Sail System & Anonymous on "Good vs Bad Representation"

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On 7 Apr 2022, we reached out to a multi artist for comment on a paper we were writing, and figured that other people would get just as much out of the exchange as we did. After getting the okay, we archived the email chain here.

The Sail System, 7 Apr 2022, 15:36

Hi ██████!

I'm a student from ████████████ and am currently writing a paper on diversity in video games. I wanted to reach out and ask your opinion: Is bad representation better than none?

We've only been in the plural scene for a little over two years now, and weren't around to see the community before Split (2016) hit the big screen.


I wanted to ask your opinion on how poor representation affects marginalized communities, and your account of how (or even if) Split changed the plural scene and singlet's understanding of plurality.

Thank you so much for your time,

Smudge of the Sail System




Anonymous, 8 Apr 2022, 23:28

Hi, Smudge! Thanks for emailing; I'm sure our response will be wordier than you planned. :p


There always seems to be the equivalent of Split out there. I have seen identical discussions and blow-ups over Sybil, the United States of Tara, and episodes of various crime shows. More importantly, we've seen people get equally cutthroat over multiples telling their own life stories, using identical rhetoric. When "bad representation" is code for "making us look bad," it's most powerful as a weapon against other plurals, not the singlets who make the really popular stuff. (And so in answer to your question, if "bad representation" includes stuff plurals make about themselves, then no representation is infinitely worse than bad. I want MORE work about plurals in the world, not less!)

Even "bad representation" can be enjoyable or personally meaningful! The David Hasslehoff musical version of Jekyll and Hyde is made of cheez whiz, but I still enjoyed it! I'd be kinda sad if the world was deprived of David Hasslehoff in a giant purple fur coat having a climactic screaming fight with himself. And I'm not sure you could call Alice: Madness Returns or The Binding of Isaac "good representation," but I still love those games!


It's hard to measure the effects of media like Split, since it's so omnipresent. The only time Split itself directly affected me was when my roommate told me about a friend of hers saying she liked Split, and feeling conflicted about it. Very small. The ableist myths I encounter are subtler. They're things like me being a spoiled child whining for attention, trying to manipulate everyone around me, or a pitiable inspiring victim, or that I need to be "tested" to prove I'm not "stealing" plurality from the "real plurals." (And this IS ableism. Singlets aren't tested this way, and plurality isn't some magical island only unicorns may dwell on. Especially since the way I'm expected to "prove" my plurality mostly involves being willing to hork up intimate details about my trauma history to random strangers in public.)


Plenty a card-carrying progressive would never dare accuse me of violence... but would see demanding a trauma performance as the pious thing to do. And that affects my work! When I make art about bad things that happened to me, am I making art, or am I merely gutting my own carcass for meagre profit, because I feel culturally obligated to, because that's the only story our society will pay a multiple to tell?


And that is a far more insidious thing than Split's axe-murderer multi.


Sorry, that was probably a much longer response than you wanted!




The Sail System, 9 Apr 2022, 20:01

This response was absolutely wonderful, thank you so much for putting this much thought into it.


I absolutely agree on a lot of what you said, especially with our own life stories possibly being considered "bad representation," and even smiling and getting excited over a podcast we like featuring a poorly thought out plural character. The idea of "representation" doesn't just have two sides, and there's always going to be people who can relate to what could be considered problematic. To some, seeing yourself vaguely in a stereotyped/demonized trope might be better than being left wondering if you are alone. I suppose the problem arises when that exception is taken as a rule, but with more media representing a group comes more diversity in said media, and boom! A broader understanding of something, or perhaps even just more people being able to find a piece of media that they can relate to or enjoy.


Like I said, we weren't around for things like Split or Sybil that had sown panic throughout plural spaces, but we've been affected in smaller ways, similar to what you said. Things like being asked if we, too, have "evil alters" and other questions that leave a bad taste in our mouth. But you're right that some of the worst backlash from our own existence has been from other plurals. Things like being pressured to prove our trauma and a disgusting amount of hate when we say that we shouldn't have to prove ourselves to the community meant to protect us. I don't know how long this sort of anger has existed in the community (from trawling through the WayBack Machine, it seems it has always been there to some extent), but I can say it's worse than any words from a misguided singlet.


Thank you so much for taking the time to write all that. Besides being quoted in our paper, would you mind this email chain being archived on our website? I got a lot out of reading this in its entirety, and I think others would, as well.




Anonymous, 11 Apr 2022, 15:57

You may archive the email chain, but I'd rather you not name me. Just say I'm a multi artist since 2007 or something. I'm trying to exist less on the Internet.




The Sail System, 11 Apr 2022, 15:57

Alright, thank you so much for everything.