While everyone else is all ramped up about Doctor Strange (which was a fantastic movie and everyone should go see! Seriously, it's an amazing Marvel movie that introduces a character that is both important to the upcoming Infinity Wars arc as well as an amazing support for other larger players in the universe, all while being tragic and easy to hate but still want to see come out on top. However, I am digressing and that is an article for another time), I am instead going to focus on another movie whose trailer recently dropped. Two weeks ago, I went to the movies to see The Magnificent Seven with a friend. I am the type of person who shows up early, grabs some snacks, and gets seated right away because one of my favorite parts is the previews. This time was no different. I fell into my routine and got super excited as I hadn't been to the theaters in a few weeks so I was bound to see some new trailers. The first few were okay, nothing really stood out in my mind, and by the third or fourth, I was beginning to accept my fate that nothing good is really coming out soon. That's when the trailer for Split came on, video below (though I am loathed to even add it here because giving this video more views turns my stomach).
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Normally, I am all for pushing boundaries in movies and M. Night Shyamalan is known for out-of-the-ordinary thrillers and unusual, but generally pointless, plot twists. Not to say that his movies aren't enjoyable. Despite its 43% Rotten Tomatoes rating, The Village remains one of my favorites and Signs and The Sixth Sense are iconic films from this director and writer. But let's not forget that this man also gave us Lady in the Water and The Last Airbender. It isn't a far stretch to say that Shyamalan's work has been largely hit-or-miss, but to say he doesn't take chances would be completely inaccurate. Personally, I find his movies enjoyable (minus The Last Airbender which was a travesty to mankind and a disgrace to an amazing TV series) and will go and see them, no matter how terrible it looks
However, I am thoroughly disappointed with M. Night Shyamalan's most recent venture. For those who didn't view the trailer, I will provide you with the summary as taken from IMDB:
Kevin, a man with at least 23 different personalities, is compelled to abduct three teenage girls. As they are held captive, a final personality - "The Beast" - begins to materialize.
Although a diagnosis is never explicitly stated in the trailer, the doctor figure in the movie does state that he has multiple personalities with an unusual number of 23 distinct personalities. It is also stated in every summary I could find online that Kevin "suffers from having multiple personalities". Most people will say Kevin suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder, but the correct terminology would be Dissociative Identity Disorder.
Before I can get into how this movie has a terrible premise, I feel that it is important that I provide information from a variety of sources about Dissociative Identity Disorder as it is highly misunderstood. Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID, is one of the most controversial mental disorders in the health world today. In very basic terminology, a person with DID has two or more distinct personalities, or alters, that they switch between, voluntarily and involuntarily, causing periods of dissociation as a way to cope with past traumatic abuse (WebMD).
Because there are no tests or scans that can be done to prove the validity of DID, diagnosis is based on discussions with a medical professional and questions can often be misleading or too general. Additionally, some say that the diagnosis and treatment of DID are what causes memories of childhood abuse as opposed to childhood abuse being the trigger to the disorder. A shockingly small percentage (21%) of medical professionals agree that DID is a real disorder with strong scientific data and evidence to prove its existence while 58% believe that there is a lack of this evidence and the disorder should be removed from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, or DSM-5. (Healthyplace.com)
DID generally occurs in those that have suffered traumatic long-term abuse and is a way of coping with this abuse. Females are more likely to be diagnosed; however, males are more likely to present more violent signs and be given a false negative diagnosis. People with DID will experience memory gaps due to the "switching" involved between different alters. DID presents itself in every age, sex, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic group, but only about 2% of the entire population experiences the disorder. It can present itself at any age and can last anywhere from years to an entire lifetime. There is no cure for DID, but talk therapy can help those with DID deal with their disorder and medicine can be prescribed to help with symptoms such as anxiety and depression. (National Alliance of Mental Illness)
Now, all of this above information glazes over a lot of the fine details, but it should provide you with a fairly good understanding of what Dissociative Identity Disorder is as well as give you an idea for why this disorder is so misunderstood. Yes, there have been a number of movies that have characters with Dissociative Identity Disorder (The Narrator/Tyler Durden in Fight Club, Teddy Daniels in Shutter Island, and Mort Rainey in Secret Window, to name a few), each with their own twist and portrayal. But the key is that each of these movies had a plot that explained why these characters are the way they are, they present you with the trauma or need to escape that leads to the coping method of switching personalities. These movies provide a rich environment with amazing character development, where the main character's mental disorder is only one part of the vibrant plot of the movie.
I am not saying that you can't have a villain who suffers from DID. In fact, the majority of movies with this type of character generally switch to an alter that commits some sort of crime. However, where M. Night Shyamalan goes wrong is by giving us a character who, no matter which alter is in control, is willing to commit a crime for no real reason and that all of these alters are willing to abuse the girls in some way. We aren't introduced to a multi-faceted character. We are given a kidnapper, a criminal, with the added "quirk" of having multiple personalities, where the suspense only comes from the girls not knowing which personality they will have to trick to escape.
Split is a movie that is having viewers get their weekly thrill in by perpetuating the misunderstanding and oversimplification of a mental disorder that already suffers due to lack of research and acceptance within the medical and general populations. While I am sure some plot twist will be thrown in at the very end (I'm calling dibs that this mysterious final personality "The Beast" is really like the one from Beauty and the Beast and will help the girls escape because they appeal to his "human" side and note that I write this entire tangent in absolute disdain and disgust), there is still no justification for what is sure to be a garbage movie.
Sorry M. Night Shyamalan, I will be taking my money elsewhere.
