Split : how it represented those with DID. And it’s contributions to society’s layers of reality.

Split is a film that dives deep into the nature of dissociative identity disorder also known as DID, with its main character Kevin Wendell Crumb as the host of all twenty four identities. The film is based off of an illness that isn’t talked about much due to its common misdiagnosis. Its usage of the mental illness as a stage for exaggeration and horror, may cause assumptions to rise to the surface in the real world. When watched, its twisted aura associated with the illness is very apparent and somewhat damaging to not only the watchers knowledge of the mental illness but also to people who have it. It can be concluded that the film creates false imagery of the illness and those diagnosed with it due to its usage of minimal accurate details and pairing it with an inaccurate image.

It contributes to and actively shapes cultural ideals and expectations by showing someone with DID as someone who figuratively speaking, is a monster due to the fact that they aren’t what society thinks as “normal” or acceptable, due to their differences caused by their illness. Because of their differences society tends to assume that these people are dangerous or evil. But these assumptions are debunked by people with DID who were interviewed by Business Insider shared what they wanted the world to know about people with the illness. One of the participants named Jennifer said, “we are not dangerous in any way—we are most likely to hurt ourselves and be hurt by other people than we are to hurt anyone.” She also says, “we have endured so much suffering that to inflict pain on anyone else is the last thing we would wish for.” Her statements bring up the question that society ignores, which is if someone knows how physical and mental pain can cause drastic damage to ones mind and well being, why would they want to put others through that same exact pain? Another participant named Jess said, “We may have a system of many people, but we are people just like you.” This sheds light on how society has adopted this cycle of being so afraid of anything and deeming it as dangerous to protect themselves. They’ll strip people of their humanity just because they’re different, instead of going to educate themselves on why they’re different and what caused it. Most people who would believe that people with DID are dangerous are the same people that would never take the time to see if that’s even true, because if they did they might find that people in the psychology field think otherwise. In Psychology today’s article about the film Jeremy Clyman Psy.D. Says “…there is no empirically supported reason to presume that DID correlates or causes such unique anger and violence. So if someone qualified to say what’s true about the illnesses effects and what’s not, the suggestion that the films inaccurate representation does add onto the already misguided knowledge that people have on the topic.

Even with all its incorrect suggestions the film does manage to incorporate details that support the fact that DID is caused by childhood trauma and the commonly used treatment for the illness. In the film we see the main character having flashbacks when the hosts name is called out, in those flashbacks we see him as a child getting abused by his mother who had OCD. From this we can assume that this is the childhood trauma that triggered his brain into defensive mode, later causing the emerge of the other personalities over time. This is one of few things in the film that can be proven as a fact, Dr. Richard Chefetz states that “DID occurs when the mind makes a complex adaption to a traumatic experience.” This proves that those flashbacks aren’t to enhance the films visuals, it is showing what those actions of abuse can led to. It also supports the expectations of a treatment. In the beginning of the film we also see one of the alters going to talk therapy, which is the most common treatment for patients with DID, “…the goal of this treatment is for all the identities to merge and integrate so that they’re not acting independently of each other.” Said Chefetz. Usually when we discover illnesses or diseases the next thing we think is how to cure it, and while DID can’t be cured in a day or even years. The film showing a treatment does prove that society always expects to find a solution to a problem based off of resources they’ve discovered previously.

It creates its meaning by emphasizing on how there’s one body but multiple fragments of that person that’s separated, and how different each fragment is in regards to their role in the system. All those is shown through symbolisms such as clothes, speech and behavior. Insider’s article on the film displays all the seen alters and tells the reader how each are drastically different, even if some of their changes seem minor. For example the alters we see the most in the film are Dennis, Ms.Patricia, and Hedwig. Dennis is described as a male who dresses formal, wears glasses, has OCD, likes everything clean and in order, speaks in a dull manner and is one of two caretaker alters in the system.Then Ms. Patricia is described as a female that wears a dress, speaks calm, polite, a perfectionist, and is the other caretaker. Lastly Hedwig is described as a nine year old male who always wears a yellow windbreaker with a hoodie, has a lisp, repeats himself multiple times and speaks very childlike. Due to the minor appearance changes such as glasses, a dress, and hoodie, we are able to see how alters make the body their own when they are present. But, with changes in vocabulary and actions, we are able to dig deeper and see how the alters don’t always think alike which drives them to act.

The film could not only be a factor in the formation of ones identity in a negative way but it could also make people with DID who aren’t fully educated on their own illness but see the way the media portrays them, and that could contribute “…to individuals fearing their own alters…” due to their lack of understanding. Since it’s obvious that the media sees them as monsters they might adapt to that mindset and start to believe that they are monsters because their personality has been fragmented and they have no control over their alters actions, who are just there to protect them. From that they may also not identify as a part of mankind simply, because society has made it clear to them that if you are different and we don’t understand you then you are dangerous to us all and need to stay away. Yet, its forgotten that people with DID are still people, Muller who was another participant in the Business Insider article said, “people with DID may have very low self esteem and self worth.” Doesn’t that sound similar to some people with depression and anxiety? Society has accepted those mental illnesses but are quick to use their uneducated knowledge to drive away people with not rare illnesses but misdiagnosed one. DIDs main cause is child abuse which isn’t uncommon in our world, this means that it’s likely that there’s so many people all over the world who have it but are likely discouraged from asking for help or accepting themselves.

The film split contributed to assumptions about DID through its inaccurate and exaggerated representation of how DID affects those who have it. By doing so it adds onto the false imagery that people have against those who suffer from the mental illness, and helps with the creation of the negative image they associate with them along with the negative reactions they have towards them.

References:

Acuna, Kirsten. “James McAvoy Plays a Character with 24 Different Personalities in 'Glass' - Here They All Are.” Insider, 16 Apr. 2019, https://www.insider.com/james-mcavoy-split-characters-2019-1.

Clyman, Jeremy. “Split: Horror with a Side of Split Personality.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 1 Feb. 2017, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reel-therapy/201702/split-horror-side-split-personality.

Dodd, Johnny. “One Single Mother, Nine Personalities.” People, vol. 91, no. 5, Feb. 2019, p. 64. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=134269153&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Dodgson, Lindsay. “Dissociative Identity Disorder Is Nothing like How It's Portrayed in 'Split,' According to People Who Have It.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 10 Jan. 2019, https://www.businessinsider.com/living-with-split-personality-disorder-2017-2.

Slack, Cath. “Dissociative Identity Disorder: Improving Treatment Outcomes.” Healthcare Counselling & Psychotherapy Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, Jan. 2014, pp. 43–45. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=107883392&site=eds-live&scope=site.