The film “A Beautiful Mind” follows the life of John Nash, a genius mathematician and economist, who lives a high stakes life code breaking and escaping soviets during  the Cold War era only to realize his life is a collection of schizophrenic thoughts that he must try and overcome. John Nash’s life offers an inspiring story of willpower and a terrifying glimpse into the reality of mental illness. John’s life as portrayed in film invites a deeper inspection into just how strange the brain is and how we perceive the world around us.

After viewing the film, I had to question just how accurately the hallucinations were depicted as John’s behavior was noticeably out of the ordinary, yet it seems he was only stopped very late in his illness. He had an imaginary roommate that any friend would have noticed as a the beginning of his condition, yet he was able to go through college and work for what seemed to be a good amount of time for an imaginary task force before finally being diagnosed. While I’m certain his life was portrayed in this manner for good cinema and a more serious reading into this would give a more accurate timeline, it definitely makes you question how long certain symptoms can go unnoticed. It’s a horrifying thought that what you believe to be true could be a fabrication and, even worse, that fabrication may seem so real that you refuse to believe it’s in your head. I’m not exactly certain how a regular person would be able to overcome this affliction and that’s perhaps why Nash’s battle with the disease is so inspiring. John Nash had to give up what he thought was part of his life, a courageous decision that I wouldn’t want to ever have to make.

I was also surprised and saddened to find out Nash had just recently passed away. I am glad his struggle was told to a wide audience and I am always reminded after viewing “A Beautiful Mind” to be grateful for good health and be more conscious of diseases that others struggle to combat.