Disclosure (2020) User Reviews

Please Watch This

[Neon_Gold · 9/10 · 20 June 2020]

People need to see this documentary. As someone who has watched a lot of the movies referenced in this doc it is really eye opening to see how these very famous movies have caused hurt to trans people and the trans community as a whole.

I have never noticed how much of a negative impact these portrayals could have because i am not looking for them and because i have positive influences of the trans community. For people who don't have positive references or influences for the trans community it is easy for them to think every trans person is like the characters they see on screen. That is why documentaries like this are important to shine light on the mistreatment of the trans community in the media, whether it is by mistake due to be uneducated or purposefully to be hurtful and damaging.

It also shows that we are slowly making process with the representation and we need to keep it up.

It also frustrated me that Netflix had one again done 0 promotion that i have seen and i had to search for this movie as it wasn't anywhere to be seen on my homepage which is very confusing as this doc should 100% be recommended for me yet they felt the need to give Hotel Transylvania 3 a full splash page at the top of my home page when it is not of interest to me at all. It is good that Netflix has put this on but if they don't help people find it people won't watch it. I knew that it was coming due to other people, so others who are unaware of this movie will not go looking for it has they dint know it exists.

So please watch this and open your mind to people who are different from you.

A Great Documentary for those interested in film history and transgender rights

[seige-hound · 9/10 · 23 June 2020]

Disclosure is a very simple, straightforward documentary. No twists or turns or anything like that. It's a bunch of transgender actors, creators and activists talking in depth about how trans people have been represented in film and television since the very beginning of film history.

For that reason I would commend this film as essential viewing for any hypothetical queer film history course at university, as a first dive into how LGBT people are represented, the good the bad and the ugyly parts of it.

Including talents like Laverne Cox, Alexandra Billings, Jamie Clayton, Lilly Wachoski and many more, this is quite all-encompassing for the subject matter. While it does aim for breadth rather than depth, and it does jump around a little bit, the film gives a good first taste into queer film theory, and it does so in a very sympathetic way.

If you know anyone who is transgender in real life, and even if you don't in person but do care about their rights, I would strongly recommend checking this film out.

A moving, human portrayal of how trans people are depicted in the media

[jondallaslawyer · 8/10 · 20 June 2020]

This movie is inspiring and informational and tells the history of the portrayal of trans people in the American media. I haven't watched any of the movies or TV programs discussed in Disclosure (except The Crying Game). However, I was pleased to learn that the entertainment industry has expanded to tell stories of trans people.

Finally, the documentary about trans lives we've always needed

[angelanwalker · 10/10 · 21 June 2020]

I was fortunate enough to hear about this documentary on Brene Brown's podcast just a few days ago, when she was talking with Laverne Cox. This is the kind of documentary that EVERYBODY needs to see. I'm an ally and have been so disgusted by the treatment of trans people. This is incredibly insightful and educational. I have a hard time articulating, and am finding it difficult to find the words to explain how moving Disclosure is. PLEASE watch this.

Should be shown in schools and to all politicians ans

[m-hiortpetersen · 10/10 · 22 June 2020]

This should be part of every schools curriculum. Very well made, very human and extremely eye opening, it's unfathomable that people can still be treated so differently and often badly in these modern times, we are all just human after all.

Amazing and ground breaking

[jameswcarter · 10/10 · 19 September 2020]

I thought this movie was mind blowing. Coming from a background that has not been educated too much on the topic of transgender people this really helped me become aware of what they go through. I highly recommend this as a great way to educate oneself on Transgender/transsexual people.

MUST watch

[LoverOfFilmsAndMusic · 10/10 · 21 June 2020]

Crazy, I remember watching a lot of the shows and movies mentioned growing up but never gave it much thought. I was raised to see people's hearts. I must admit I cried after the clip of the father and she started talking about how she wished she had that type of love. I believe we are one, that there's good in all of us ( some have it hidden so far deep within though), we deserve peace and love ESPECIALLY those of us that has been hurt physically, mentally, emotionally, and sexually. Pain doesn't go away over time and we NEED to heal, so that we may be loved, love ourselves, and others.

In Depth and Respectful

[pipsquacky · 10/10 · 21 June 2020]

Documentary about the way the media has represented transgender people over the years. Wonderfully done!

A must watch!

[sini-200 · 10/10 · 22 June 2020]

Please watch this, no matter if you are in the lgtb+ community or not. It's really eye opening and makes you understand the struggles trans and especially poc trans people have to go through even today. And prepare tissues.

Conflates so many instances of drag and cross dressing with transsexualism

[shannonsuxx · 7/10 · 14 June 2021]

I enjoyed the documentary, but the conflation of films villains as cross dressers with being transgender was preposterous.

