My Final Research Game Plan

During the next two weeks, I need to work on adding more content to my body paragraphs and using all of my sources in my paper in order to finish my research paper. In addition, I need to implement more signal phrases and use film stills.

Close Reading of Film Stills in "A Beautiful Mind"

Week 8 Hybrid activity






The first still captures a very confronting moment in Nash's life according to the film. At this point in the movie, Nash has, once again, stopped taking his medication and is having intense hallucinations. This is a great shot because the angle allows the viewer to see what is happening from Nash's perspective. He is conflicted by what lies right in front of him, the detective and his family , as he is having trouble discerning what is really there and what isn't.
It is interesting to note how the detective's intense presence happens to be the focus of Nash's attention, while his frightened wife is clutching the baby in the corner is in his peripheral vision.
This shot can be used to explain how hallucinations are sometimes embellished in the film. I might use this to compare what schizophrenics more accurately experience when they hallucinate.






This is another intense still shot where an out of breath Nash runs in front of the car to stop his very scared wife from leaving. It is interesting to note that although Alicia, his wife, loves him very much, she would do anything to protect her baby, and that includes running him over.
In this shot, Nash "stops" the car as he has simultaneously "stops" believing in his hallucinations. He realized that the little girl who normally appears before him never ages old. This shot represents a conscious Nash understanding that he is indeed very sick.
The rain and the dark light make the scene more dramatic and important, and helps tie in with the dark hallucinations he has had throughout the movie

Milestone #3 Game Plan

My research game plan for the next Milestone is to spend more time doing research and looking for more sources. It is easy to type up a topic and receive hits, but it is important to chose the right sources. If the source doesn't work to further support your thesis, there isn't an actual point in using it in your paper. I still need a book, a movie review and two encyclopedia sources.

The Not-So-Accurate Portrayal of the Human Mind in the Film "A Beautiful Mind"

A month ago, I thought that I would be writing my research paper on the movie"The Notebook". I realized, though, the movie didn't have enough scenes to support what I wanted to argue. Also I've seen it about 20 times. So I changed my mind and decided to write about how the human mind is portrayed in the film "A Beautiful Mind "

My first source is the movie "A Beautiful Mind". It is directed by Ron Howard and was released in 2001. I found the source on Amazon, which streams the movie for about three dollars. It  is my primary source despite it not being a journalistic article or a scholarly article. The reason is because every other source I use will use in my paper will be compared to or in refer to the movie and further drive my thesis. I will point out how embellished the movie is and how inaccurate the portrayals the schizophrenic patient is. For example the movie does not discuss at all how Nash, the protagonist came to be schizophrenic. They portray him as quirky and peculiar but then he just begins to hallucinate. In actuality, most of the time traumatic events (like those in Nash's childhood) bring on schizophrenic symptoms. One of the crucial scenes in the movie is when Nash is confronted with the fact that his mind isn't trustworthy."Dr. Rosen: You can't reason your way out of this! Nash: Why not? Why can't I? Dr. Rosen: Because your mind is where the problem is in the first place!"

My second source is scholarly article that discusses the three periods in the evolution of Nash’s mental illness, and provides a psychoanalytic interpretation of each. It also discusses the actual events that occurred in his life, serving to prove that the movie has embellished and exaggerated some. Most importantly, it discusses the trauma Nash experienced as a child, which is extremely relevant to his later schizophrenic state, something which isn't discussed in the movie.

Capps, Donald. "John Nash: Three Phases in the Career of a Beautiful Mind." Journal of Religion and Health 44.4 (n.d.): 363-376. JSTOR. Web. 14 April 2015

A Beautiful Mind. Dir.Ron Howard. Perf. Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, and Paul Bettany.[2001]

My Research Topic

I was considering writing my paper for the topic Portraying Different Human Minds in Film on two different movies : "The Notebook" or "A Beautiful Mind". I think I am leaning towards writing my papaper on "The Notebook" as it is one of our generation's favorite films. I believe that it does have significant value as one of the main characters suffers from Alzheimer's disease. As we all know, Hollywood embellishes and sometimes leaves out what actually happens, (mostly because it is not engaging or exciting enough to attract a large audience) all for a few bucks. With the use of some movie reviews and scholarly sources, I can shed some light on how the character was affected by this disease and how it affected her loved ones.

First Post

       Hi, everyone. Welcome to my blog! My name is Ruthie, I'm 21 and I like to write. I am hoping that after taking this research paper class I will be able to write cohesive papers that are informative as well as interesting and stimulating. I am currently a liberal arts major at LAGCC. My goal after graduating is to get a Masters in linguistics or speech pathology.
       Languages and the ability to speak, allow us to express ourselves and communicate with others. Communication is key in human relationships and whether we like it or not technology plays a large role in that. Thanks to technology, we have gadets like cell phones, tablets and laptops, and on a less tangible scale, advances in social media and apps that are said to make our lives easier. When used properly, these tools help us to communicate. So despite the issues technology might bring, I'm a tech enthusiast. It is after all, the way of the future.