A 2009 British-American drama film, The Soloist, is about a columnist who hopes to land a big story in the newspaper when he comes across a schizophrenic male living on the streets. When Lopez, Robert Downey Jr.’s character, comes across a homeless man with a special talent, he sees an opportunity for a story. Nathaniel Ayers, Jamie Foxx’s character, suffering from schizophrenia had attended the Juilliard School of Music until his untreated schizophrenia got in the way of his dreams. Schizophrenia is a disorder where a patient exhibits reactive psychosis for more than 6 months, resulting in social or occupational functioning that may be impaired (Videbeck, 2011). Nathaniel drops out of school after having the inability to handle the voices and continues to live his life homeless…show more content… However, this movie took one man’s struggle with mental illness and opened many people’s eyes to why someone might be homeless. Nathaniel was a good man who was dealt an unfortunate card, however he had his music, which gave him hope. For the majority of his life, music was his only relationship, however he learned the true meaning of friendship through Steve Lopez. Steve taught Nathaniel that it doesn’t matter where you come from, but what matters is the person that you have become. This concept is not only important to the fact that Nathaniel is homeless, but it also spoke to his mental illness. Steve proved how a simple gesture can go a long way with someone who feels alone and lost in the world. He gave Nathaniel hope and a reason to smile. This shows we identify ourselves by our occupations, as well as our relationships with other
