proportions. I think the
Russians feel my profile is too high. That's why they simply
just don't do away with me. They're keeping me here to try
to stop me... from doing my work. You have to get to
Wheeler. You have to find William Parcher.
d. Disturbance of Emotional
Disturbance of Emotional is the reduction in the range and intensity of
emotional expression. As the writer mentioned before in theoretical framework,
Nevid et al., (2005), quoting Berenbaum & Oltmanns (1990), define that there is
not clear enough whether the disturbance of emotional of people suffering from
schizophrenia is a disturbance in their inability to express their emotion, to report
the emotion that they feel, or to experience an emotion truly.
In this film, Nash has disturbance of emotional when he is assumed as the
waiter by Hansen (Figure 75). It is because he wears bow tie and baggy suit. In
Figure 76, we see his facial expression.
Figure 75 Figure 76
Martin Hansen : I'll take another.
John Nash : Excuse me?
Martin Hansen : A thousand pardons. I simply assumed you were the
waiter.
The lack of emotional expression which Nash experiences is shown
through his minimal facial expression. It happen when he lost the game when he
plays Go with Hansen (Figure 77). Another shot (Figure 78) shows his minimal
facial expression when he is accepted to Wheeler Labs.
Figure 77 Figure 78
The disturbance of emotional of Nash is clearly shown when he carries the
baby who cries without any expression and without trying to stop the baby to cry
(Figure 79).
e. Disturbance of Motor Behavior
As the writer explained before in Chapter II that the motor behavior of
schizophrenic is frequently abnormal; they may be agitated or excited, and may
wave or gesture wildly. They also often engage in repetitive, but apparently
purposeless behavior.
In A Beautiful Mind, we can see the disturbance of motor behavior of Nash
when shaking hand to someone (Figure 80, 81, and 82); he does not see people’s
face. He also does not see people’s face when they are talking (Figure 83).
Figure 80 Figure 81
Figure 82 Figure 83
From the Figures above, Figure 80, we see Nash shaking hand with his
friend and talking to people (Figure 83) without looking their face when he does
not realize that he has one of the symptoms of schizophrenia. In Figure 81 and
Figure 82, we see Nash is still shaking hand with people without looking their
face. These happen he does some treatments to recover his mental illness. We can
also see lighting and color schemes are gradually change from the Figures above.
He also shows his awkward gestures when he talks to someone. It is
shown when he talks to Hansen that there is no innovative idea in Hansen’s paper
(Figure 84), when Alicia invites Nash to go dinner (Figure 85), and when Nash
tells Charles that he meets a girl and wants to marry her (Figure 86). All of these
awkward gestures happen when he does not realize that he is schizophrenic. In
Figure 87, shows Nash’s awkward gestures after he has a treatment. From the
Figures below, we can see lighting and color schemes are gradually change.
Figure 84 Figure 85
Figure 86 Figure 87
f. Social withdrawal
In the film, Nash withdraws himself from people. He is unsociable man
and only occasionally finds himself interacting with people. When he is in
university, he tells Charles that he does not like them, and they do not much like
them either. Charles’ opinion emphasizes what Nash says about himself that he
doesn’t has good relationship with other people is true.
Charles : Maybe you're just better... with the old integers than you are
with people.
John Nash : My first grade teacher, she told me... that I was born with
two helpings of brain, but only half a helping of heart.
Charles : Wow! She sounds lovely!
John Nash : The truth is that I- I don't like people much. And they don't
much like me.
Fixated on his search for an original idea, Nash separates himself from
people further. He spends days on end in the campus library, works out dense
calculations on the leaded-glass windows of his dorm room and dismisses
classroom instruction.
Charles : You've been in here for two days.
John Nash : You know Hansen's just published another paper? I can't
even find a topic for my doctorate.
When Nash works in M.I.T. and meets Parcher, he tells Parcher that he
does not like people or they do not much like them either.
Parcher : So, John, no family, no close friends- Why is that?
John Nash : I like to think it's because I'm a lone wolf. But mainly it's
because people don't like me.
