Posted by Doolie on February 19, 2003, at 3:01:07
In reply to Re: 'A Beautiful Mind' anyone? » syringachalet, posted by M. Lee on January 21, 2003, at 6:09:15
> Hi,
>
> > I feel you were wise to be uncomfortable that the movie attempted to betray JN as "willed himself well".
> >
>
> The movie portrays Nash's belief accurately. He really does think that he "willed" himself better.
>
> Here's a couple of quotes from Nash's biography:
>
> "Actually, it can be analogous to the role of willpower in effectively dieting: if one make an effort to 'rationalize' one's thinking then one can simply recognize and reject the irrational hypotheses of delusional thinking."
>
> [Nash's son has been diagnosed with the same illness.]
>
> "I don't think of my son ... as entirely a sufferer. In part, he is simply _choosing_ to escape from 'the world.'"
>
> [The emphasis on _choosing_ is Nash's]
>
> So, the willpower theme is not due to Hollywood embelishing the story.
>
> I'm still uncomfortable with the idea. But, I blame Nash, not the film makers.I just watched ABM on video and was totally blown away. It's basically a movie about my life and this movie affected me deeply. I'm sitting here crying from emotion. In my case it's the opposite ... my wife has the illness and I'm the husband sticking by her..not easily. I found the movie incredibly accurate.. not on the small points that you guys mentioned maybe...but on the affect it has on the person and the people around them. From anger to frustration to fear to helplessness. eg. Trying to remember what she was like when I married her..and that brings comfort.. rage - the bathroom scene where she yells from frustration and shatters the mirror.. questioning god...then the scene where he takes out the garbage and she thinks he's talking to himself, but the garbage men were really there..that's happened to me on a number of occassions where i accuse her of a similar thing and it was innocent and rational...not knowing the future...slim hopes that life can return to normal eventually..a few examples. It also helped me to understand a little better her point of view and what she's suffering from. I just hope life keeps steady for her, me and the 3 children with no surprises anymore.
poster:Doolie
thread:34562
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030215/msgs/201778.html