Note: This article has full spoilers for "Split", and slightly spoilers for "Glass" and "Unbreakable".
My family members have been diagnosed with 2 depression patients and 1 patient with bipolar disorder. I also have mild symptoms of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. For this reason, although I am not a psychology major, I usually pay more attention to psychology. This film gave me a lot of feelings and inspirations, and I think it is very good.
I have seen many students who gave low scores, and it is more common to disdain the appearance of the final "beast character" and think that it is "too much". I don’t think so, or it’s reasonable to say that when I watch the film, I feel that a "Beast" eventually appears (of course I am not referring to the possibility in real life). The whole film is also psychologically related to multiple personality disorder. The "ultimate form" made of science fiction.
I like this kind of film very much. Based on my own experience, I very much hope that more people can learn more about the existence of mental illness through film and television works, and no longer ridicule patients with depression, or just say "you are Hypocritical" words-this is also one of the driving forces behind Dennis and Patricia's fission into Beast.
Let’s break away from the video and share a few basic knowledge about DID:
1. Most DID patients have more than 2 personalities;
2. Among many personalities, there is no absolute leader, the one who can "solve the problem" is the dominant personality for a certain period of time;
3. Not all personalities are necessarily aware of the existence of other personalities, and the original personality Kevin does not necessarily know all the other 23 personalities;
4. The reason why DID does not break and change, I think is "whether it can solve its own psychological problems", if it is solved, then it is self-consistent, if it can not be solved, it may continue to fission.
5. The fissioned personality may have a new mental illness, "disease in illness".
Not counting himself, Kevin fissioned a total of 23 personalities, but only 8 appeared in the film. Next, analyze the eight fission personalities presented by Kevin in the film and the reasons for their appearance:
1.Kevin's native personality
Childhood abuse, living in fear. After being awakened in the dungeon, he asked Casey to kill himself after a brief understanding of the situation, and told Casey very specifically about the location of the gun and bullets. Kevin is not afraid of death at all, and he must be prepared to end his life, so he has a high probability of suffering from depression. It may be this suicidal tendency that allowed the other 22 personalities to "seal" Kevin-to protect Kevin's life is to protect their own life. Kevin's childhood was probably a very "good" child, and behind the good is depression. Kevin is "very weak" and can't control sovereignty. Other personalities are born from his fission, but are not controlled by him, even "anti-object-oriented". So Kevin can only let them fight on their own, grab time and dominance, and cause a second-level fission. There is only one moment for Kevin to wake up without any hindrance, that is, when he is called by the outside world by his full name, "Kevin Wendell Crumb", because when he was a child, his mother would call him by his full name every time he abused him in anger (Chinese and foreign custom A high degree of unity has been achieved here), this is the deepest fear in his heart that cannot be resisted, and fear is the strongest and most difficult to restrain of all emotional forces.
2. Dennis obsessive-compulsive disorder
Not surprisingly, Dennis should be the second personality that was initially split. He suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and requires a clean and orderly life. He appeared to protect Kevin from his mother. I have done everything to perfection, and Kevin will not be punished. I have another guess: Dennis may have been used as a "shield" to endure Kevin's mother's abuse. Behind the obsessive-compulsive disorder is often anxiety. Dennis must always be vigilant and strive for perfection. If any point is missed, Kevin or himself may be abused. This is the cause of his anxiety. Only all items are in the "should" position. Will feel safe. Dennis has weaknesses, he has a high probability of being impotence patients. In order to express his contempt for women, he likes to watch women dance naked and cannot control himself. He needs to prove that he is "senior" than women in this way to balance his inner self-esteem. A key incident was that at Barry's workplace, two young female students aged 17-18 held his hand and touched their chests to play a challenge game. A normal man would probably be so happy that he had a nosebleed, but Dennis's personality felt mentally abused, because this kind of provocative behavior made him face his own "failure to stand up". As he recalled the experience of childhood abuse, his once restrained personality reappeared (the film is not clear, but I guess that the person who touched the chest was Dennis at the time, and his disguise was from an earlier point in time. It started. Afterwards, he pretended to be Barry and explained the experience to the doctor, but he wanted to get help but was ignored). I guess that Kevin’s mother’s abuse methods may involve trauma to the boy’s genitals (Dennis had a great reaction to urine, so I guess that childhood Kevin was punished for frequent bedwetting), such as clamping the little JJ with a clip some type of. Young Kevin/Dennis may feel that he has grown a "superfluous" thing, or something that will only cause trouble to himself, which affects Dennis' physical condition. The behavior of the female student stimulated Dennis's low self-esteem, so under the effect of empathy, Dennis believes that only he can understand Kevin and can truly protect Kevin. Another thing: Dennis has obsessive-compulsive disorder, has quirks, has physical problems, and is made fun of by other personalities. However, he firmly believes that he is righteous and correct. Because of this, he is eager to be noticed and recognized. This can be seen from several interactions between him and Dr. Fletcher.