Sure they can voice their opinions about how they felt about the characters, but that still doesn't make the films plot they are talking about having anything to do with being trans.

Michaels Caines disguise in Dressed To Kill was because he was disguising himself to murder somebody. It was a disguise. Literally has nothing to do with gender dysphoria nor trans representation.

Absolutely Essential.

[cvmann · 10/10 · 22 June 2020]

One of the best documentaries I've ever seen. If you've ever wondered if representation really matters, this documentary shows how bad representation can be harmful in countless ways and good representation can be life-changing for people finding their way.

Insightful, important but flawed documentary.

[Avwillfan89 · 7/10 · 30 June 2020]

Much like the 1996 film The Celluloid Closet, this documentary re-examins the portrayal of trans people on screen throughout the ages - from TV, to talk shows, to documentaries and all the way to the big screen. It's amazing how incredibly fast the representation of trans people has evolved over the years. I did take issue with a few things, however. First off, there are only American trans people shown being interviewed and no British trans actors and writers such as Rebecca Root and Juno Dawson.

Secondly, it presents the idea that cisgendered people playing trans people leads directly to violence, which is absurd. Trying to make the link between the two doesn't make sense. Acting is acting and everyone has the right to play anyone.

Thirdly, the people in documentary by the end of it argue that putting the spotlight on transpeople, elevating them and praising them and putting them the screens - also leads to bigots to beat trans folks in the street in real life. Although they offer a solution: do more for the real life community, the discomfort of trying to elevate a trans person which would lead to another's death leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth.

I would have also liked to have had Natalie Wynn, the YouTuber who created the ContraPoints channel have her say because she is really awesome and smart (being an ex philosopher). Definitely check out her channel.

Important but very flawed film

[JonathanWalford · 4/10 · 2 August 2020]

This is a film that uses a rat-a-tat pace of film clips and voiceovers that overwhelms the viewer. The discussions move too quickly about specific films, to broad concepts of race and gender, to the depiction of transgender stereotypes. Interviews click back and forth while hundreds of film clips flash before your eyes. It is impossible to process what you are seeing and hearing at the same time.

For those of us who do not struggle with transgender issues we aren't familiar with the differences between many terms - like transvestite, transgender, transexual, cross dresser, drag queen... and I am not sure the documentary knows either. The main theme of the doc seems to be 'Please stop laughing at us', but we are shown pics of Milton Berle in a dress, and Flip Wilson as Geraldine Jones while discussions continue about transgendered women. These are comedians and they are funny because Merle is haplessly inept in women's clothes, and Flip Wilson is funny because he takes his character Geraldine so seriously. Every time a man puts on a dress is not a transgender moment. Sexuality is not necessarily defined by the clothes you wear, Marlene Dietrich wasn't a man because she wore trousers.

I got halfway through the film and shut if off because I was exhausted from a bombardment of film clips and voiceovers that bounced all over the place without defining terms, and with very judgemental responses to any form of cross-dressing or shaming any straight person who is shocked to discover their potential sex partner doesn't have the parts they thought they had. Perhaps the documentary eventually did define terms and lightened up, but I am sorry if transgendered people can't laugh at Victor Victoria - I can.

This documentary was made for transgender people, not for anyone who is trying to learn what being transgender is and how it has been depicted in Hollywood. This could be a good documentary but it needs to be re-edited, slowed down, reorganized and a host voice-over added -- as it is, it's too frantic and judgemental to make a point.

Eye opening documentary, lifting the lid on trans culture in film

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 9/10 · 10 December 2020]

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Filmmaker Sam Feder presents an insightful documentary on the history of trans culture throughout the history of Hollywood, and the overwhelmingly negative and inaccurate depictions that have become attached to them. A collection of trans personalities in the entertainment industry offer their perspectives on their experiences throughout their lives on screen, and aim to disspell many of the myths, preconceptions and prejudices that many associate with their lives.

Netflix have got on board with popular culture, and so we have Disclosure, the first of their Black Lives Matter collection that I have given a watch (what trans issues have to do with being black I don't know, but it gets a bit of an explanation in the film.) Director Sam Feder leaves no stone unturned, going back to the very earliest days of film, to the earliest shades of the distant past, in the sixties and seventies, where the overarching portrayal of trans people was as the butt of jokes, and something to be laughed at.

When the most obvious burden of being joke figures has been examined, the film moves in to broader and more darker territory, such as their unfortunate association with psychopaths, most notably by Alfred Hitchcock in his films, through to the point of one contributor being asked if they were 'like Buffalo Bill' when they came out as trans, as well as lifting the lids on the frequent trans depiction as sex workers, and the real life socio economic explanation that may lie behind this preconception.

