Movie review
January 19, 2017 · 117 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Split is a 2017 psychological horror thriller written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. A man with dissociative identity disorder kidnaps three teenage girls and holds them captive while his many personalities battle for control and a powerful new alter called The Beast emerges. The story follows the girls’ attempts to survive and uncovers the kidnapper’s traumatic past. The narrative focuses on personal suffering, fractured minds, and individual resilience in a tense thriller setting.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Split.
Woke representation / casting
The main cast centers on James McAvoy in the lead with multiple personalities and Anya Taylor-Joy as the key female survivor. A female psychiatrist appears in a professional role. The casting follows typical thriller patterns with no visible push for diversity quotas or identity signaling in prominent parts.
Woke political dialogue
The film has no political speeches, activist lines, or dialogue that comments on gender, race, identity, or current social issues.
Identity-driven story themes
The core story examines dissociative identity disorder rooted in childhood abuse and the war among personalities inside one man. It treats personal trauma and survival as individual matters, not group-based social identity themes.
Western institutional / cultural critique
One villainous personality voices harsh views against people untouched by deep suffering and sees them as weak. This stays inside the antagonist’s mindset in a horror story and does not function as activist-style critique of institutions, masculinity, family, or Western culture.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. This is an original story that later ties into Shyamalan’s own prior film through a shared universe reveal, without identity-driven changes to existing characters or source material.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
There are no notable audience complaints or coverage claiming the film pushes woke, DEI, or identity politics content. The main criticism came from mental health advocates focused on the disorder’s depiction.
Creator track record context
M. Night Shyamalan keeps a low activist profile and emphasizes narrative craft. The other key producers show similarly limited involvement in political or representation-driven work and stay focused on commercial genre films.
Production
