The psychological thriller “Split” explores the complexity of dissociative identity disorder (DID) and how it is portrayed in the mainstream media. The film follows an individual named Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with twenty-three different personalities, as he kidnaps three teenage girls. Although Kevin is known to have twenty-three personalities throughout the story, there is mention of a 24th personality named the Beast. In the beginning, we see Claire’s birthday party, and Casey, one of her classmates, was invited out of pity. Casey chooses to depart, feeling out of place and unaccepted, only to discover that their car has broken down. Claire’s father offers to take Casey and another student, Marica, home. While the girls Claire, Casey, …show more content…
He then puts on a mask and sprays the girls with an unknown substance. Consequently, he imprisons the girls in a hidden location beneath the Philadelphia Zoo. Kevin’s personality “Dennis” was responsible for kidnapping the girls. As the film progresses, the girls encounter Kevin’s other personalities including Patricia, a British woman, Barry, the most dominant, and Hedwig, a nine-year-old boy. Kevin’s psychiatrist Dr. Fletcher, Claire and Marica are eventually killed because of all the personalities teaming together to become the “Beast.” Casey, on the other hand, is fighting for a way out and discovers a note from Dr. Fletcher. It gives instructions to, “Say his name- Kevin Windell Crumb.” The Beast finds Casey again, but she repeatedly calls his name, prompting him to return to his original personality. When Kevin returns, he is horrified of the situation and begs Casey to kill him. This causes all twenty-four personalities to fight for control. Casey flees and finds a shotgun and ammo. The Beast attacks Casey again shredding her shirt, but she manages to escape by locking herself into a cage. It then bends the bars to get in, but sees Casey’s multiple …show more content…
These symptoms can result in severe distress or issues in social, occupational, or other aspects of functioning. The character Kevin Windell Crumb meets all DSM-5 criteria for dissociative identity disorder. The film portrays Kevin as having 24 personalities each with its own name, characteristics, and mannerisms. Throughout the movie Kevin’s various personalities take control, and he has substantial memory gaps or amnesia for incidents where another personality was dominant. For example, after Kevin returns to his original personality, he has no recollection of the situation and experiences severe distress. Kevin’s DID also cause severe anguish and impairment in his life as seen by his inability to retain a job or relationship, as well as operate effectively in society. Though this film portrays a character that experiences DID, it is important to remember that it is a work of fiction rather than clinical portrayal of the disorder. Furthermore, while the film highlights some aspects of DID, it does not go in-depth into the psychological difficulties and complexities that those who live with the disorder
Have you ever wondered how your life would be if there were two of you or maybe even three of you, but all within the same body? It would probably get really hectic really fast within your mind. Most people including myself would assume that a person could not possibly live a life in that manner or at least not a very functioning one for that matter. Fortunately for a woman named Frankie, that could not be farther from the truth. Frankie and Alice is a movie based off of a true life story of a woman who suffered from a dissociative identity disorder (DID) in the 1970s. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), DID, formerly known as multiple personality disorder involves a disturbance of identity in which two or more separate
Each individual has their own unique characteristic, this is what differs us from the rest. However, there are a select number of individuals who posses an extraordinary trait. This condition is normally characterized by the presence of at least two clear personality traits, which are referred to as alters. These alter of personalities produce multiple bodily functions, emotions, and reactions. This remarkable disorder is called, Dissociate Identity Disorder, or also acknowledged as multiple personality disorder. Medical Daily wrote that women tend to experience a higher risk to sexual abuse, therefore, the “women are nine times more likely to be diagnosed with DID”(Castillo), instead of men. However, in the movie, Split, Kevin (James McAvoy)
According to Barlow, Durand & Stewart (2012), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is one of several dissociative disorders in which a person experiences involve detachment or depersonalization. They go on to explain that people with DID ha...
