The Lord of the Rings (2001 - 2003) / The Lord of the Rings
Gollum is not one of the main characters in The Lord of the Rings, but his plot contribution turns out to be surprisingly large. For this reason, it is important to the action of the fantasy cycle that Gollum suffers from a split personality. He has a "soft" side (the character that Gollum was born with) and a "cruel" side, which arose under the influence of the magic Ring. The confrontations between Gollum's two personalities are some of the most memorable scenes in The Lord of the Rings.
Primal Fear (1996) / Primal Fear
The split personality of the perpetrator can confuse the court and the jury. Is it possible to punish a person for a murder that his "alter ego" committed if the main personality does not remember anything of what his body has done? On the other hand, if a split personality can help a criminal go to a mental hospital, and not to prison, then what is the guarantee that the villain will not imitate the disease? These intriguing questions are explored in Gregory Hoblit's forensic thriller, using the example of a young man convicted of brutal murder.
Me, Myself & Irene (2000) / Me, Myself & Irene
Although the main character of the farcical romantic comedy of the Farrelly brothers works in the police, he is so friendly and accommodating that everyone wipes their feet on him. Charlie eventually has a nervous breakdown that results in an aggressive and confident "alter ego" named Hank. The already complicated relationship between the two personalities of the hero becomes especially tense when Charlie is sent to escort an attractive criminal to another state.
South Korea is famous for its impressive dark films, and "A Tale of Two Sisters" is no exception to the rule. This is a mystical-psychological horror about a teenage girl who returns home after a stay in a psychiatric hospital and begins to suffer from ghost visits and a terrible relationship with her stepmother. Toward the end of the story, it turns out that part of the events of the film are hallucinations of the main character and the actions of her "second self", imitating a real woman who does not live in the house. However, the sign in action is also probably involved ...
Incredible Hulk (2008) / The Incredible Hulk
Many superheroes have "overt" and "hidden" personalities, but in the case of Bruce Banner, these are not different costumes, but different bodies and different personalities. When Bruce's heart begins to beat rapidly, an intelligent man turns into a huge, healthy Hulk, who destroys everything in his path. Banner's attempts to get his alter ego under control is a key theme in many of the Hulk's adventures.
Machinist (2004) / The Machinist
Brad Anderson's psychological thriller is best known for having Christian Bale lose weight to a life-threatening 54 kilograms to portray the insomniac protagonist. However, we are now discussing not the actor's commitment to his art, but a split personality. In The Machinist, the main character is tormented by him. An insatiable sense of guilt causes him to develop an "alter ego" that pushes the character to confess to the crime and accept the punishment he deserves.
Identification (2003) / Identity
James Mangold's film begins as a traditional thriller. Ten strangers are flooded into a roadside motel, and someone starts killing guests one by one. However, at a certain point, a split personality intervenes in the plot, and it turns out that much of what is happening on the screen is the hallucinations of a psychopath who is waiting for execution for his crimes. Some characters turn out to be the personalities of the central character, from which he tries to get rid of for certain reasons.
True Sadness (1997) / Pafekuto Buru
Japanese director Satoshi Kon's psychological thriller is an animated cartoon, but in its content, "True Sadness" is much deeper, more complex and more mature than most Hollywood blockbusters. The main character of the picture is a young music star Mima, who is leaving the pop group and is trying to make a new, acting career. The change of profession is difficult, Mima is teetering on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and she begins to suspect with horror that she has a “second self” that commits murders. As a result, the culprit of the crimes turns out to be another person who is obsessed with the main character and has developed a “second self”, considering himself a “real Mima”.
Fight Club (1999) / Fight Club
Unfortunately, we can't do without revealing the entire plot to explain how David Fincher's Fight Club made it to our list. For almost its entire length, this iconic and provocative political thriller insists that the characters of Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are two different people. Only at the climax is it revealed that extremist Tyler Durden is the alter ego of the nameless protagonist and that all their conversations and even brawls were in the head of Norton's character. Thanks to this plot move, the picture allows the protagonist, who has come to his senses, to try to stop the terrorist attack, which was organized by his “second self”.
