A Beautiful Mind Analysis - Sastra Inggris Psychology Analysis

Guys, Learning doesn't always have to be in the classroom.  By taking a formal education where someone comes to class, listens to a lesson, runs an exam, then passes and gets a diploma or certificate. 

No !!!

You can learn from anywhere, including from a film.  This time we will discuss a film based on a true story, a mathematician named Jhon Nash. And the title is, A beautiful mind a film that full with life's lesson.

John Nash is a genius man because of his genius he entered the prestigious university, Princeton University.  He is a person who likes to be alone, shy, low self-esteem, and introverted.  Nash said that he didn't really like dealing with other people and he didn't think anyone liked him.  In addition, he is also an arrogant person and proud of his self.  He showed this by refusing to attend the class which he considered only spending time and making the brain dull.  Instead, Nash spent more time outside the classroom to get an original idea to get his doctorate and be accepted at the prestigious research center, Wheeler Defense Lab at MIT.

 On the other hand, Nash has a roommate named Charles Herman, who has a niece named little Marcee. Nash thinks that his roommate knows him very well. And also Nash likes to write formulas in the window of his room and library where he accidentally managed to find a new concept.

Nash's life began to change when he was asked by the Pentagon to crack the secret code sent by the Soviet army.  There, he met a secret agent William Parcher.  From this secret agent, he was given a job as a spy.  This new job makes Nash obsessed until he forgets time and lives in his own world.

 Nash began to fall in love with a girl named Alicia Larde.  After Nash got married, Nash got worse.  He is increasingly frightened and looks strange.  Finally, Alicia Larde become distrustful and she try to search about her husband. Larde began to find out about Nash's roommate whom he had told.  When Larde found out, apparently friends told by Nash did not exist and it turns out, Nash just lived alone in the dormitory. Nash was increasingly scared because he felt he was being followed by a secret agent.  From there Larde took Nash to a mental hospital for treatment.

John Forbes Nash has Schizophernia. Schizophernia is a chronic mental disorder that causes sufferers to experience delusions, hallucinations, distracted thoughts, and behavior changes.  Conditions that usually take place are defined as mental disorders given the difficulty of sufferers to distinguish between reality and the mind itself

He finally realized that the friends in his imagination did not grow old at all.

 And over time, he also learned to lead a normal life by ignoring the existence of figures in his hallucinations.

In the end, of the film John won the Nobel Prize in 1994 at a relatively old age.

And until now, the contemporary economic concepts that he discovered are still being used and studied.

ANALYSIS:

From the film it can be seen that John Nash suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, which is characterized by the following symptoms:

 

1.     The existence of delusions or delusions, namely false beliefs that are maintained.

 

·       Delusions of pursuit (delusion of persecution), namely the belief that certain people or groups are threatening or planning to endanger themselves, in the film are government agents and Russian spies. This understanding makes him paranoid, who is always suspicious of everything and is in fear because he feels cared for, followed, and monitored.

 

·       Delusions of grandeur (delusion of grandeur), namely the belief that he has an advantage and strength and is an important person. John Nash considers himself the best secret code solver and secret spy / agent.

 

·       Delusions of influence (delusion of influence), is the belief that external forces are trying to control their thoughts and actions. The scene that shows this delusion is when told to kill his wife, when told to show that he is a genius, and when convinced that he is not meant by his hallucinatory friends.

 

 

2.     The existence of hallucinations, namely false perceptions or assume a thing exists and is real when in reality it is only imaginary. John Nash experienced hallucinations meeting with three people who were actually absent namely Charles Herman (his roommate), William Parcher (government agent) and Marcee (nephew of Charles Herman). In addition, there is also a secret laboratory, and also a code number installed in his hand.

 

3.     Motor symptoms can be seen from strange and peculiar facial expressions followed by strange hand, finger and arm movements. This indication is very clear when John Nash became acquainted with his friends and also when viewed from the way he walked.

 

4.     The existence of emotional disturbances, the clearest scene is when John Nash carried his child with no emotion at all.

 

5.     Social withdrawal (social withdrawal), John Nash cannot interact socially like people in general, he does not like others and assume others do not like him so he only has a few friends.

Stressors or stressful events that make John Nash's schizophrenia worse, namely:

- Lose playing from his friend

- Feeling of failure to achieve to achieve his goals

- Feeling unable to serve his wife

- Cannot work or get a job back

 

 

 

Personal characteristics of John Nash, namely:

- Shy, introverted, loners, low self-esteem (feeling himself disliked by others), rigid, do not like to hang out (do not like others), withdrawal from the social environment.

- In reality (the real story is not in this film) John Nash is a grumpy person, likes to play women, hard, rigid and anti-Semitic.

 

In the film John Nash was taken to a mental hospital and received ECT (Electroshock Therapy) or electroconvulsive therapy 5 times a week for 10 weeks. ECT is a therapy that is often used in 1940 - 1960 before antipsychotic and anti-depressant drugs are easily obtained. The way this therapy works is that a very low-powered electric current to the brain is sufficient to produce seizures that are similar to epileptic seizures. This spasm becomes the therapeutic not the electric current. Before ECT, the patient is injected insulin as a muscle relaxant which will prevent the convulsive spasm of the muscles of the body and the possibility of injury. The side effect of using ECT is forgetfulness or memory disturbance. These side effects can be avoided by keeping a low electric current flowing.

After undergoing treatment at a mental hospital, John Nash underwent treatment at home with Psychotherapist Drugs. This drug must be taken regularly by schizophrenics. Although these drugs cannot cure schizophrenia, antipsychotic medications will help sufferers to eliminate hallucinations and confusion, and restore rational thought processes. How it works antipsychotic drugs that inhibit dopamine receptors in the brain. The effects of the use of these drugs are: Difficult to concentrate, inhibit the thought process, do not have sexual desire.

 

In addition to biological therapy, John Nash also received therapy from his wife in the form of social support given to him, empathy, acceptance, encouraging to start social interaction (with garbage collectors), and encouragement to not give up and keep trying. Social therapy is very helpful for schizophrenics in dealing with events that become stressors for sufferers.

 

Until now Schizophrenia is a mental illness that has not known the exact cause. Recent evidence says that the structure and activity of the sufferer's brain is abnormal, however in addition to genetic (biological) causes it is possible that schizophrenia is also caused by social and psychological factors.

 

Reference:
Chaplin, J.P. 2001. Kamus Lengkap Psikologi, terj. Kartini Kartono. Jakarta : PT RajaGrafindo Perkasa. Kartono, Kartini. 2000. Hygiene Mental. Bandung: CV. Mandar Maju.
Maslim, Rusdi, ed. Buku Saku PPDGJ III, Jakarta, 1995.