Dennis has a question in his mind: I will protect Kevin, who will protect me? This situation was noticed a bit late, and due to long-term emotional neglect, new problems have arisen in his personality, which has become a hotbed for Beast.
3. Hedwig 9-year-old boy
It may be the third overall pick. His appearance is like a kind of "completion", or dream, of Kevin's childhood. Kevin, who has been abused for a long time, will realize that he has too many troubles and too much pain. If time can come back, he might very much hope that he can grow up carefree. It would be better to be simple and naive, so that he would not be burdened with so much pain. This is a psychological level. of. At the plot level, Hedwig's role is more than that, not counting himself. Among the 23 personalities, there are two special existences: Dennis and Patricia, who are ridiculed by other personalities because of quirks and mental instability, and are forbidden to use time. They are three. Known as a "Horde". Barry made a mistake. He originally had the power to allocate everyone's time, but Hedwig was an exception. There is a description in the movie: 23 people are sitting in the same room, and those who want to "show" get Barry's permission, just leave the chair and stand up, just like a classroom. Because Hedwig is a naughty boy, his favorite thing is to break the rules, so he will preemptively seize or use time secretly.
Dennis and Patricia, who had been "contained", discovered this and wooed the child so that they could release the confinement in a disguised form, without the class teacher Barry knowing it. Compared to Kevin, Hedwig is a free teenager. He can be punk, rebellious, and reacts normally to the opposite sex. This is because he is "allowed" and "tolerated". He is like a beautiful dream. He will always stay at the age of 9 and will not grow up.
4. Patricia women
When I didn't watch "Glass", I guessed that she should be the prototype of Kevin's mother, but later found that it was inaccurate. Since Beast was bred by Dennis and Patricia, the excavation of her cannot be superficial. At first I thought that Kevin's mother was because Kevin's father abandoned his wife and abandoned her son (to leave by train). The tragic marriage caused her to love the house, lose control of her spirit, and abuse Kevin. Later, I found out that it was wrong. In the third "Glass" Dennis has a monologue: "Kevin's mother hurt Kevin, and Kevin's father was gonna get a doctor to try and stop her, but he left. (Kevin's mother hurt Kevin, Kevin's father wanted to find A doctor came to try to stop her, but he never came back.)"
This sentence is not analyzed separately. There is an important scene in "Glass" that connects the entire trilogy: Kevin's father seems to be a gentle person. After saying goodbye to mother and son at the station, he sat down in his seat and picked it up in his hands. Reading a promotional material from a hospital, with the words "DID Treatment & Therapy" printed on the cover, and that train is the Eastrail that gave birth to the first male of "Unbreakable", David Dunn On the 177th, all but David died.
It turned out that this was the case. Kevin's father didn't want to come back, but couldn't come back. Continuing the reasoning, if the DID manual points to treating Kevin, then why didn't the mother continue? Why Dennis said that his mother started hurting Kevin before his father left. The conclusion can only point to one: The person who suffered from DID at that time was not Kevin, but Kevin's mother. Kevin was actually "intergenerational inheritance." . So when the train started, Kevin's father turned his eyes on the young Kevin. What he was worried about was that Kevin's mother's symptoms would not occur during this period. The father passed away, and the mother did not receive treatment in time due to the interference of DID symptoms, so that there was no longer any obstacle to Kevin's abuse, resulting in Kevin becoming a new DID patient. I originally thought that Patricia appeared because of Kevin’s strong desire for the image of "ideal mother". Later, I discovered that Patricia's mental condition was not stable. For example, after cutting crooked bread, he would instantly become manic, and even be prohibited from "using time" by other personalities. , So she feels that she is not "ideal" enough.
After thinking about it again, she found that she might be a copy of the best one of Kevin's mother's personalities. That is: since I am my mother, I can control myself not to become the devil that will hurt me, so that I am safe. However, there is no "one step in place". Patricia also has her own problems. Like Dennis, she is ridiculed, isolated, and unprotected. She longed for her uniqueness to be recognized and needed by others, so she reached a common frequency with Dennis and fissioned Beast.
