Stop "The Crowded Room"!

[evgenirus]

"The Crowded Room" is a TV series expected to air in 2023. It is said to be "inspirational" to people who struggle with mental illnesses, and who knows, maybe it would be to some extent. But there is a huge problem with it.

 

That problem is, the first season would follow Billy Milligan. For those who don't know, he was the first person ever acquitted of a crime because of DID. (It was called "multiple personality disorder" back then.) Some of their alters committed serial rape among other crimes. Even if most of the alters weren't responsible, and it might be inspirational how they built their life back up, that would be yet another movie painting DID systems as dangerous, with some monster hiding in there and waiting to strike. And the worst part is, you can't say "this is just fiction", because the story is real.

 

There are bad apples in many groups, and giving them prominence is cruel and unfair to their groups. Most DID systems consist of just normal people, yet many are afraid to come out because of the stigma perpetrated by such stories, and others are even scared of themselves possibly unknowingly harboring a monster. They don't deserve such treatment.

 

Though some might say that "tulpas aren't DID", it doesn't really matter. Even if there are fundamental differences, which I'm not convinced of, any stigma about multiplicity hurts every system. And defending against it by saying "That isn't us, tulpas are different!" would be just cowardly.

 

This fearmongering against multiplicity needs to stop. You can sign the petition to call off "The Crowded Room" on change.org: https://chng.it/NSyGqD4VBL

 

-- Sunny of the Omega system

[harvestmoon]

It's saddening to hear that this is what counts as inspirational. I wish the people in charge of making popular media were capable of just, not. Like I know it draws heads to make certain disorders appear sensational and violent but, guh.

 

And you can care about something without being directly affected by it but also most of the people who create and consume this stuff don't know or care to know the difference between DID and tulpas so saying they're different doesn't really do anything.

[Guest]

This is why I will never tell anyone irl about my head friends. Who needs this drama. 

[Luminesce]

On 3/10/2022 at 3:06 PM, evgenirus said:

Though some might say that "tulpas aren't DID", it doesn't really matter. Even if there are fundamental differences, which I'm not convinced of, any stigma about multiplicity hurts every system.

 

No I agree, the social standing of those with tulpas or any kind of plurality/multiplicity is hurt by stuff like this, whether or not we within the communities differentiate.

 

I hope this show doesn't come to pass I guess, or if it does that it goes completely under the radar

Edited March 13, 2022 by Luminesce

[The Candlelight Society]

I thought on this for awhile before deciding that I can't sign the petition simply because I think it would be wrong to silence this story. What I think the plural community needs is to make a positive public image of itself rather than being so isolationist and only speaking out when the outside world inevitably makes spooky stories out of them. If we are tired of being seen as potential monsters, how about we show we aren't instead of censoring the media that shows the dark side of the phenomena?

 

I don't expect to be liked for this opinion but I hold this view and don't want to degrade into a fight over it. I would be open to civil debate on the subject though. 

[Ice909]

On 3/12/2022 at 4:51 PM, Luminesce said:

No I agree, the social standing of those with tulpas or any kind of plurality/multiplicity is hurt by stuff like this, whether or not we within the communities differentiate.

 

I tend to agree. People don't give a damn about the distinction between DID, tulpas, OPD, whatever, to most, we're all just "crazy people that hear voices." 

 

1 hour ago, Michael Blackwater said:

If we are tired of being seen as potential monsters, how about we show we aren't instead of censoring the media that shows the dark side of the phenomena?

You saying "dark side of the phenomena" makes me think you're referring to tulpamancy, though I know you're referring to plurality as a whole. I understand where you're coming from, however, you must remember that people will tend to focus on the bad. They may see Billy's story as the exception for the wrong reasons, in that, they may think that the depraved bits are normal but him overcoming that was rare or exceptional. If we want to make a good public image for ourselves, this isn't it. 

[Etna]

1 hour ago, Michael Blackwater said:

If we are tired of being seen as potential monsters, how about we show we aren't instead of censoring the media that shows the dark side of the phenomena?

 

I think that's a fair point, but at the same time, if media are only ever interested in the "dark side" then people won't know that there are any other sides. Problem is that very few people are interested in the "lighter" side(s). It doesn't generate the same kind of interest. Back in the day it was "doesn't sell papers", now it's "doesn't generate clicks/views". "Person feels less anxious going about their day after creating mental companion" isn't going to get the clicks, but "Person marrying ghost only they can see" does, and the latter will definitely be twisted into making the person in question sound mentally unsound, even if they may have actually wanted to spread awareness of Tulpas. Ditto "person disassociates into different identity as trauma response" isn't as selling as "person takes on different identity and commits crimes without other personality knowing". As it stands I don't really know how we as a society can get around sensationalising everything for profit.

Edited March 14, 2022 by Etna

[Luminesce]

1 hour ago, IceCreeper909 said:

You saying "dark side of the phenomena" makes me think you're referring to tulpamancy

 

They're referring to cases of traumagenic plurality where the alters make the original's life worse or commit crimes, which is certainly "the dark side of plurality", but also not remotely representative of the majority of it.

 

2 hours ago, Michael Blackwater said:

I thought on this for awhile before deciding that I can't sign the petition simply because I think it would be wrong to silence this story. What I think the plural community needs is to make a positive public image of itself rather than being so isolationist and only speaking out when the outside world inevitably makes spooky stories out of them.

 

While you are right about what the community at large should do and stop doing, that doesn't mean that this TV production won't cause further immense damage to the reputation of plural systems. We can definitely do both..

 

In order for your philosophy on this to work, we would need to have an equal representation of positive and healthy plurality in TV shows and media, in fact more than the negative so as to accurately represent the whole of the subject. And literally none of us have that power, only big corporate bigwigs get to decide what gets a movie or TV show that millions will see.

 

I still agree that we should do what we can, but I don't agree that a show focusing on the worst possible instance of plurality is a necessary evil

[Ice909]

I agree. Part of me wonders if the people here have the means to perhaps start pushing towards change? As in, the platform to push the "good side" of plurality. Maybe. Even if some of us did have a platform, there's nothing saying we'd actually be inclined to put our necks on the line for some gambit. Apologies, I'm getting off topic. Michael, you've got a point, but as Etna and Lumi have said, the media is only interested in pushing what sells, and regretfully, negativity sells. 

[Ranger]

Looking at the petition itself, it doesn't look like people with DID/OSDD have any say in the making of this film. While plurals do need to come out and talk about plurality, it needs to come from plurals, not people in Hollywood. I think it's important to build a relationship with people in Hollywood, but I think that's a goal we can't feasibly make right now. I think promoting the Stanford Study and other things is more important right now because they may be our next step to viraldom, YouTubers, and possibly Hollywood.