People Are Petitioning To Remove M. Night Shyamalan's 'Split' From Netflix

Previously, we had reported that HBO Max was taking down Gone With The Wind because of its depiction of ethical and racial prejudices. Now, according to a report by Movieweb, a  'Get Split off Netflix' petition has started over the movie's portrayal of dissociative identity disorder. M Night Shyamalan, the movie's writer and director, is a well-known name in the horror/ thriller genre. His 1999 movie The Sixth Sense made him a household name but over the years, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker has gathered quite a cynical following. 

The petition that is launched to remove Split from Netflix demands the thriller be removed because of its misrepresentation of Dissociative Identity Disorder and says it is offensive to those suffering from the condition. While the hashtag has already started gaining momentum on Twitter and many users have supported the idea, it is worth noting that Split is not available on Netflix US. 

Split released in 2016 and saw massive success at the box office. The movie was appreciated by the critics and James McAvoy's performance was class apart. In the psychological thriller, McAvoy starred as a man who is struggling with 23 different types of personalities and it is one of the biggest movies in Shyamalan's career. In 2019, a sequel to the movie was released titled Glass. 

While Glass was the final chapter in Shyamalan's Unbreakable trilogy, the movie still didn't receive the appreciation or success that Split saw. Unfortunately for Shyamalan, the recent attention towards his movie is not positive. A Twitter user named Darth Grayson pointed out that a growing petition at Change.org demanded the movie be removed from Netflix. The creator of the petition, Kairos Collaborative, insisted that the movie is quite insensitive and harmful to those who actually suffer from DID. The movie's depiction of the disorder will lead to incorrect public assumption that people suffering from dissociative personality disorder are violent and criminals. 

At present, the petition has around 1750 signatures out of its 1500 goals. Apart from pointing out that the movie's depiction of split personality disorder is wrong, the petition also stated that Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is another movie that misrepresents those who suffer from DID. The petition also mentioned that Netflix's decision to continue streaming Split as being key to the “heavily dehumanizing stigma” that the film offers. 

When Split released, the movie was criticized by some mental health advocates for stigmatizing DID, so these kinds of complaints are not new. But what is different now is that lately, these kinds of petitions are becoming successful. Recently, the reality shows Cops and Live PD were both pulled down despite their high ratings, and some people even suggested that Chase the Police Dog should be removed from Paw Patrol on Nickelodeon. 

Not only shows and movies, but many celebrities have also been getting fired or suspended in recent weeks after multiple reports against them surfaced online. Needless to say, the debate of removing Split from the streaming channel has divided users. 

One person wrote, "It’s just a scary movie. Why are y’all now thinking it’s real all of a sudden? If you already know the movie is fiction, why tf you care? #GetSplitOffNetflix." A second one added, "Y’all Split is literally a fictional movie about heroes and monsters?? A comic?? Y’all can’t be serious." A third one quipped, "You’re dumb if you think Split calls people with DID monsters. He literally has superpowers. Do people with DID have superpowers, am I missing something?!? " 

What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments below.