'Disclosure' reveals War of the sexes

'Disclosure' reveals War of the sexes

Disclosure; Michael Crichton; Ballantine Boos, New york, 1994;
497 pages

JAKARTA (JP): We are in the middle of World War III and most
of us don't even know it. The potent opponents maintain opposite
tenements on the two sides of a magnet -- a love-hate ambitious
cocktail -- which sometimes brings them together in an
immeasurable, consuming passion for each other. Regardless of the
outcome, this battle has always proved to have more surrenders
than casualties.

This battle of the sexes forms the theme of the book
Disclosure, now a blockbuster film. Written by Michael Crichton,
the author of Jurrassic Park, and directed by Barry Livinson it
promises to be The Fatal Attraction of the 90's -- or so scream
the advertisements in Singapore movie halls.

The cover of the book displays a close-up of the classic
contours of Demi Moore's profile and that of her victim Michael
Douglas.

Tom Sanders (Douglas) and Meredith Johnson (Moore) are
colleagues in a computer company called Digicom. The company
designs CD Roms and electronic databases. Meredith is a virtual
"square peg in a round hole" but becomes the head of technical
divisions by plundering her physical faculties where her mental
ones fail.

The snappy, expeditious flow of the book is further helped
because the reader's imagination is facilitated by holding a
clear image of what the principal characters look like. Moore's
famous husky voice and Douglas's intense face bring the pages to
life.

The story really gets moving when Meredith, a darling of the
boss from the sales section, gets promoted as head of technical
divisions -- a highly coveted position that Sanders was naturally
thought to fill. The situation is further spiced-up when Sanders
admits to having had a relationship with her about a decade ago.
However, that's dead and buried. Sanders swallows his pill of
disappointment and looks forward to the completion of his
profitable project in Malaysia.

Now he must function with someone who is not only his ex-lover
but also his boss. The crunch comes when Meredith suggests an
after office hours meeting to gear up for the impending meeting
with the buyers of his invention the next day. However, she has
no intention to talk business but has merging plans of her own.

The Motion Picture Association Of America is perplexed about
how to rate the film because, as actress Demi Moore says, "There
is no nudity. It is raw and makes people uncomfortable. It is
real, not pretty, glossy or romantic." According to statistics
the percentage of sexually harassed male employees is just as
large as their female counterparts.

Tom is a happily married man and does not desire complications
in life. Although he still finds Meredith attractive, he spurns
his boss and walks out leaving a vicious, embittered and
humiliated woman.

She complains of having been assaulted by Sanders. When Tom
reaches the office the next day he is suddenly catapulted into
gossip headlines and brusquely informed of his "transfer of equal
position". His world comes crumbling down when he is thrown off
his project for assaulting his senior.

He wins his wife's confidence and sends the family out of the
country, away from harmful gossip. With his female lawyer he sues
and commences his one man fight against the unjust system.

The rules for men have changed and all men know that in their
hearts. A very American theme: "Wonderfully entertaining," says
Sunday Times.

In the end, one feels that a few aspects of this shrewd woman
character were not essential. The vamp was made to be bad, or
maybe it was a case of "when she was good she was very very good,
and when she was bad she was very very bad." While possessing an
ulterior motive for the seduction it was unnecessary to depict
her as a risque, lusty tigress out on the prowl.

We all are constantly adapting, coadjuting and moving on while
reacting this world. And there are very few incidents that
actually tell us where we have really reached or show us the path
we have traveled. This film is not just any courtroom drama, it
tells us exactly where the war of feminism has reached.

A free ticket to the film is being issued with the sale of
each book in Singapore. Theaters in Jakarta have had selective
midnight shows and plan to run it regularly in two weeks.

The book and the film not only throw light on the state of the
world but also expand the stance we must take on equality for men
and women. For all believers in the aphorism "Feminism is the
triumph of mind over mattress", the movie illustrates "Feminism
is the triumph of getting the man to the mattress."

-- Pavan Kapoor