Nash is inability to interact with other people. He flubs a conversation
with an attractive woman in a bar by saying “essentially we’re talking about fluid
exchange” and the woman slap Nash and leaves him.
John Nash : I don't exactly know what I'm required to say... in order for
you to have intercourse with me, but could we assume that I
said all that? Essentially we're talking about fluid
exchange, right? So, could we just go straight to the sex?
Woman : Oh, that was sweet. Have a nice night, asshole!
Nash’s world seemed to be closing in on him. He does not realize that he
withdraws himself gradually. He misses the class while he supposes to teach.
Alicia : Everyone waited half an hour.
John Nash : For?
Alicia : Class. You missed class today.
John Nash : Oh. I suspect that... nobody missed me.
Nash also busies with his work as secret agent and almost forgets that he
has a date with Alicia in her birthday.
John Nash : Alicia, please don't be angry. I just lost track of time at
work... again.
In fact, a schizophrenic like Nash has inability to socialize with real
people, for example, an attractive woman in a bar. He withdraws himself from
other people and creates his imaginary friend. His world seemed to be closing in
on him.
g. Inability to sustain Attention
Nash has inability to sustain attention. He does not seem focus to find a
topic for his doctorate while all his friends already finished. Nash’s professor asks
him to focus.
Proffesor : Well, try seeing accomplishment.
John Nash : Is there a difference?
Proffesor : John, you haven't focused. I'm sorry, but up to this point,
your record doesn't warrant any placement at all.
Nash also has inability to sustain attention when he has a date with Alicia.
In Figure 88 and 89, we see Alicia tries to get Nash’s attention.
Figure 88 Figure 89
Alicia : Here. Me. Your date?
The film’s narration end with end titles (Figure 90 and 91) “Nash’s
theories have influenced global trade negotiations, national labor relations, and
even breakthroughs in evolutionary biology. John and Alicia live in Princeton,
New Jersey. John keeps regular office hours in the mathematics Department. He
still walks to campus everyday.” The end titles make closure interpretation that
Nash improves enough to live a more normal life, even though his hallucinations
and delusions never disappear.
Figure 90 Figure 91
A Beautiful Mind film utilizes the narrative and cinematic technique to
describe the schizophrenia that is suffered by Nash. The choice of cinematic
techniques is to emphasize the condition of Nash who suffers from schizophrenia.
A Beautiful Mind makes schizophrenia visible and suggests that those who
suffer from it are not unlike the rest of us. The film makes us wonder whether
Nash, through his intense study, might have precipitated or hastened a condition
that was already inevitable. By embracing creative thought, the film asks, does
one give conventional thinking up and with it one’s grasp on stability? Once that
door to change thinking is opened, are will and sanity potentially sacrificed?
In fact, Nash fight his way back and find a way to do his work, to be a
husband and to function somewhat normally, even though his hallucinations and
delusions never disappear.
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion
The writer analyzes A Beautiful Mind film to understand how
schizophrenia suffered by John Nash depicted in the film. The film utilizes all the
strategies in a film to deliver the message through narrative and cinematic
techniques of the film. The structure of the story in A Beautiful Mind use standard
pattern. In the film, John Nash as the main character tries to reach his goal by
finding his own original idea. At same point he does not realize that he is
schizophrenic. He faces all the problems and finally reaches his goal. He
overcomes schizophrenia and attains a true sense of accomplishment by winning a
Nobel Prize. The plot and story is in chronological structure although there is a
flashback.
The filmmaker manages to take the viewer on the exact same journey as
the protagonist, John Nash. He prevents it from being a tale about people
watching some crazy guy on the street corner talking to himself. He does it to
make the viewer believe what Nash believes and take their reality away from
them.
A Beautiful Mind tells a story that takes place over about forty years (from
1940s to 1990s). The plot cues us to construct story duration which the viewer
infers from the main character’s journey. This entire period is presented in plot
duration. The screen duration is about 135 minutes. Here, an event that takes only
a few moments in the story is stretched out to several minutes of the screen time
by means of the film technique. The uses of film techniques to manipulate time
and space is to guide the viewer to the development of Nash’s life. The events
tend to occur in Princeton, New Jersey where Nash’s live.