Psycho (1960) / Psycho
Level 80 sissy, the main villain of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" can't get rid of his mother's oppression, even many years after her death. Although Norman Bates killed his mother, he was unable to bury her and forget about her. Instead, his consciousness split in two, and Bates' "second self" began to portray his mother, wear her clothes, scold his son ... And even commit murders out of jealousy. Of course, you have to be an exceptional psycho to be jealous of your second personality! But that's why "Psycho" and the classic "manic" horror.
Of the twenty-four personalities, ten were the main ones. The rest were suppressed for committing acts dangerous to the “collective” and were called “undesirable”. The kaleidoscope of personalities was fantastic: Arthur was an intelligent Englishman who was in charge of order in relations between subpersonalities, Reigen was a communist from Yugoslavia, two teenagers, a three-year-old girl, a 19-year-old girl, Allen was an artist, musician and swindler, and others.
William Stanley (Billy) Milligan, photo: Wikipedia
Billy was famous for the lawsuit. Billy was 23 when he was arrested on charges of several robberies and three rapes. His guilt was obvious, but the forensic psychiatrist noticed that at times the young man behaved very strangely. The results of the survey amazed both the doctors and the witnesses of the process. Billy was acquitted and sent to compulsory treatment. Billy Milligan became the first person to be acquitted in a lawsuit on the basis of a diagnosis of "multiple personality"
Billy Milligan in court, photo: Wikipedia
Billy Milligan Personalities
Billy Milligan's alter personalities appeared at the age of 3-4 years. The first to appear was the nameless boy he played with, and Kristin, who took care of her younger sister. Their number increased at the age of 8–9, when little Billy was repeatedly raped and beaten by his stepfather.
During treatment in a state psychiatric hospital, 10 personalities were identified, called by doctors "basic".
Billy- original William Stanley Milligan, suicidal.
Arthur- a refined, educated Englishman. Expert in science and medicine, specializing in hematology.
Independently studied Arabic (to study the inscriptions on the Egyptian pyramids) and Swahili. With the help of logic and deduction, he found out that he was not alone in the body of Milligan, and identified other personalities. Along with Reigen, he took responsibility for the overall body - except for dangerous situations.
Established rules of conduct for the rest of the "family members" - Milligan's personalities.
Reigen Vadaskovinich
- Yugoslav, Slavic accent expressed in English, writes and speaks Serbo-Croatian. It is the "guardian of hatred". A communist, expert in weapons and ammunition, in charge of fitness. Possesses extreme strength, due to the fact that Arthur taught him "how to control the flow of adrenaline." Ragen's weak point is women and children, he does not hesitate to help them if they are in trouble, even to the point of stealing food and things for them. He controls basic actions in dangerous situations and, along with Arthur, can classify individuals as "undesirable").
Allen- 18 years old, swindler, manipulator, has excellent eloquence. Most often communicates with the outside world. Draws portraits, plays the drums. The only right-hander and the only one who smokes cigarettes.
Tommy- Guardian of salvation. In his own words, he is often confused with Allen. Independently figured out electricity, the principles of operation of electrical and mechanical devices, locks. I learned to control muscles and joints, to get rid of handcuffs. Plays the saxophone, paints landscapes.
Danny- frightened 14-year-old boy, afraid of people, especially men. He paints only still lifes, because he is afraid of the earth in any form.
David- 8 years old, "guardian of pain". He occupies consciousness to take the pain of others.
Christine- A 3-year-old English girl, one of Billy's first personalities to emerge and the first to know of the existence of someone else. She stood in the corner at school and at home if "Billy" messed up, because, unlike other personalities, she did it calmly. She is dyslexic, but Arthur teaches her to read and write. Reigen has a special affection for her. Family favorite.
Christopher- brother Kristin, 13 years old, plays the harmonica.
Adalana- 19-year-old active lesbian. Has the ability to occupy the body at will. He cooks, puts things in order in the "family", writes poetry. Takes the body in situations when it comes to being a "gentleman", gentle with women. She was the one who did the rape.
13 other personalities were declared undesirable by Arthur and Reigen for certain offenses - antisocial behavior, breaking the rules, etc.
Unwanted Personalities
Phil- Brooklynian with a pronounced accent. A criminal element engaged in drug trafficking, participated in armed robberies of homosexual couples, waiting for victims in parking lots near the highway.
