‘Split’ and Post-Traumatic Growth
M. Night Shyamalan and James McAvoy team up for a thrilling horror film that contemplates our relationship with trauma and mental illness.
“We look at people who’ve been shattered and different as less than. What if they’re more than us?”
Any form of media that touches on mental illness rarely goes without criticism. Split, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is no exception. The criticism of the film’s representation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D.) is understandable, but films whose primary subject is mental illness rarely do so with ill intent. Thus, because of this, and my schooling in Communication, and my lack of expertise in mental illness, it’s best to focus on dissecting the message of the film.
James McAvoy stars as Kevin Wendell Crumb, who’s been diagnosed with D.I.D., has 23 distinct identities, and abducts a group of three teenage girls: Marcia (Jessica Sula), Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), and Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy). The girls are held in a windowless underground facility and slowly meet Kevin’s various identities, all of whom, for the most part, treat the girls with an odd amount of care, even when they “misbehave.”
Scenes away from the girls, who eventually get split up into separate rooms, show us Kevin, controlled by his more dominant identities, and his caring psychologist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley). From their sessions, we learn about Kevin’s diagnosis, his rehabilitation, and Dr. Fletcher’s theories about them. What we also learn is that Kevin has a 24th identity that’s on the way, an identity two of his identities — Dennis and Patricia — refer to as “The Beast.”
When The Beast does inevitably show up, he does so with superhuman speed, agility, and strength, which may seem absurd, had Dr. Fletcher not stated her belief that “an individual with multiple personalities can change their body chemistry with their thoughts.” The idea is that, like cancer patients surviving their battle by being optimistic, an individual’s “alter” can believe something, such as being able to spider-walk on walls, with so much conviction that physiological changes can be willed into existence. “They are what they believe they are”, Dr. Fletcher says.
This brings us to the message behind Split, which we get a glimpse of with Dr. Fletcher’s belief that mental illness may be the key to unlocking the potential of the brain, giving the diagnosed abilities others don’t possess.
“Have these individuals, through their suffering, unlocked the potential of the brain? Is this the ultimate doorway to all things we call unknown?” — Split
Such a question is asked with the hopes of embracing one’s mental illnesses, and this sentiment was the central theme of Legion, the series centered around the son of the X-Men universe’s Charles Xavier (portrayed by James McAvoy, several times). This theme, as is the case with Split, is tied to trauma.
In Split, both Kevin and Casey were abused as children. Kevin’s abuse is never made particularly clear, and Casey’s seems to be worse, but both carry around the trauma that mark them as “different.” That unspoken connection is why Casey isn’t as scared of Kevin as her “normal” friends are, and it’s why Kevin ultimately spares Casey’s life.
Split ultimately encourages post-traumatic growth. It subscribes to the age-old sentiment that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and asks the question: if our trauma is as much a part of us as our skin and thoughts, why not embrace them and use them as a source of strength?
Bonus: Small Details I Loved
- Kevin Wendell Crumb’s 24 personalities are, in order: Barry (fashionista), Jade, Orwell (clearly based on George Orwell), Kevin, Heinrich, Norma, Goddard, Dennis (the Menace), Hedwig (the 9 year old), Bernice, Patricia (who wears the necklace), Polly, Luke, Rakel, Felicia, Ansel, Jalin, Kat, B.T., Samuel, Mary Reynolds, Ian, Mr. Pritchard, and The Beast.
- The 23 toothbrushes shown in the concluding montage and the distinct corners of Kevin’s living space for each identity.
- The end credits are overlayed on top of 24 screens-in-screen of the credits.
This article was retroactively-edited on April 25.
