The hashtag #GetSplitOffNetflix has been trending on Twitter lately. Part of a larger social media campaign, its goal is to get the streaming giant to remove the M. Night Shyamalan thriller Split from its library because it misrepresents Dissociative Identity Disorder and thus offends people who suffer from the condition.
The situation is a little bit complicated, though. See, while the social media campaign to remove the film is strongest in the US, the streamer was never offering the pic to American subscribers to begin with. As such, the protesters are mostly calling for Netflix to remove the movie from its libraries around the world, and never have it return again.
The activists’ major issue with the thriller is that it inaccurately depicts what Dissociative Identity Disorder looks like as well as how it functions.
“Split is a movie that has caused many many many plural people & the plural community at large significant harm due to it’s misrepresentation of both DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) & Plurality in which it demonises them & more,” one tweet which included the #GetSplitOffNetflix hashtag reads.
Meanwhile, a petition has now sprung up on Change.org as well and goes into further detail on why the film should be removed, pointing out the following:
“It inaccurately represents the disorder in many ways; over-exaggerating the rarity of the disorder, insinuating that those impacted are capable of complete physical metamorphosis, and, most importantly, highlighting the false stigma created in Hollywood, introduced by films like Psycho, that people with DID are more likely to be violent, or will in some way inflict harm onto others.”
Conceived as a sequel to the 2000 superhero drama Unbreakable, M. Night’s Split tells the story of a group of teenage girls who find themselves kidnapped by a man suffering from DID. The man, played by James McAvoy, juggles over 24 different personalities, some of which are malignant, others benevolent.
For every person who argues that Split should be removed, however, there’s someone else who argues it should stay. Warning about the dangers of ‘cancel culture,’ one Twitter user wrote that: “If we ban every single thing that potentially offends an oppressed community group, we would have nothing left.”
How do you feel about Split, though? Do you think it should stay on Netflix, or do you feel it’s better left forgotten and un-watched? As always, let us know down below.