Kevin- Phil's friend, developed a plan to rob a pharmacy, and then stole the loot from his comrades in the case. Later, during his stay in a maximum security clinic in Lima, in gratitude for the uprising against the orderlies who beat the patients of the clinic, Arthur removed Kevin from the list of undesirables.
Walter- Australian, hunting enthusiast. He was allowed to the body when his ability to find the right direction was required. Arthur classified it as undesirable for "barbarism" - killing a crow in the forest.
April- black-haired, dark-eyed, slender girl with a Boston accent. She was obsessed with the idea of killing Billy's stepfather. Declared unwanted after convincing Ragen to kill Chalmer. Arthur, having called Christine, was able to persuade Ragen not to commit murder.
Samuel
- Religious Jew. Was deemed undesirable by Arthur for selling Allen's painting. The only religious person.
Mark is the workhorse. He is often referred to as a zombie because he doesn't do anything unless told to and stares at the wall when everyone gets bored;
Lee- joker and wit. He first began to control the body in a Lebanese prison and at the same time was declared undesirable for the fact that his pranks went too far and threatened the "family". After that, he completely disappeared from consciousness.
Steve- a parodist, called in prison after Lee's expulsion, because he knew how to make people laugh. Infuriated Ragen by parodying his accent and Arthur by speaking Cockney. Was caught mimicking the warden, resulting in Milligan being placed in isolation.
Jason- "pressure valve". Used as a child to release tension, but it constantly led to difficult situations.
Bobby- an inactive dreamer. He dreamed of adventure, saw himself as an actor, traveler, hero, but did not want to do anything specific for this. He went on a hunger strike, for which he was classified as "undesirable" - in prison conditions, a good physical condition was necessary.
Sean- a deaf boy with developmental delay. Occupied consciousness in childhood when Billy was punished and shouted at him. Because of his deafness, he often buzzed, listening to the sounds echo in his head. It was classified as undesirable, since in adulthood it was not necessary.
Martin- a snob and a braggart from New York. Arthur classified it as undesirable due to the lack of desire for self-improvement.
Timothy- worked in a flower shop until he ran into a homosexual who flirted with him. After that, he went to his own world.
Billy Milligan is an American who gained fame due to multiple personality disorder. He was accused of rape and robbery, but became the first person in history to be acquitted by a US court due to a mental disorder. In 1977, he was sent for compulsory treatment and entered the history of psychiatry as the owner of 24 full-fledged personalities.
William Stanley Milligan was born on February 14, 1955. He was one of the sons of American comedian Johnny Morrison. The father committed suicide when the boy was about four years old. His mother Dorothy tried several times to arrange a personal life until she married Chalmer Milligan in 1963. The new spouse turned out to be a cruel man, prone to violence and sadism.
Researchers believe that the personality of William Milligan, better known by his shortened name Billy, split at the age of eight when he was abused by his stepfather. The rape took place in a barn, near the house where the Milligan family lived. Severe childhood trauma led to mental illness. Studies have shown that the youngest person who lived inside a man was no more than 3-4 years old. This age falls on the period when Billy's own father made two suicide attempts.
Crimes and victims
From a victim, Milligan himself gradually turned into a criminal. The man was first arrested in 1975 for armed robbery. Milligan ended up in prison because of the personalities who later entered the list of banned persons.
Billy himself lost control of his body at the age of 16 when he first tried to commit suicide. The intellectual who lived in it Arthur and security officer Reigen suppressed the main owner of the body and put him into a state of sleep. After Billy fell asleep, the number of his active personalities increased. Two of them brought Milligan to jail for the first time: a Brooklyn boy Phil was involved in robberies of homosexual couples, and his friend Kevin committed an armed attack on a pharmacy.
One of the personalities described Milligan's inner world as a dark room, in the center of which was a beam of light. To capture the consciousness, the person had to "stand on the spot." In detention, the main dominant personality was the Yugoslav communist Reigen Vadaskovinic, and after prison, the Englishman Arthur Smith. These two persons decided who and when can be allowed to the “spot”.