A Beautiful Mind utilizes mise-en-scène, cinematography and sound to
create its own style. The techniques of film like props, lighting, color schemes and
techniques of the shot to play the role to construct narrative. The choice of
cinematic techniques creates a style to support and enhance narrative form, and
the schizophrenia which is suffered by the main character. The changes in
cinematic techniques follow the development of narrative film.
The film tells the story of real-life mathematician John Nash’s struggle
with schizophrenia from his college days to the time he is awarded the Nobel
Prize several decades later. With a scene-by-scene analysis, the writer points out
Nash’s symptoms and behaviors to diagnose his schizophrenia. The writer
analyzes that Nash experiences the major symptoms characteristic of
schizophrenia like, hallucinations, delusions, thought and speech disorder,
disturbance of emotional, disturbance of behavior, social withdrawal, and inability
to sustain attention.
B. Suggestion
To analyze film or literary work, researchers should use the right theory or
approach in order to have the right comprehension of the film or literary work
itself. In this occasion, the writer uses theories of schizophrenia and film structure
in analyzing film “A Beautiful Mind,” but it is possible for the other researches to
use another theory or approach in analyzing this film for example, sociological
approach to understand the value of being a human of the main character in the
film. The other researchers who want to analyze this film can also use some
aspects in film that are used by the writer to get a broader comprehension of the
film.
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Appendix 1.
Diagram of “Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film”
Narrative Structure
A Beautiful Mind
Film
The Cinematic
Techniques
1. Schizophrenia of the main character
“John Nash”
• Hallucinations
• Delusions
• Thought and speech disorder
• Disturbance of emotional
• Disturbance of motor behavior
• Social withdrawal
• Inability to sustain attention
Appendix 2.
All Love Can Be Lyrics
Artist: Charlotte Church
I will watch you in the darkness Show your love will see you through
When the bad dreams wake you crying I'll show you all love can do
All love can do
I will watch through the night
Hold you in my arms
Give you dreams where no one will be
I will watch through the dark
Till the morning comes
For the light will take you
Through the night to see
Our light, showing us all love can be
I will guard you with my bright wings Stay till your heart learns to see
All love can be
Appendix 3. Figures of Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film
No. Figures Definition
1.
Figure 1
A Beautiful Mind
DVD’s cover
features a picture
of face of a man with tense, curious,
and in sharp looking into the
window.
2.
Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2
Figure 2.3 Figure 2.4
Figure 2.5 Figure 2.6
Figure 2.7
Mise-en-scène in
Time and Space:
Figure 2.1 shows
the time on October 1954 when
he drops a document in a
house; Figure 2.2 shows the time of
Nash’s life a year later; Figure 2.3
shows the time on
April 1956; Figure
2.4 shows the time
of Nash’s life two
months later;
Figure 2.5 shows
the time of Nash’s
life on October
1978; Figure 2.6
shows the time of
Nash’s life on
March 1994; and
Figure 2.7 shows the time of Nash’s
life when he receives a Nobel
Prize on December 1994.
3.
Figure 3
Diegetic sound appear when Nash
is playing phonograph and
Charles comes enter the room and
turn it off.
4.
Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2
A crane shot from
Nash’s POV shot
(Figure 4.1), we
see Charles is sitting in another
place and In Figure 4.2, a shot of Nash
lay on the floor looking at Charles
when he feels betrayed.
5.
Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2
In Figure 5.1, a
medium shot of
Nash when he is
shaking hand with
a General.
In Figure 5.2, we
see Nash in a secret
laboratory.
6.
Figure 6
The turning point,
where he finds out
that what he
believed to be true
was not. It becomes
apparent that Nash
suffers from schizophrenia and
elements of his life are fictitious.
7.
Figure 7.1 Figure 7.2
Nash’s delusion of
influence when Parcher asks him to
kill Alicia and Charles tries to
convince him to do what Parcher says
and Marcee also appears.
The Figures is
taken from Nash’s POV.
8.
Figure 8.1 Figure 8.2
Nash’s delusion of
persecution in which
the Russians are
persecuting him. After being chased
by the Russians and an exchange of
gunfire, Nash becomes weird when
he arrives at home.
