Disclosure is a 2020 American documentary film directed and produced by Sam Feder, and released on Netflix. The film offers an in-depth look at Hollywood’s depiction of transgender people and the impact of their stories on transgender lives and U.S. culture. It features many famous transgender people in the media industries, taking the audience through a history lesson using films and television shows to show how damaging and inaccurate the depiction and ideas of transgender people have been. It frames trans issues as a “front and center issue in the culture wars.”

discussion

What is the issue this documentary is addressing and what techniques does it use (interview, voice over, archival footage, media footage, etc.)?

How and why does the film use the voice over of actor and activist Laverne Cox as an entry point to explore trans representation and visibility? What is the argument her voice-over makes in the first few minutes of the film?

What do you think is the importance of Jen Richard’s argument that “for the first time trans people are taking center of their own storytelling”?

What does it mean to say that trans visibility is part of the so-called “culture wars”? What other issues do you think might be a part of these debates? Why?