When the individuals were not conscious, they slept, observed or interacted with each other. The term "family" was used to define this group. Arthur and Reigen could ban one of the personalities and deprive her of the opportunity to "stand on the spot." This was the case, for example, with Adalana, due to which Billy's body went to prison a second time. The “quiet” female hypostasis under the influence of drugs became an aggressive lesbian who raped several students. The person tried in this way to make up for the lack of love and attention. After this story, Arthur and Reigen classified Adalana as "undesirable" persons who are not allowed to take possession of consciousness.
In 1977, Milligan's first sentence ended on parole. But a few months later he was again under arrest. He was accused of raping and robbing three female students. The two victims identified the man from a photograph, after which the suspect was taken into custody. Milligan was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation due to a suicide attempt. The dominant personalities let the real Billy into the "spot", and he did not think of anything better than to try to kill himself by smashing his head against the wall.
After the examination, it became clear that the recidivist was not all right with his psyche. The court found Milligan insane, after which the criminal was sent for treatment to a state clinic. This was the first time in the United States that a person diagnosed with multiple personality was exempted from criminal liability.
Billy Milligan is the person who was at the beginning of the beginning. For most of the man's life, she was in a sleeping state. Other individuals isolated her in order to save the life of the common body.
The fact is that Billy, starting from a young age, constantly tried to commit suicide. Arthur Smith, Reigen Vadaskovinich, Allen, Tommy, Danny, David, Christine, Christopher, Adalana and 13 other personalities lived for him.
Daniel Keys and Billy Milligan In addition to the listed persons, there was a place in Billy's head for one more person. The "Teacher" personality first emerged when Milligan was undergoing treatment. This character had the memories of all the people living in Billy's head. It was "The Teacher" who helped Daniel Keyes with the material for a book about Milligan's life.
Causes of the disease
Psychiatrists believe that the reason for the stratification of the American's personality was the bullying of his stepfather. The rape may not have been isolated, there were other manifestations of violence by Chalmer Milligan against the stepson.
Among William's personalities was a nineteen-year-old April who was obsessed with the idea of killing her stepfather. The girl in Milligan's head was devising a plan for revenge, but was supplanted by Arthur's dominant personality. Then April persuaded Ragen to kill her stepfather, as she could not do it herself. The intellectual Arthur hardly managed to convince Vadaskovinich to let his stepfather live.
Based on information obtained during Billy's treatment, Chalmer Milligan was charged with rape and child abuse.
Personal life
Different people who lived in the body of Billy Milligan had their own personal lives. The most famous episodes of falling in love are sixteen-year-old Tommy and eighteen-year-old Allen. For all of Milligan's male personalities, intimate relationships with women were forbidden, as they could betray his illness. Only the female incarnation of Billy - Adalana did not adhere to celibacy. She was openly lesbian and had intimate relationships with lovers of other Milligan personalities. It was Adalana who committed several rapes of women, for which Billy was arrested in 1977.
Billy Milligan and the depiction of some of his personalities Daniel Keyes mentioned in his book that at the time of contact with the victims, the mentally ill American was under the influence of drugs. This explains the chaotic change of personalities at the time of the attack and the aggressive behavior of Adalana.
After prison
It should be noted that psychiatry in the seventies was not as well developed as it is now. Doctors decided that Milligan was suffering from acute schizophrenia. There were few cases associated with multiple personality disorder, so additional examinations were required to make an accurate diagnosis.
Modern psychiatry classifies Milligan as a classic example of pathology. His story and photos are included in many textbooks on the therapy and diagnosis of mental illness.
The man spent about ten years in a psychiatric clinic. He was released in 1988. It is believed that the reason for the discharge was healing, but there is evidence that the patient never became a whole person. According to the lawyer, in the former prisoner's house, some walls were covered with mathematical formulas, while others were painted in an artistic manner. Doctors believe that control over the body returned to the personality of William Milligan, however, how things really were is unknown.
For some time, the man lived in California and was engaged in the film business. His business went bankrupt and Billy disappeared from public view. He stopped communicating with his acquaintances and did not even withdraw the money that returned to his account after paying off debts. The last known location of Milligan was a nursing home.
Death
Milligan died in 2014. The announcement of his death appeared in the press on 16 December. Billy's cause of death is cancer. The man died in a nursing home in Ohio, a few months before his 60th birthday.