Out of all the classes that I have taken here at Westfield State College, I can honestly say that Abnormal Psychology has been by far the most interesting. Since this course has had such a major influence on me this semester, I am strongly considering continuing my education in this field of psychology. Throughout the semester, we studied a number of intriguing disorders. The disorder that really seemed to catch my attention was the Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). I took it upon myself to use this opportunity to learn more about the disorder that seemed to be the most fascinating. This is the main reason why I chose to read The Minds of Billy Milligan, by Daniel Keyes. This true story shows us how a young man (Billy Milligan), who suffers from DID, is charged with crimes that one of his alternate personalities is responsible for. Daniel Keyes is the writer who offered to reveal Billy's story to the world. After Billy was fused, he was able to explore the depths of his mind and the minds of his other 24 personalities for Keyes. Keyes published The Minds of Billy Milligan in 1981, but most of the story takes place before then. The book starts out in 1977, where Billy is being sought out for rape crimes.
In the book Sybil, written by Flora Rheta Schreiber discuss the life story of Sybil Isabel Dorsett, who has developed 16 distinct personalities because of her childhood abuse. Sybil story became one of the most severe cases ever recorded with multiple personalities. Which is currently called Dissociative Identity Disorder in the current DSM-V. “Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual. The person also experiences memory loss that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness” (Psychology Today, 2008, para 1). Sybil’s distinct sense of selves helped protect her from the trauma she experienced as a child.
Both movies depict a similar origin in which some source of trauma triggered the disorder; childhood neglect or disturbing event. Both diagnoses are justified because different personalities are displayed through one person. We see symptoms like flashbacks to past memories and dissociation, where the character fails to recall what happened in the fugue state. Specifically flashbacks to the murder of Andrew Laeddis’ wife in Shutter Island as well as to WWII; in Split, to Kevin’s childhood abuse. We are certain of this diagnosis because each identity in control of the body adopts their own unique voice and mannerisms. One could mistaken Andrew’s case as Schizophrenia, as he also has symptoms like hallucination, delusions, and paranoia, however the distinct changes in personality would diagnose him with DID. As the character’s therapist, we are also certain that the DID serves as a coping mechanism for the PTSD in the murder of his wife. Split definitely portrays an extreme exaggeration of the disorder, even fictitious because there has never been documented cases of 23 different personalities accompanied with superhuman abilities. Shutter Island also provides a false method for treatment, one that is highly fictional, no institution would set up a facade of such magnitude in order to experiment and treat a
There are many types of amnesia, but the specific found in dissociative identity disorder is unique. The individual usually is in control, until a change take its place (Wood et al 411). This was shown when Norman Bates was unable to recall what occurred during these dissociative blackouts. Amnesia in individuals with dissociative identity disorder is not limited to stressful or traumatic events; these individuals often cannot recall everyday events as well. In one of the episodes, Norman is in his kitchen cooking breakfast in his mother’s aprons. His brother, Dylan, then walks in to ask Norman what he doing. Norman continues to persist that he was Norma and not Norman. The next day, Norman had no memory of this occurring. Many people with DID have early histories of severe physical and/or sexual abuse. As a result, researchers and clinicians have long assumed that early trauma plays a critical role in the development of DID, an approach that is consistent with the psychoanalytic perspective (Wood et al 412). Individuals who have dissociative identity disorder, usually present a combined diagnosis, such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, self-injury, non-epileptic seizures, or other common symptoms. Norman Bates suffered from depression, anxiety, and non-epileptic seizures. These symptoms were an effect from the underlying cause of dissociative identity disorder. Norman
My topic of choice for this research paper is Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. This appellation is rather new; therefore, most are more familiar with the disorder's older, less technical name: Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD. When first presented with the task of selecting a topic on which to center this paper, I immediately dismissed Dissociative Identity Disorder (which for the sake of brevity will be referred to as DID for the remainder of this paper) as a viable topic due to the sheer scope of the disorder. However after an exhaustive examination of other prospective topics, I found myself back at my original choice. There are several reasons why I chose DID. The foremost of which is the widespread fascination of this disorder by many different types of people; most of whom otherwise have no interest in psychology or its associated fields. One would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been captivated at one time or another by the extraordinary, all too well known symptoms of this disorder. This fascination… dare I say ‘allure’ to this disorder is exemplified by the myriad of motion pictures that have been produced based on cases, real or fictitious, of DID. Another reason for my choice is what I feel is the insufficiency of effective treatments for DID. Despite what is known about this disorder, (which is relatively a lot) there are only two chief treatments for DID; the first and most prevalent is psychotherapy; also known as ”talk therapy”, the second is medication. The third and final reason for my choice is my own enchantment with DID. I must admit that ever since I read about Sue Tinker, a woman who was diagnosed with over 200 different personalities. In writing this paper I hope to discover more about this disorder and perhaps be able to identify a few areas that I feel might require more research on the part of psychologists specializing in DID.
