English- Essay on Context in Relation to the film "A Beautiful Mind".

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A beautiful Mind- Context                              Amy Armstrong

To develop a complex understanding (and appreciation of the meaning of a text) of the themes and characters within a text, it is essential to have prior knowledge of the context, and its multifaceted nature. Ron Howard’s filmic adaption of the novel, A Beautiful Mind (2001), explores themes of alienation, paranoia, and pressure as a direct result of the Cold War context, including the mental and emotional grievances it caused, as well as the subsequent moral questioning of science through the troubled life of a schizophrenic mathematician. The author’s use of context shapes the meaning of the film, and consequently the audience’s understanding influences their overall interpretation. 

Historical context is used by a composer to create a background to the text, and therefore knowledge of this is crucial to fully understand the themes (purpose) of a text. A Beautiful Mind, set predominately in the 1950s, features extensively the Cold War atmosphere, mainly being the paranoia of an impending nuclear attack and communist spies. This forms the idea of patriotic pressure, “America’s future is in your hands”, evident in the opening scene with a Princeton University professor stating to the protagonist Jon Nash and his peers that “mathematicians won the war”. The director’s placement and isolation of Nash in this scene, paired with the close up camera shot of his face, introduces unknowingly to the audience the first glimpse of his schizophrenic paranoia that culminates in hallucinations of characters and situations. A previous knowledge of the cold war is critical in understanding the hallucination named Parcher, his motives, and his actions when recruiting John as a “code-breaker”, explaining that his “conviction is a luxury of those sitting on the sidelines”.  The use of historical context helps to enforce and support the themes (meaning) of a text to the audience, while also assisting in explaining other aspects of the text, on a social, cultural or personal level. 

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An understanding of the cold war aids the audience’s grasp of Nash’s fundamental incentives, and his social and mental developments, particularly in relation to the Princeton Academic Culture. During the 1950s social class and rank were important in society, especially present in an Ivy League institution; “I’ll take another”, a student ‘mistaking’ Jon Nash for a waiter due to his lower socio-economic status. These themes of alienation, his yearning for acceptance, “It’s the only way I’ll ever…matter”, and acknowledgement are apparent throughout the film. Meaning to understand the composer’s purpose of demonstrating the effect of institutions on mental health, one must first be aware ...

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