Milligan Worlds
The story of an American citizen diagnosed with multiple personality has attracted the attention of publicists and filmmakers. Details of Billy's life became the basis for Daniel Keyes' documentary novels The Multiple Minds of Billy Milligan and Milligan's Wars.
In 1997, Todd Graf co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film Crowded Room, based on the real life events of a multi-faceted American. The role of the mentally ill protagonist was claimed by many famous actors who even met with Milligan for consultations. The film was eventually produced by Appian Way. The main role went to the Oscar-winning actor. DiCaprio admitted that for about twenty years he dreamed of playing Milligan. The release date of the film is not yet known.
In 2016, the film “Split” appeared in the world film distribution, which tells the story of a person with multiple personality splits. He played the main role in the film. The opinion of the audience about the picture was divided, but there were more positive reviews. As with Milligan, the 2016 Split protagonist has 24 distinct personalities. Some details of the plot of the film echo the facts from Billy's biography, but the picture is not biographical.
In the summer of 2016, the premiere of the play Billy Milligan, based on documentary materials about the life of an American diagnosed with multiple personality, took place on the stage of Such a Theater in St. Petersburg.
Daniel Keyes' book "The Minds of Billy Milligan", which was published in Russia under the titles "The Multiple Minds of Billy Milligan" and "The Mysterious Case of Billy Milligan", also inspired the Korean screenwriter Jin Soo Wan, the author of the storyline of the series "Kill Me, Heal Me" . The heroes of the South Korean serial film have something in common with the personalities of Billy Milligan, but adapted to the realities of the melodramatic genre.
Dissociative disorder, better known as multiple personality disorder, is a very rare mental illness in which several different personalities coexist in the same person's body.
According to scientists, dissociative disorder first manifests itself in a person at an early age in response to cruelty and violent acts. Unable to cope with the traumatic situation on its own, the child's consciousness creates new personalities who take on the entire burden of unbearable pain. Science knows cases when in one person there were several dozen personalities. They can differ in gender, age and even nationality, have different handwriting, characters, habits and taste preferences. Interestingly, individuals may not even be aware of the existence of each other.
Juanita MaxwellIn 1979, an elderly guest was brutally murdered in a hotel in the small American town of Fort Myers. Maid Juanita Maxwell was arrested on suspicion of murder. The woman pleaded not guilty, but a medical examination revealed that she was suffering from a dissociative disorder. 6 personalities coexisted in her body, one of them, named Wanda Weston, committed the murder. At the court session, the lawyers ensured that the criminal personality manifested itself. In front of the judge, the quiet and taciturn Juanita turned into a noisy and aggressive Wanda, who laughingly told how she killed an elderly woman as a result of a quarrel. The offender was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
Herschel Walker
The American football player suffered from overweight and speech problems as a child. It was then that two more personalities settled in the full and clumsy Herschel - a "warrior" with outstanding abilities in football, and a "hero" who shines at social events. Only years later, Herschel, tired of the chaos in his head, sought medical help.
In 1953, the picture "The Three Faces of Eve" was released. The film is based on the real story of Chris Sazemore - a woman in whom 22 personalities coexisted for a long time. Chris noticed the first oddities in her behavior as a child, when she discovered that there were several little girls in her body. However, Chris turned to the doctor already in adulthood after one of the personalities tried to kill her little daughter. After many years of treatment, the woman was able to get rid of the restless inhabitants of her head.
“The most difficult thing in my recovery is the feeling of loneliness that does not leave me. My head suddenly became quiet. There was no one else there. I thought I killed myself. It took me about a year to understand that all these personalities were not me, they existed outside of me, and it was time to get to know the real me.
The story of Shirley Mason was the basis for the film Sybil. Shirley was a teacher at the university. Once she turned to the psychiatrist Cornelia Wilbur with complaints of emotional instability, memory lapses and dystrophy. The doctor was able to discover that Shirley was suffering from a dissociative disorder. The first subpersonalities appeared in Mason at the age of three after the cruel bullying of her schizophrenic mother. After a long period of therapy, the psychiatrist was able to integrate all 16 personalities into one. However, Shirley was addicted to barbiturates for the rest of her life. She died in 1998 from breast cancer.
