Posted by wendy b. on January 16, 2003, at 21:21:38
In reply to Re: 'A Beautiful Mind' anyone? (SPOILER!) » wendy b., posted by M .Lee on January 8, 2003, at 13:22:30
Just ran across this link to an article about "A Beautiful Mind," from the web-zine Disability World, which maintains that John Nash was not in fact taking any psych-drugs for his schizophrenia at the time of his winning the Nobel Prize.
http://www.disabilityworld.org/01-03_02/arts/mind.shtml
The article says the screenwriters misled the public by having the Nash character say he was on some "newer" medication, when in fact he had gone into remission without the neuroleptics. Nash himself wondered whether the fact that one of the screen-writers was a psychiatrist, and possibly had a stake in the psychiatric drug-industry, had anything to do with the distortion of the facts. Interesting.
No, M.Lee, as a former student of the filmmaking arts, I don't ever think we're getting truth or even close to it on films like these. What I'm interested in is the *representation* of mental illness, and what it says about our culture. So I liked this thread, and felt I should revive it!
Best wishes,
Wendyps: Speaking of Russell Crowe, I watched "L.A. Confidential" for the first time today (yes, I'm way behind on that one!), and he was fabulous. What a great movie...
poster:wendy b.
thread:34562
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030111/msgs/35356.html