Tag Archives: Split

Dissociative Identity Disorder is not a B-Movie Monster

Split is M. Night Shyamalan's latest film. Over the course of its story, teenage girls are brutally attacked, watch their friends die, and get both their entrails and strategically sexy parts of their clothing ripped to pieces by a monster. The characters are one-dimensional and unrealistic, nothing more than plot devices. It's basically your generic B-movie, except for one very crucial difference: The monster isn’t the result of a science experiment gone horribly wrong or a supernatural demon. The “monster” is a person with DID, or Dissociative Identity Disorder. Honestly, saying 'person' is a bit of a stretch as Shyamalan never treats Kevin, our monster, with any shred of humanity. In Shyamalan's vision of mental illness, Kevin doesn't get to be a person. Every other character, no matter how flat, has a life outside of the horror narrative. Kevin's entire existence, in contrast, is that of brutal violence and … Continue Reading ››