Many contemporary psychiatrists question the veracity of this story. It is suspected that Cornelia could simply instill in her impressionable patient the belief that she had multiple personalities.
Mary Reynolds
1811. England. 19-year-old Mary Reynolds went into the field to read a book alone. A few hours later, she was found unconscious there. When she woke up, the girl did not remember anything and could not speak, and also became blind, deaf and forgot how to read. After some time, the lost skills and abilities returned to Mary, but her character completely changed. If before losing consciousness she was quiet and depressive, now she has turned into a witty and cheerful young woman. After 5 months, Mary again became quiet and thoughtful, but not for long: one morning she again woke up energetic and cheerful. Thus, she passed from one state to another for 15 years. Then "quiet" Mary disappeared forever.
Karen Overhill
29-year-old Karen Overhill turned to the Chicago psychiatrist Richard Byer with complaints of depression, memory lapses and headaches. After some time, the doctor managed to find out that 17 personalities coexist inside his patient. Among them are two-year-old Karen, black teenager Jensen and 34-year-old father Holden. Each of these characters had their own voice, character traits, demeanor and skills. For example, only one of the personalities knew how to drive a car, and the rest had to patiently wait for her to free herself and take them to the right place. Some of the individuals were right-handed, others were left-handed.
It turned out that as a child, Karen had to go through terrible things: she was bullied and abused by her father and grandfather. Later, the girl's relatives offered her to other men for money. To cope with all this nightmare, Karen created virtual friends who supported her, protected her from pain and terrible memories.
Dr. Byer worked with Karen for over 20 years and eventually managed to cure her by combining all her personalities into one.
British artist Kim Noble is 57 and has suffered from dissociative disorder for most of her life. 20 personalities live in a woman's head - a little boy Diabalus, who knows Latin, young Judy, suffering from anorexia, 12-year-old Ria, who draws gloomy scenes of violence ... Each of the characters can appear at any moment, usually in a day in Kim's head » 3-4 subpersonalities.
“Sometimes I manage to change 4-5 outfits in a morning ... Sometimes I open the closet and see clothes that I didn’t buy there, or they deliver pizza that I didn’t order ... I can, sitting on the couch, after a while find myself in a bar or driving a car with no thought of where I'm going."
Doctors have been watching Kim for many years, but so far they have not been able to help her. The woman has a daughter, Amy, who is used to her mother's unusual behavior. Kim does not know exactly who the father of her child is, she does not remember either her pregnancy or the moment of childbirth. However, all of her personalities treat Amy well and have never hurt her.
Estelle La Guardie
This unique case was described by the French psychiatrist Antoine Despin in 1840. His eleven-year-old patient Estelle was in severe pain. She was paralyzed, lay motionless in bed and was half asleep all the time.
After the treatment, Estelle began to periodically fall into a hypnotic state, during which she got out of bed, ran, swam and took walks in the mountains. Then metamorphosis again occurred and the girl remained bedridden. The "second" Estelle asked others to feel sorry for the "first" and fulfill all her whims. After some time, the patient improved and was discharged. Despin suggested that the split personality was caused by magnetotherapy, which was applied to the girl.
The unique case of Billy Milligan was described by writer Ken Keyes in the book The Multiple Minds of Billy Milligan. In 1977, Milligan was arrested on suspicion of several rapes of girls. During a medical examination, doctors concluded that the suspect was suffering from a dissociative disorder. Psychiatrists identified 24 personalities of different sex, age and nationality in him. One of the inhabitants of this "dormitory" was a 19-year-old lesbian Adalana, who, so to speak, committed rapes.
After lengthy litigation, Milligan was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Here he spent 10 years, and then was discharged. Milligan died in 2014 in a nursing home. He was 59 years old.
From early childhood, Trudy Chase from New York was abused and bullied by her mother and stepfather. To adapt to the nightmarish reality, Trudy created a large number of new personalities - a kind of "keepers of memories." So, a person nicknamed Black Catherine kept in her memory episodes associated with anger and rage, and a person named Rabbit was full of pain ... Trudy Chase became popular after she published the autobiographical book "When the Rabbit Howls" and became a guest on the Oprah Winfrey program.