The way the media frame issues has a subtle yet significant effect on the general public. Studies have shown that frames can help determine which procedures we find medically necessary (Edwards, Elwyn, Covey, Matthews, & Pill, 2001), can influence our ability to recall critical details of a news story (Valkenburg, 2000), and can even subtly influence elections (Shah, Domke, & Wackman, 1996). Given the impact frames can have on the general public, it is important to have a clear way to conceptualize and measure their effects.
Ideology is a system of beliefs that help to explain, shape, and judge the values of the world (Croteau, Hoynes, &, Milan, 2012). Roland Barthes ideology asks the audience to look at a piece of media or advertisement and accept the narrow view of society that is relayed in the media source; in other words, Barthes asks audiences to look for the denotation, connotation or the literal and sociological meanings associated with the media (Chandler, 2008). Barthes was also concerned with the analysis of myths associated with the media, or the true intentions behind the media (Chandler). The denotation, connotation, and myth of Barthes ideology as well as dominant and cultural war ideologies are evident in the famous Marlboro Man ads.
She opens the door, but the girls discover it is Kevin wearing a skirt and high heels. This personality is known as Patricia, a polite British woman. Patricia assures the girls that she has talked to Dennis and that he is not allowed to touch or hurt them. The next personality the girls meet is a nine year old boy named Hedwig. He is adorned in a bright blue tracksuit and has an extreme lisp. His speech is immature and he keeps repeating “He is on the move.” to the girls. Hedwig explains that “The Beast” is coming for them. In another therapy session, Karen mentions that Kevin has 23 distinct identities. Barry then becomes Dennis as Karen mentions a 24th identity, "The Beast", whom Dennis says is indeed real. Karen then asks if she could see Dennis’ house as she is suspicious of his actions. While there, Karen finds the girls and tries to convince Dennis that what he is doing is wrong. Dennis then reveals that he has all three girls held captive because they are impure. He is convinced that they have never experienced true pain and suffering, and that “The Beast” will change that. When Karen did not understand, she was sprayed with the toxin used before and
Dissociative Identity Disorder (commonly know as Multiple Personality Disorder) is one of the most unexplored disorders and most debated psychiatric disorder. Through this essay you will become more knowledgeable about what the disorder really is; what qualifies you as having this disorder, what are the prognosis to DID, and what are risks for having this disorder? You will also learn about the treatment for Dissociative Identity Disorder; what kind of therapy do they need or the medicine they should have to help control the disorder. At the end of this paper you will then learn about current research and what the future holds for Dissociative Identity Disorder.
The alternate identities present in an individual who suffers from DID are forms of coping mechanisms for the individual.
Do you ever feel like you just can’t take reality anymore? You just want to escape it and in order to do so, your conscious awareness becomes separated from all the painful things you can’t stand, including your painful memories. Then suddenly you’re a totally different person. Another identity takes your place in suffering all the painful things you want to escape. Today, I’m going to talk to you about dissociative identity disorder (DID). I will be talking about what DID is, what causes DID and how it affects the individual (host/core). I will also mention a famous case in psychology.
There is a huge growth of Infotainment and narrowcasting in the news media. The way media outlets are presenting information to the public is influencing and affecting the public's view of politics in the U.S. Infotainment and Narrowcasting has been a trend that the news outlets are using more frequently. Our news resources that relay information is supposed to be a trustworthy watchdog for citizens. It's a platform to help the people become inform and educate on what is going on in our nation. Some would say America’s Media has transformed into a powerful influential source that has negative effects on our political culture.