MovieChat Forums > Disclosure (1994) Discussion > What do feminists and supporters of #MeT...

What do feminists and supporters of #MeToo think of this movie?


I have yet to get a straight answer.

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I've been thinking about this movie in relation to #metoo for about 2 years now.

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well who have you asked?
Do you know any "feminists and supporters of #MeToo" ?

I'd imagine they would think its an interesting fictional crime drama about a woman commiting sexual harrasment at work.
They would agree the woman is the baddie and the man is the victim.

You make it sound like this movie is justification to kill the feminst and metoo movement as if it in some way proves that all women in real life are sexual predators.


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well who have you asked?
Do you know any "feminists and supporters of #MeToo" ?

I'd imagine they would think its an interesting fictional crime drama about a woman commiting sexual harrasment at work.
They would agree the woman is the baddie and the man is the victim.

You make it sound like this movie is justification to kill the feminst and metoo movement as if it in some way proves that all women in real life are sexual predators.
I have indeed spoken with a few.
They either haven't seen this movie, or think that it is an irrelevant movie because apparently only women can be victims of sexual harassment/assault and only men are perpetrators, or they engage in some sort of intellectual gymnastics to avoid having to engage me in conversation.

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So what is the point you'd like to make once you get a "feminists and supporters of #MeToo" to engage you in conversation?

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So what is the point you'd like to make once you get a "feminists and supporters of #MeToo" to engage you in conversation?
None. I just want to know where they stand.

Although, since many of them appear to be of the mentality that women harassing/assaulting men is either no big deal or doesn't exist then insofar as I have a point to make, it is to call them out on their hypocrisy.

I've noticed that over the past few years many feminist writers have talked about older movies such as Thelma and Louise and 9 to 5 for being culturally relevant movies, possibly even ahead of their time, but on the subject of Disclosure, all I hear are chirping crickets.

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Modern feminism is indeed completely blind to their own double standards and hipocrisy.

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true

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I'd imagine they would think its an interesting fictional crime drama about a woman commiting sexual harrasment at work.


Right. And that never happens in real life. Right?

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I LOVE this movie! I loved how it brought to light the fact that women are predators too.

I'm sorry but I am not a feminist and I only support those victims of the #MeToo movement who are NOT celebrities and have real proven cases of sexual assault. Ps. I am a woman :)

I can only guess what a true feminist would say about this movie but I did find an interesting article that may help answer your question :)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/a-look-back-at-disclosure-does-hollywood-prefer-films-about-women-sexually-harassing-men/2017/12/21/cb52df6e-d156-11e7-9129-83c7078d23cb_story.html

Take care! :)

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Knowing that a feminist is simply an advocate of equal rights and opportunities of both sexes, why aren't you a feminist?

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would imagine it doesn't figure highly in their estimation. Like at all

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For them it's probably considered the same genre as Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory... that would be the 'fantasy' genre.

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On its own, I view it as an interesting exploration of sexual harassment and power dynamics in the workplace that subverted the gender expectations of the main characters. We'd already seen Douglas in Fatal Attraction, so the role of the manipulative woman as an adversary wasn't new for him, but the workplace setting gave it a fresh spin. However, I agree with blogger Josh R, who points out that when you look at Douglas's other films, especially One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct,

there’s no denying the fact that Michael Douglas has been involved with some of the most blatant exercises in anti-woman propaganda that the modern cinema has produced
.

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One has to be an astonishing narcissist to view the nurse in Cuckoo's Nest as anything beyond a metaphor for authority.

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But it's not just about authority, it's about female authority, which is why Ratched is raped in the novel. One has to be purposefully obtuse to miss the prominent theme of emasculation in the film by women.

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Supposing you're correct, why would some men feel this is going on? Is their perception invalid? Why or why not?

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Yes, she is raped *in the novel*. So, Douglas actually toned down the 'misogyny' when he produced the adaptation.

But it is curious that staunch Hollywood liberal has made so many button-pushing films, including Falling Down (although anyone paying proper attention to that film, would realise that the filmmakers are in fact coming down *against* the protagonist, D-Fens, who we discover by the film's end is in fact an instable individual with an implied history of abusing his estranged wife), and Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct and Disclosure do make for an interesting trilogy of 'anti-women' Douglas movies, where men are victimised by strong and sexy single women.

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They probably don't. Doesn't fit their narrative.

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That it was a piece of trash. πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ

Let's face it, it was a mediocre film dealing with a potentially interesting subject. But it was the cinematic equivalent of clickbait. Hook the audience in with a controversial, inflammatory pitch, and then do absolutely nothing with it.

The film didn't genuinely explore sexual politics or authentically look at what might happen were a woman to sexually assault a man, and then blame him for the assault.

As someone who's been on the receiving end of a few assaults, I can't say the film remotely resonated with me, and it felt like the filmmakers/Michael Crichton got bored with this concept about halfway through the plot, and decided to go down a 'corporate espionage/virtual reality' pivot (which really dates the movie), rather than properly grapple with all the implications of a man being falsely accused of assault by his actual assaulter.

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As someone who's been on the receiving end of a few assaults
You're a guy who has been sexually assaulted by women?

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Why? Are you judging?

It happens. You don't think women can be just as lascivious and entitled as men?

I'm not saying it was the worst assaults, and, fwiw, I experienced a worst assault by an older boy, as a child, but I was caught in a few situations where a woman behaved in a *physically* sexual way (i.e. certain forms of touching) I felt uncomfortable with, and hadn't consented to.

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Are you judging?
Not you, though I certainly am judging your assailant.

I'm just making sure I understand.

I appreciate you weighing in on my OP with a thoughtful, nuanced, and mature response by the way.

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Sorry for snapping at you. There's so much snark and judgement on this site, it can be hard to tell, and I didn't check that you were the OP beforehand.

Now I know you're interacting in good faith, I can be less cagey with you. πŸ™‚

I was assaulted by an older *boy* when I was a child, and as an adult I've been assaulted by a few women, and although I'm not going to argue that they were the *worst* imaginable assaults, one of them wasn't too far removed from what 'Meredith' does to Douglas' character (although the woman concerned was a very different type to Demi Moore's aggressive sexual predator; I felt a bit sorry for for my assailant, even though she was 100% in the wrong to take advantage as she did).

And thank you for your compliment.

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You're welcome.

By the way, I just took a quick look at some of your other posts and replies on other forums here on MovieChat.

You seem like a reasonable guy, HarveyManFredSin, and sure do seem to be on the same page as myself when it comes to modern liberalism/wokeism and other matters.

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