If you've watched a video on Youtube lately, you've probably seen the trailer for the new M. Night Shyamalan horror film Split about a man that suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and kidnaps three teens from a birthday party in broad daylight. Many people are pretty excited for this "psychological thriller," but the film is also getting quite a bit of backlash from communities all over, especially on the internet. Why? What have "social justice warriors" everywhere found so bad about this new film?
I'm glad you asked.
Split is just another mediocre film to be added to the genre of movies that call themselves "psychological thrillers" by taking a mental illness and capitalizing on the fear and misunderstanding of it. Of course, this is not the first movie of its kind and, unfortunately, it probably won't be the last. Other movies that have featured mental illness in the name of entertainment have been The Mechanist, Jacob's Ladder, Memento, and The Lazarus Project. These are just a few of the more well known ones, and is certainly not a complete list.
So, what is Dissociative Identity Disorder? DID (formally called Multiple Personality Disorder) is a disorder in which one person has (or is said to have) two or more distinct personalities. This disorder is one of the more controversial ones, as there is no clear consensus or official criteria for diagnosis.
"But," you may ask, "if it's such a controversial mental illness, then why is it bad that there's a movie about it? Does it really matter that much?"
Yes.
DID being controversial does not mean that this movie does not contribute to the idea that people with mental illnesses are dangerous. It still increases the fear and the stigma that mental illnesses are shameful or even scary. This is unfair, and ultimately creates the idea that it's bad to be mentally ill. Is it fun? No, absolutely not. Is it hard? Yes, absolutely? But is it inherently bad to be mentally ill? Absolutely not.
"But, it's just a movie! It's not supposed to mean anything! It's just fun!"
A horror movie that gets its "thrill" from creating fear of an individual and things about them that are beyond their control is not fun. There will be people that go and see this movie that will know nothing about this movie, and the only information they'll ever have about DID will come from this movie. That is a problem.
On January 20th when this film is released, skip it. Don't contribute to the trope of psychological thrillers, and see a better, different movie instead. Like Hidden Figures, or literally anything else.
