Disclosure (2020) is a documentary that examines the history of trans folk in movies and television. Similar to the Celluloid Closet (1995), the film reveals how presentations of trans characters evolved over time, often in more progressive and empowering ways. Yet the controlling images from the past still affect public perceptions of trans people. Becoming aware of these insidious stereotypes will help advance trans representation in film and other social arenas.
Tickled is basically a film about how the YouTube-based world of “competitive tickling” is a run by a secretive exploitative millionaire named David D’Amato, a man who inherited his fortune and served as an assistant principal to 8 different high schools over the course of just 10 years. D’Amato would pay young straight men to tickle and be tickled by their friends, all on film, all completely clothed, and all under the guise of a homophobic, pseudo-religious media organization called Jane O’Brien media.
Revelations made in this film implicate all levels of the Russian state bureaucracy, nearly every Russian athlete, and the International Olympic Committee which turned a blind eye for years. The film makes us question the fairness of modern athletics and whether steroid-free sports are still possible.
