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A
BEAUTIFUL MIND
Universal
ˇ Dreamworks
Imagine Entertainment
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Theme:
The Head / Heart Split
E-mail to a friend
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Insights:
In the Old Testament Book of Daniel, there is
a story of a great king who committed the sins of pride and
self-exaltation. For this, his kingdom was removed and
he was driven away from mankind. Becoming like a beast
of the field, he lost his mind. His name was
Nebuchadnezzar; his story is the story of John Nash.
Brilliance
The
early scenes of A Beautiful Mind tells us much
about the man, John Nash. Outwardly, he was a
brilliant young mathematician sent to Princeton on a
Carnegie Scholarship. Inwardly, he was proud, unable
to connect to people, and convinced that the only way he
would ever matter was to distinguish himself with his
brilliant mind. Perhaps his first grade teacher who
told him he had "two helpings of brain and one-half
helping of heart" instilled this belief.
The
portrait that emerges of Nash is not one of a beautiful
mind, but of a dark one:
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Proud
- He sets himself above all the other
brilliant students. |
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Arrogant
- Even though he has never attended a class,
he tells the professor what
assignment he
will take with no second choice. |
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Competitive
- He cannot stand to lose. |
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Alone
- "People don't like me much, and I don't
like them." |
With
such a mind, outward success is never enough. So, it
is no surprise that Nash's brilliant paper and appointment
to Wheeler do nothing to alleviate the growing paranoia
within.
Darkness
What
exactly is the darkness in John Nash's mind? As the
film develops, we learn that he has schizophrenia, causing
him to have paranoid delusions. Namely, Charles,
Marcee, and William Parcher are not real people; they only
exist in Nash's mind. Schizophrenia is a modern term
meaning split (schizo) mind (phrenia). Its name maybe
modern, but its origin goes back to Genesis. Once man
was separated from God (Genesis
3), his mind became darkened (Romans
1:21-22), and he lost two essential things: his sense of
belonging and his significance. John Nash's delusional
people were extreme answers to this loss. Charles and
Marcee fulfilled his need for companionship, family (he is
called Uncle), and belonging. William Parcher
fulfilled his need for significance. He appealed to
his pride (i.e. "You're the best natural code
breaker").
Dr. Rosen tells Alicia, Nash's wife, that schizophrenia is
not knowing what is true. He asks, "What kind of
a hell would that be?". It is the kind of hell
that every man separated from God experiences.
Unconditional
Love
Nash's
redemption is not found in his ability to reason or in the
modern world's treatment (Dr Rosen) of
schizophrenia. It is found in the unconditional love
of his wife, Alicia. Patting his heart as she tucks
her handkerchief in his pocket on their first date is
symbolically her entrance into his heart not his head.
How
is she able to remain through all the darkness? She
explains to Sol that she forces herself to see the man she
married; he is transformed into someone she loves, and she
is transformed into someone who loves him. It is this
extraordinary grace that is the key to Nash's
redemption. She doesn't see him with her mind, but
with the eyes of her heart.
The
turning point comes as he sits on the bed holding her
handkerchief. Having lost everything, he is broken in
mind, body, and spirit. Alicia gently asks him,
"Do you want to know what is real?" Touching
his head and her heart she says, "Maybe the part of
knowing the waking from the dreaming isn't here (head), it's
here (heart). I need to believe something
extraordinary is possible."
Restoration
From
this point on, John Nash is a changed man. He has been
humbled, and now he walks in humility, not pride. Yes,
he still wrestles with Charles, Marcee, and William, but
what they once offered in a sense of belonging and
significance are now given to him through community.
Martin Hansen bestows friendship; the Princeton student
shows respect. After his long journey, he no longer has two
helpings of brain and and one-half helping of heart.
His heart has been restored by love (I
John 4:16). We know this by the speech that he
makes when receiving his Nobel Prize. It is not logic
and reason that he exalts, but love. He tells Alicia,
"I'm only here tonight because of you. You're the
reason I am. You are all my reason."1
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"But
at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised
my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me,
and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored
Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an
everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from
generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the
earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according
to His will in the host of heaven And among the
inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand
Or say to Him, 'What have You done?' At that
time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and
splendor were restored to me for the glory of my
kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking
me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and
surpassing greatness was added to me. Now I,
Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of
heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just,
and He is able to humble those who walk in
pride.'' Daniel
4: 34-37
Scripture:
Matthew
23:12
Proverbs
29:23
Note:
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"According
to the Greek philosophers, reason is the highest
thing in us. Reason should judge love; we are
to love and live according to reason. But
according to Christianity, we are to love beyond
reason, as God does, with agape, nonjudgmental love;
love that does not follow worthiness, but creates
it. Reason follows love rather than love
following reason; only if we love will we know. When
asked how to understand His teachings, Jesus
replied, 'If your will were to do the will of my
Father, you would understand my teachings.' On
another occasion He said, 'Blessed are the pure of
heart for they shall see God.' What we see,
what we understand of God and each other depends on
our heart, on our faith and hope and
love."
Heaven, The Heart's Deepest Longing by
Peter Kreeft
Suggested
Reading: Heart
by Gail Godwin
The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John
Eldredge
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