Spielberg’s Disclosure Day Criticized for Overestimating Global Empathy
7 reported
Steven Spielberg's new film "Disclosure Day," released 49 years after "Close Encounters" and 44 years after "ET," follows cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor) and weather presenter Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) as they expose nearly eight decades of evidence that the U.S. government has known about extraterrestrial life. The files, stolen from the organization Wardex run by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), include video footage showing U.S. organizations meeting, exploiting, vivisecting, and killing alien life forms. A Guardian review argues the film's central assumption—that the world would react with shock and compassion to alien mistreatment—is unrealistic, given that similar footage of human suffering, such as killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor or deaths in Palestine, has not provoked unanimous worldwide outrage. The review notes that aliens in the film appear as familiar animals like moose, cardinals, foxes, and deer, which may be less threatening, but questions whether global empathy would extend to extraterrestrials. The critic concludes that while the film is not overtly moralizing, its premise stems from a world unlike the one most people experience daily.
What’s reported
"Disclosure Day" is a sci-fi film directed by Steven Spielberg, released 49 years after "Close Encounters" and 44 years after "ET."
The film follows Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor) and Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) as whistleblowers exposing nearly eight decades of U.S. government knowledge of extraterrestrial life.
Evidence is stolen from Wardex, an organization run by Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), where Daniel and Hugo (Colman Domingo) worked.
The footage shows U.S. organizations meeting, exploiting, vivisecting, and killing alien life forms.
A Guardian review argues the film overestimates global empathy, citing lack of unanimous outrage over human suffering like killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and deaths in Palestine.
Aliens in the film appear as animals: moose, cardinals, foxes, and deer.
The review states the film asks questions about religion and social good but is not overtly moralizing.
Key figures
Steven Spielberg, director
Josh O'Connor, actor playing Daniel Kellner
Emily Blunt, actor playing Margaret Fairchild
Colman Domingo, actor playing Hugo
Colin Firth, actor playing Noah Scanlon
Eve Hewson, actor playing Jane
The Guardian, source outlet
Sources: The Guardian