5. Barry designer
It should appear relatively late, probably when you are working, because at this time you need to show a person's social value. Kevin, who has been abused for a long time, should have a serious sense of inferiority, as his mother often said: "You messed up everything!" Such children should not be able to demonstrate their abilities well in the workplace. So the "perfect" personality of Barry appeared. He has leadership, is good at communication, meticulous, understands fashion, and has an artistic taste. Dr. Fletcher said that Barry's leadership liked him very much. In the latter part of the film, when Casey was viewing Barry's video on the PC, we could see that Barry's eyes were very stable and his gestures were confident.
Probably it is such a personality that can convince the crowd and, as a leader, allocate other people's time. Others are also more willing, because Barry may have the shadow that each of them expects.
6.Orwell military strategist
It should have been fissioned in the late stage. Dennis and Patricia, who had been "stand-in", had confronted other personalities. This was a battle. Other personalities needed a "military strategist" to come on stage to counter the attack of the "tribe".
The secondary personality does not make too many guesses.
7. Jade diabetes
Promiscuous angry youth, one of the people who emailed Dr. Fletcher. Jade thought that he was abnormal, but he didn't know what was abnormal. In the end, he attributed it to diabetes and the psychology of "hypochondria". In "Glass", I found a little sissy or gay tendency.
The secondary personality does not make too many guesses.
8.Beast evolution
The appearance of the animal character is easier to interpret. The deeper a person suffers, the heavier his fear, and the stronger the force he desires. Since it has always been human beings who have hurt us, what if I become a being higher than human beings? Can anyone else hurt us?
Dennis believes that only oneself can protect Kevin, and then only Beast can protect all personalities. Dennis works in a zoo. It is possible that it is the "seeing and hearing" of his daily work that gives him the germination of animal character; or it is possible that he has the germination before being subconsciously guided to work in the zoo. I prefer the latter. One of the key words in the trilogy is comics. Humans’ imagination of superpowers has been around for a long time. In the 1980s, there was a cartoon in the United States called "BraveStarr" (Bresta Sheriff). The ears of the leopard, the speed of the leopard, the power of the bear", and his partner Thirty (transformed horse) holding the "Serra Jiong" can switch between human and animal forms. If Kevin had watched this cartoon in his childhood, he wouldn't let the zoo carry the pot (ok, I just skin it).
Beast's ability settings are reasonable. He is not a complete beast (that means degradation and avoiding problems), but a rational and human-speaking Monster. It's just that this monster can control the chemical composition in his body, forming a "talent plus" such as muscle strengthening, climbing strengthening, and skin strengthening. Beast has his own three views. He believes that there are 24 personality fission existences like him, which are higher-level life forms. Therefore, the injury once suffered has become a kind of sacred nourishment, and masochism and purity are classified. The equal sign, so it is no longer a kind of injury, but a kind of test, a kind of talent-violently tolerated the unreasonableness that he has endured. Through the birth of Beast, it became self-consistent and solved the psychology of other human personality. problem.
This change was so powerful that when Casey called out his full name to wake up Kevin, who had been sleeping for a few years, Beast sank into the subconscious and instantly "shared his dream" with 22 other personalities, and then immediately, he got everyone's love. Recognition and support, people found that Beast is the savior who can protect us all, so they collectively suppressed Kevin and put him into a deep sleep. Regarding Beast cannibalism, my understanding is a kind of ritual. Through this behavior, it confirms that it is standing on a higher level of the food chain, confirming its own "advanced", rather than really need to use human flesh to "fill the hunger".
Dennis placed the flowers purchased by Patricia on the platform of the station, both as a memorial to his dead father and a celebration of rebirth.
Finally, let’s talk about some thoughts about Dr. Fletcher:
For Kevin, Dr. Fletcher's greatest contribution is that with her long-term help, 23 personalities have been in order. Under Barry's management, they no longer seize time with each other. But Dr. Fletcher also made a mistake, a mistake that changed the course of her destiny: She denied the existence of Beast for the first time and said, "That's not the 24th personality, it's just a fantasy." Dennis didn't say anything after hearing it for a long time. The shadow of being understood is bigger, speeding up the birth of the animal character.
Dr. Fletcher has always lived alone. He has regarded Kevin as his own child, with maternal love. When she faced Beast directly, I believed she was able to call out the full name of "Kevin Wendell Crumb", but she did not, because she was afraid of disrupting the 24 personality and making Kevin suffer again. As for she wrote the information on paper to prevent Beast from harming other people, but she herself finally failed to get it done.
"Split" is really a very good mental fantasy movie. Both "Unbreakable" and "Glass", both of which are trilogy, are much inferior. They are relatively mild, and I gave them 3 stars. In fact, "Split" is also a bit longer. If it can be cut to about 100 minutes, I personally feel better.
If there is any inaccuracy in the analysis of personality, please leave a message for correction.
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