A follower sent me a conversation that they’ve been having with one of their acquaintances regarding the upcoming series, The Crowded Room. They had posted a petition (link here, if you would like to sign it), and this was someone’s response to them (a singlet, no less). I’ve gotten permission to post my own response to what this person said.
“For the most part people don’t even know about DID. Thats just biased if you think a movie will make everyone think bad of it. A regular person for the most part wont recognize if a person has DID. All of us didn’t know until you told us and my only experience with DID was Split. Did i instantly think you had a evil personality? no because i’m not dumb and i know not every system is like Split and Split is entirely fictional. You’re being unreasonable.”
First off, you’re speaking over people who have to live with this disorder, and the stigma surrounding it, every day. Not cool, stop it. Sit down, shut up, and listen.
Just because you didn’t immediately think negatively after Split, doesn’t mean a whole lot of other people didn’t. Twitter is full of people making fun of systems, saying, “This is some “split” shit.” No, it’s not some “split shit”, it’s a very real disorder. We’re, unfortunately, STILL dealing with the aftermath of that movie. It’s not just negative imagery of the community and the disorder, but the promotion and use of incorrect language, the misrepresentation of symptoms and experiences, and the implication that we’re dangerous. “Not every system is like Split,” implying some are? That statement right there tells me that you believe some of the portrayal in that movie to be true, and that it had a hand in shaping your understanding of the disorder. THAT is not where we, as systems, want you getting your information from.
Did you say the same thing about the autistic community when they said the movie Music was a misrepresentation of the disorder? Did you speak over Autistic people to tell them that they were being unreasonable with their criticisms? What makes you think that ANY of what you’ve said here is appropriate? The movie Music actually did DAMAGE to the Autistic community– real, tangible damage when it promoted the use of a controversial restraint maneuver.
We saw the damage Split had. We know what’s going to happen with the Crowded Room.
“The movie is not highlighting a DID person who got away with rape the movie is highlighting an asshole that used DID as an excuse to get away with rape. Its highlighting the evil person who used DID to his own personal gain. If anything personally it puts DID in a better light because he was using it maliciously. The DID is not the cause he is. Yeah there are a ton of other DID movies they could have done that highlight DID better but thats not Big Media’s goal they just want money and to make money you make something interesting or entertaining. This is a factual example of someone who used a mental condition for evil to get away with a crime.”
There is so much wrong with this paragraph that I honestly don’t even know where to begin… They’re calling this an “inspiration story” of the first person to be acquitted of a crime due to DID– or as they’ll be calling it throughout the series, MPD, and outdated, misleading, and often offensive term. The name was changed for a reason, and like you, most people won’t have heard of DID before exposure to The Crowded Room. Unfortunately, because it’s essentially a period piece, there won’t be any clarification of the name change, or why it was changed, or any of the controversies around the name change. Very likely, people exposed to the disorder through this movie/series, will only know it as MPD. As well, a lot of the science around DID has changed. None of that will be talked about, either. It’ll likely promote outdated and dangerous therapy techniques. So, already, we’re either going to be painted as “inspiration porn”, or we’re going to be demonized. Neither is good. Neither is “preferable”. It just sucks. It’s bad. There is NO good outcome from The Crowded Room as media representation.
It’s also unclear whether this man actually even HAD DID, so this is literally a series about a guy that potentially faked his disorder to get away with MANY crimes. What do you think that idea is going to do? Systems left, right, and center are going to be accused of faking their disorder, and right now, system responsibility is a Hot Topic within the community. This is NOT how we want to start having that discussion with those outside of the community.
This series is also very likely to play up the negative aspects of this disorder. Only about 5% of systems overtly present their alters. Those with DID are also significantly more likely to be victims of crime, rather than perpetrators. Why is our only representation that of perpetrators, and why do you, someone who is NOT a member of the community, think that’s okay?
“Its highlighting the evil person who used DID to his own personal gain. If anything personally it puts DID in a better light because he was using it maliciously.” I’m so curious how you reached this conclusion. It feels like there must be some MAJOR mental gymnastics happening here. You need to remember that there is ZERO positive portrayals of DID to combat the negative. There will be no positive from this movie, it won’t paint anything in a better light, because there’s zero understanding to begin with. People are just going to see a dangerous man claiming to have a disorder that allowed him to get away with sexual assault. In what way, in ANY universe, is this going to make DID look good?
“That’s like saying why do they make a lot of movies about slavery. Its media someone pitches an idea if the producers like it they like it it’s not that they’re outright choosing the violent stories.its not a line up where they have 4 options 3 of which are good cases the idea is brought up by someone that say hey wouldn’t it be interesting to make something about this. No one is attacking DID this isn’t even about DID”.
THIS IS ALL ABOUT DID. It’s literally ALL about DID.
If we look at some of the other promotional material…
They can’t even get any of it right in the description– what makes you think that they’ll get anything right in the actual movie/show? And if you can’t actually understand what’s wrong with the two pictures above, that right there proves my point.
It actually IS exactly like that. You know what other people with DID they could have made a movie or show about?
What about Jeni Haynes? A woman who created 2,500 alters to deal with abuse from her father, gained a masters and PhD in legal studies, took her father to court, had her alters testify, and WON?
How about Herschel Walker? Former NFL star that doesn’t remember receiving the Heisman Trophy because his alter did it for him?
The stories ARE out there, they’re literally just choosing to demonize us.