9.
Figure 9.1 Figure 9.2
Nash also acts so strange in his house
(Figure 9.1). He begins to feel
paranoia. In Figure 9.2 we see Alicia’s
expression after Nash leaves the
room without turn
the light on.
C u r r i c u l u m V i t a e Naim Kurniawati Komp. Pusdatin Dephan Flat III/A6 Jl. Rs. Fatmawati No. 1
Pondok Labu Jakarta Selatan 12450 � (021) 9825 1870
� 0856 9240 1616 � [email protected]
Personal Place and Date of birth : Jakarta, 13 June 1986
Data Gender : Female
Marital Status : Single Height/Weight : 165 cm/ 47 kg
Nationality : Indonesia
Interests : Playing basketball, reading, and travelling
Formal 2004-2009
Education State Islamic University “Syarif Hidayatullah” Jakarta
Majoring in English Literature
2001-2004 SMUN 66 Jakarta
1999-2001 SLTPN 85 Jakarta
1992-1998 SDN Pondok Labu 03 Pagi Jakarta
Working Independent Supervisor
Experiences - Supervised Midterm Test and Final term Test
Academic year 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 at University of
Bunda Mulia
- Supervised Final Examination
Academic year 2006/2007 at SMK TERATAI PUTIH 4 BEKASI
- Supervised Final Examination Academic year 2007/2008 at SMK TERATAI PUTIH 4 BEKASI
Teaching English
Computer Proficient with Ms. Windows based program:
Literate Ms. Office application (Ms. Word, Ms. Excel, Power Point) and
Internet
Informal 2003
Education English Courses at Basic Level at Lembaga Bahasa dan
Pendidikan Profesional LIA Fatmawati Jakarta
2004
Japanese Courses at Lembaga Pendidikan Manajemen
Informatika dan Komputer (LPMIK) Bekasi
Appendix 3. Figures of Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind Film
No. Figures Definition
1.
Figure 1
A Beautiful Mind DVD’s cover features a
picture of face of a man
with tense, curious, and
in sharp looking into
the window
2.
Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2
Mise-en-scène in Time
and Space: Figure 2.1
shows the time on
October 1954 when he
drops a document in a house; Figure 2.2 shows
the time of Nash’s life a year later; Figure 2.3
shows the time on April 1956; Figure 2.4 shows
the time of Nash’s life
Figure 2.3 Figure 2.4
Figure 2.5 Figure 2.6
Figure 2.7
two months later;
Figure 2.5 shows the
time of Nash’s life on
October 1978; Figure
2.6 shows the time of
Nash’s life on March 1994; and Figure 2.7
shows the time of Nash’s life when he
receives a Nobel Prize on December 1994.
3. Diegetic sound appear
when Nash is playing
Figure 3
phonograph and
Charles comes enter the
room and turn it off.
4.
Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2
A crane shot from
Nash’s POV shot (Figure 4.1), we see
Charles is sitting in another place and In
Figure 4.2, a shot of
Nash lay on the floor
looking at Charles
when he feels betrayed.
5.
In Figure 5.1, a medium
shot of Nash when he is
shaking hand with a
General.
In Figure 5.2, we see
Nash in a secret
laboratory.
Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2
6.
Figure 6
The turning point,
where we find out that what we believed to be
true was not. It becomes apparent that
John suffers from
schizophrenia and
elements of his life are
fictitious.
7.
Figure 7.1 Figure 7.2
Nash’s delusion of
influence when Parcher
asks him to kill Alicia
and Charles tries to
convince him to do
what Parcher says and
Marcee also appears.
The Figures is taken
from Nash’s POV.
8. Nash’s delusion of
persecution in which the Russians are
persecuting him. After
being chased by the
Russians and an
exchange of gunfire,
Figure 8.1 Figure 8.2
Nash becomes weird
when he arrives at
home.
9.
Figure 9.1 Figure 9.2
Nash also acts so
strange in his house (Figure 9.1). He begins
to feel paranoia. In Figure 9.2 we see
Alicia’s expression
after Nash leaves the
room without light on.