A lot of film favourites from over the years come under scrutiny (as contributor Laverne Cox notes 'when you, as a trans person, see trans characters depicted on screen, you have a critical lens for how true they feel') and you may come away seeing them in a different light, and while some feel a bit excessive (Mrs. Doubtfire???), this is still quite an eye opening and revelatory piece, that shines a light on a most marginalized community. ****

Revelatory

[matthewssilverhammer · 9/10 · 1 July 2020]

I, like many people, have little personal experience with the trans-community or experience, so most of my "knowledge" comes from media. This makes me the perfect audience for Disclosure, a powerfully in-depth dive into this world that shows the power film / television has to provide empathy through representation...or, more often, to do the opposite. As both a film nerd & someone longing for better understanding of oppressed minorities, I'm thankful for a movie this revelatory & engaging.

Highly Recommend

[mbbalka · 10/10 · 8 July 2020]

Provided insight into the lives and struggles transgender people face every day. I also gained knowledge regarding the history of transgender identities in the film industry. I hope this compelling story invites acceptance and compassion into traditionally marginalized communities. Also- love Laverne Cox! She is beautiful, kind, and an incredibly talented actress and advocate.

A documentary everyone should see

[jordanaaron-51881 · 10/10 · 25 October 2020]

I cried multiple times during this documentary. As a person of trans experience, watching this documentary opened my eyes to see how much media has helped shape how I see myself. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone. It is important, thoughtful, and very tastefully made.

'You can not be what you can not see' - Marian Wright Edelman

[juliaridout · 10/10 · 25 June 2020]

Brilliant documentary to bring about awareness about the Transgender community for everyone else shown through the literal lens of movies & TV of our time and history. Showing how Womxn are depicted in film helps us all improve our understanding of how this translates to everyday life. Improving understanding makes us all better humans.

I Didn't Know I Needed to See This Movie

[LaDolceVita60 · 10/10 · 27 June 2020]

Just finished watching this documentary. I loved watching the evolution of the trans character in movies. Grew up watching most of the movies they showcased and didn't realized how skewed the perception of the trans person is. I remember so clearly seeing "The Crying Game" and feeling ashamed afterward that I had felt repulsion at the character finding out he was dating a transwoman. I hope that more straight people will watch this documentary and and get a little glimpse into their lives and hopefully gain empathy for their struggles.

Geraldine Hakewill is elegant and electric

[jasonpauljones-64690 · 6/10 · 20 June 2023]

A reality type movie that is actually worth watching, Disclosure is immensely lifted by its simplicity as well as Geraldine Hakewill's magnetic performance. Unlike the reality shows that have clogged our screens with trash in recent years, this movie is surprisingly decent with a troubling but relevant subject matter about a little girl allegedly being sexually abused by a 9 year old boy. It boldly states that this and many other crimes are infiltrating our neighbourhoods and are increasing in their frequency. A sentiment I would agree with.

The girl's parents, Emily and Danny, are horrified to learn of the allegation and seek to alert child services, which is strongly opposed by the boy's parents, Bek and Joel, and the ensuing back and forth discussion grows increasingly bitter and hostile. Mostly the execution by cast and crew is well done but Mark Leonard as Danny does a particularly terrible job. Thankfully Geraldine Hakewill is fantastic in her role and she is a standout, lifting the atmosphere immensely and singlehandedly turning this into an enjoyable watch. Low budget devoid of gimmicky visual effects it's an honest and effective piece of Australian cinema.

Must watch

[trimblecali · 9/10 · 29 June 2020]

This documentary is so important, I think everyone must watch this. So educational, emotional and fascinating.

Revisionist History

[allison_oaks · 2/10 · 16 January 2021]

Half-truths and a lot of sexism. I felt that a lot of this was just thinly veiled homophobia and misogyny.

Amazing

[pinky_pig_85 · 10/10 · 7 September 2020]

Informative, raw, real. We need more! Thank you to all involved for pouring your heart into this!

Incredible film

[emiliogallon · 10/10 · 25 June 2020]

This walkthrough of trans representation in U.S. media is informative, disheartening, uplifting but mostly it is revolutionary. Must watch.

Powerful and really moving stories

[prberg2 · 10/10 · 13 July 2020]

Really enjoyed this film and the stories it told. I learned alot but also found the interview subjects to be really interesting and engaging. Opened my eyes to a world that I didn't know too much about. Great history of media and how it has shown Trans people in good and bad ways. Really glad this film exists and highly recommend checking it out.