The Last Seduction, Disclosure, & Fear of the Female Boss (Erotic 90’s, Part 13) / by Karina Longworth

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The 90s were obsessed with what magazine writer Tad Friend would describe as “do me feminism” – and the attendant fear that men could be victims of female sexual aggression. Two films from 1994 married these anxieties to the still-lingering bugaboo of the 80s, the powerful career woman. But though the female stars of The Last Seduction and Disclosure (Linda Fiorentino and Demi Moore) were styled almost identically, the films had very different points of view on the panic over female power. 

Linda Fiorentino in The Last Seduction, 1994

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

“Home” by Peter M. Nichols, NYTimes, Oct. 8, 1992

“Lights! Action! Attitude!” PEOPLE, April 5, 1993

“A Few Good Women” by Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine, April 5, 1993

“Yes” by Tad Friend, Esquire, February 1994

“‘Disclosure’ Inks Moore” Douglas, Variety, Mar 3, 1994 

“Having Some Fun With the Barbara Stanwyck Role” by Paula S. Bernstein, NYTimes, Oct. 23, 1994 

“Fiorentino’s ‘Seduction’: An Icy Chill Of A Heart” by Kenneth Turan, LA Times, Oct. 26, 1994 

“The Last Seduction; A Femme Fatale Who Lives Up To the Description” by Janet Maslin, NYTimes, Oct. 26, 1994 

“If Linda Fiorentino were a movie, she'd be rated NC-17” by Holly Millea, Premiere, Dec 1994 

“`Disclosure' Director Relates to Thriller's Tensions” by John C. Tibbetts, The Christian Science Monitor, December 9, 1994 

“Tales From the Corner Office” by Caryn James, Dec. 11, 1994 

“He Said She Said” by Ascher-Walsh, Rebecca and Svetkey, Benjamin, Entertainment Weekly, December 16, 1994 Issue 253, p22. 

“Want Moore?” by Glickman, Elyse, Szymanski, Michael, Entertainment Weekly, December 23, 1994, Issue 254 

“Michael’s Full Disclosure” by Nancy Collins, Vanity Fair, January 1995 

“Linda Fiorentino: Why Isn’t This Star Getting an Oscar” Interview Magazine, March 1995 

“At Last, Seduction by Tad Friend” Vogue, Apr 1, 1995 

“Linda Fiorentino’s Dirty Little Secret” by Lynn Darling, Esquire, November 11, 1995 

“Michael’s Full Disclosure” By Nancy Collins, Vanity Fair, January 1995 

“There Are Movies, And Then There Are Movies” by Anita Gates, NYTimes, Jan. 15, 1995

“Brunets have more fun” by Gelman-Waxner, Libby, Premiere, February 1995, Vol. 8 Issue 6 

“Q&A: Demi Moore [Demi/Moore] = Sex” by Mim Udovitch, Rolling Stone, February 9, 1995 

The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema by Linda Ruth Williams, 2005

“‘The Sexpendables’: How Basic Instinct Birthed a Schlocky, Sexy Cottage Industry by Donald Liebenson, Vanity Fair, March 20, 2017

The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema by Linda Ruth Williams 

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Linda Fiorentino in Vogue, 1994

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

Pxl Htra - The Fence
Tarte Tatin - Confectionery
Song at the End of Times - Limoncello
Vik Fenceta Lan - The Fence
Riesling - Cafe Nostro
House of Grendel - Lemuel
Norvik - Lillehammer
Deixa - Orange Cat
One Quiet Conversation - K2
Lick Stick - Nursery
Helion Ruins - Makropulos

Michael Douglas and Demi Moore in Disclosure, 1994

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Demi Moore, Disclosure, 1994