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Disclosure Day is great. But Spielberg overestimates our capacity for empathy
Spielberg’s sci-fi blockbuster starring Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor may be spectacular, but it misjudges how much humans are prepared to tolerate abuse of groups we see as ‘other’
TL;DR
- Steven Spielberg's new film, Disclosure Day, centers on a government cover-up of alien life, revealed through stolen files showing exploitation and mistreatment of extraterrestrials.
- The film's portrayal of shock and outrage over alien abuse is questioned, with the reviewer drawing parallels to human indifference towards the abuse of othered groups.
- The article suggests that justifications for experimentation and fear of the unknown would likely lead to a less empathetic response to aliens than depicted in the film.
- Disclosure Day features aliens in animal forms, which are presented as less threatening and potentially 'cuter' than traditional alien depictions.
- The film touches on themes of religion and social good but is ultimately criticized for its central assumption about human empathy seeming detached from reality.