Schizophrenia In The Film 'The Soloist'
In the words of Steve Lopez, “You're only as good or bad as your latest attempt to make some connection with the world.” The novel, The Soloist, by Steve Lopez is an insight to Lopez’s time helping and connecting with Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless schizophrenic. When Lopez meets Nathaniel he is awed by his musical talent and soon discovers he once attended Julliard, a prestigious school of performing arts. Lopez’s story was transformed into a film produced in 2008. Lopez’s character in the book and film share similarities and differences in his personal life, attitude towards Nathaniel, and struggles that contribute to the overall theme of the novel.
People on medications who suffer from mental illness may not feel like themselves, so many people fear of losing their selves. Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes unusual and extreme shifts in a person’s functioning, mood and behavior further conveyed through erratic mood swings. However, the symptoms delusions of grandeur, and racing thoughts get in the way. It’s very important to be understood when dealing with a mental illness, furthermore remember to work out the manic episodes. The author, Adam Haslett, addresses a daily issue battling a disorder in the story “Notes to My Biographer”.
Another way that Jim Stevens used symbolism in the poem Schizophrenia, was by using the appearance of the house on not only the inside but also the outside to represent the way outsiders see the family as opposed to the way the family actually is. The outside of the house is representing what the family is showing to others, they do not put up a perfect front, but it is not nearly as hurt as the inside. In reality, the inside of the house is what the whole family is really dealing with, and what it actually looks and feels like to have schizophrenia. The inside of the house is talked about much more than the outside because Jim Stevens wants the reader to understand that the family is hurting from the schizophrenia on the inside and trying
“Having anxiety and depression is like being scared and tired at the same time. It 's the fear of failure but no urge to be productive. It 's wanting friends but not socializing. It 's wanting to be alone but not wanting to be lonely. It 's caring about everything then caring about nothing.
In 1898, a German psychiatrist, Emil Kraepelin, described the confusion with the side effects and named this disorder in the Latin expression, dementia praecox. Later in 1908, Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist, initially named the expression "Schizophrenia" Schizophrenia comes from the mix of the Greek words for split (skhizein) and brain (phren). Schizophrenia is a disorder which is severe and chronic and disables the brain. It is most commonly described as a psychosis which is a type of illness that causes mental disturbances that affect thoughts, emotions, and actions. In America, schizophrenia affects one percent of the population from any gender, race, and cultural group.
An outline of the causes and effects of schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that is most commonly associated with delusion and hallucinations. It has been estimated that 0.4-0.7% of people develop schizophrenia, with the mental health condition being equally prevalent in both men and women (Saha et al., 2005). It is a particularly expensive illness due to its severity, reportedly costing the U.S. around $62.7 billion in 2002, with unemployment the most significant factor causing this staggering figure (Wu et al., 2005). While there is no known cause for the development of schizophrenia, a number of factors have been attributed to increasing the likelihood of someone developing the mental disorder.
The main character, Charlie, has suffered from schizophrenia since the story began, hurting his self-confidence when beginning high school. The first time his condition is emphasized in recorded time is after he takes acid and has a trip. Once he is in the hospital and is discussing what he went through on this “trip” he says he has visions, immediately forcing his mother to become stressed and concerned for his health and well being. Once again, Charlie’s serious case came up after his friends left for college. He resorted to having visions of his aunt’s death, causing him to feel the need to kill himself.
The Soloist Mental health is becoming a major section of health care. The movie “The soloist” exquisitely demonstrates how mental health is very important to make a living, take care of yourself and interact with the community. The Soloist film follows a journalist, Steve, who is on the hunt for a good story for his column in the LA Times. He hears a homeless musician, Nathaniel, playing one day while on lunch who mentioned that he attended The Juilliard School.
A Beautiful Mind with Schizophrenia A Beautiful Mind, starring Russel Crowe as John Nash, is a phenomenal portrayal of one of the most mysterious and complicated mental disorders known to the world of psychology: schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder in which the patient experiences hallucinations and delusions, and often has difficulty functioning in their daily life (CITATION). A Beautiful Mind allows some insight into what this disorder entails and what it may be like to live with the diagnosis, as it accurately represents various symptoms and treatments.
Frankie and Alice is a movie that was released in 2010 but didn’t receive widespread notice until 2014. Frankie Murdoch is an African American go-go dancer fighting against two alter egos: a seven-year-old child named Genius, and a southern, racist, white woman named Alice. Genius is seven years old, and, as her names suggests, she is a genius. She is nearsighted, and has an outstanding IQ of 156. She actually likes and cares for Frankie, but is afraid of the other alter ego, Alice.
In the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a group of men living in a psychiatric ward are dealing with different types of disorders. The character that I chose to observe and analyze was Billy Bibbit. Billy is a young man who struggles to speak without stuttering and make his own decisions. He seeks approval from those around him and is always worried he will disappoint those around him. Although some people at this psychiatric ward are committed, Billy is a voluntary patient.
When Nathaniel Ayers was first introduced in The Soloist (2009), one of his symptoms of Schizophrenia was evident: loose association. Loose association is “rapidly shifting from one subject to another, believing that the incoherent statements makes sense” (Comer, 2014, p. 366). Ayers’s subjects in his first conversation with Steve Lopez jumped from treating a violin like a child, to “armies” in Ohio and Los Angeles, to the cello, to Beethoven running Los Angeles, and so on. Another one of Ayers’s symptoms is hallucinations. Ayers also experienced hallucinations.
What are some thoughts that come to mind when a person brings up the word schizophrenia? According to Ford-Martin, “Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder or group of disorders marked by disturbances in thinking, emotional responsiveness, and behavior” (2139). The character, Alice, from the film, Alice in Wonderland is a perfect example of schizophrenia, and the director, Tim Burton, further emphasizes the disorder by his use of film techniques. One characteristic of schizophrenia is delusions. According to Fallon, “The delusions of paranoid schizophrenics usually involve thoughts of being persecuted or harmed by others or exaggerated opinions of their own importance, but may also reflect feelings of jealousy or excessive religiosity” (2957).
There are two parts to the superego. The first is the ego ideal, which includes the rules and standards for good behaviors. The other is the conscience which comprises data about things that are regarded as bad by parentages and civilization. The superego performs to perfect and enlighten behavior. In the case of Fight Club, the narrator’s conscience represents his superego.
Ken Kesey uses his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, to describe the lives of patients in a mental institution, and their struggle to overcome the oppressive authority under which they are living. Told from the point of view of a supposedly mute schizophrenic, the novel also shines a light on the many disorders present in the patients, as well as how their illnesses affect their lives during a time when little known about these disorders, and when patients living with these illnesses were seen as an extreme threat. Chief Bromden, the narrator of the novel, has many mental illnesses, but he learns to accept himself and embrace his differences. Through the heroism introduced through Randle McMurphy, Chief becomes confident in himself, and is ultimately able to escape from the toxic environment Nurse Ratched has created on the ward. Chief has many disorders including schizophrenia, paranoia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and, in addition to these illnesses, he pretends to be deaf and dumb.
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