The Portrayal of The Female Major Character in Michael Crichton's 'Disclosure' Through The Feminist Approach.

 

iii   

ABSTRACT

Di dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya menganalisis novel berjudul Disclosure, karya Michael Crichton. Penggambaran tokoh utama wanita bernama Meredith Johnson yang memiliki sifat-sifat negatif seperti pembohong, tidak bermoral, manipulatif dan licik, mengundang banyak cercaan dari para tokoh feminis. Oleh sebab itulah Michael Crichton dikatakan sebagai tokoh anti-feminis.

Tetapi sesungguhnya dari karakter Meredith Johnson kita dapat melihat semangat seorang wanita yang berjuang untuk mensetarakan posisi wanita di dunia kerja. Namun karena sistem di masyarakat yang lebih menomorsatukan laki-laki, maka kesempatan untuk setara itupun menjadi sulit dan pada akhirnya Meredith Johnson terpaksa memilih cara yang negatif.

Untuk membuktikan argumen saya, saya menyertakan teori-teori dari Women And Gender oleh Mary Crawford & Rhoda Unger, “The Socialist Feminist Project” oleh Nancy Holmstrom, “Women Wage Earners” oleh Marie Richmond-Abbott, “Professional Women: How Real Are the Recent Gains?” oleh Debra Renee Kaufman, dan terakhir Career and Conflict oleh Anne Russel & Patricia Fitzgibbons untuk membuktikan bahwa si penulis tidak bermaksud mengkritik kaum wanita, melainkan bermaksud mengkritik sistem di dalam masyarakat yang memberikan kesulitan-kesulitan bagi kaum wanita untuk maju dan sukses seperti kaum laki-laki.

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...………i

- TABLE OF CONTENTS ..……….ii

- ABSTRACT ………..iii

- CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study ………1

Statement of the Problem ………...4

Purpose of the Study ………...5

Methods of Research ………..5

Organization of the Thesis ………..5

- CHAPTER TWO: THE PORTRAYAL OF THE FEMALE MAJOR CHARACTER IN DISCLOSURE THROUGH THE FEMINIST APPROACH ……….6

- CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION……….16

- BIBLIOGRAPHY ………19

- APPENDICES: Synopsis of Disclosure ………21

 

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  21       Maranatha Christian Universitas

SYNOPSIS OF DISCLOSURE

Tom Sanders is an executive at Digicom, a leading computer software firm. Digicom is about to launce a new virtual reality-based data storage system that is expected to revolutionize the industry, and Bob Garvin, the owner of the company, is in the midst of negotiating a merger that could bring $100 million into the firm. However, while Tom is expecting a promotion, he discovers the position has been given instead to a new hire, Meredith Johnson, with whom Tom had an affair years ago, before he was married.

After her first day of work, Meredith invites Tom up to her office and makes a concerted attempt to seduce him. The next morning, Meredith accuses Tom of sexual harassment, and he realizes this is merely a power ploy to get him out of Digicom for good. Tom is determined to fight, files a counter-suit, but he finds himself stuck in a situation where people do not believe a man could possibly be harassed by a woman and it leaves him with no friends at the company.

Finally, because of his efforts with Louis Fernandez, his attorney, he succeeds in proving that he is not guilty and consequently Meredith’s position is replaced by Stephanie Kaplan, CFO in Digicom. At the end of the story, Louis Fernandez concludes that this case has happened because of the rarity of women who have executive positions.

  22       Maranatha Christian Universitas

BIOGRAPHY

John Michael Crichton was born in Chicago, Illnois, but he grew up in Roslyn, Long Island, New York. His father was John Henderson Crichton and his mother was Zula Miller Crichton. His father was a journalist and encouraged him to write and to type.

Michael gave up studying English at Harvard University. After giving up English and spending year in Europe, Michael returned to Boston, Massachusetts, and attended Harvard Medical School to train as a doctor. After giving up medicine, Michael moved to Hollywood, California, in the early 1970s and embarked on a career as a writer and film maker called “the father of the techno-thriller.” He began directing movies based on his books, his first big break being Westworld (1973). His novels include The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Jurassic Park, and State of Fear. He has also written four books of non-fiction, including Five Patients, Travels, and Jasper Johns.

Other books of his that have been made into movies include The Andromedia Strain, Congo, Disclosure, Jurassic Park, The Lost World, and Rising Sun. Crichton has won an Emmy, a Peabody, and a Writer’s Guild of

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. Background of the Study

The traditional and age-old custom which forces women to stay at home and at the same time isolates them from the workplace and from the society has been socially accepted as a fact, owing to the belief that women are inferior to men. Feminist struggle to counter such misleading concepts started as early as in the 18th century when Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the earliest feminists in England, tried to disclose the inequality between man and woman in her book entitled A Vindication of the Right of Women (1972). Through her book, she introduces her feminist ideal which is “not only sexual equality in the family and society at large but the end of the sexual division of labor” (Holmstrom 2).

The result achieved by the feminist movement is obvious today. Not only are women freed from domestic ‘imprisonment’ and able to enter the workplace, “[they] are beginning to realize and appreciate their own potential… They say to themselves, ‘Where do I want to go with my professional life, and what do I have to do to get there.”’ (Russel & Fitzgibbons 19). Recent statistics mentioned in Marie Richmond-Abbott’s essay entitled

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“Women Wage Earners” confirm the progress that took place in the 20th century in

the United States :

. . . Women have moved in ever increasing number into the labor force. Between 1900 and 1980, female labor force participation grew 18 percent to 50 percent. (The number of women who work for pay or who are trying to find a job almost doubled between 1950 and 1974 alone). By 1988, 56 percent of all women were in the work force. These labor force participation rates are projected to continue to rise to the year 2000 (p.135).

Although a lot of women are now able to enter the workplace, they still have to fight for equality in the workplace with men. Despite having equal chance to have a career, women still find it very difficult to be as successful as men. Women’s jobs are usually limited to the low level ones. “For example, in the health care industry the nurses’ aides, abortion clinic workers, social worker, laboratory technicians, and nurses are likely to be women; physicians and hospital administrator are more likely to be men” (Crawford & Unger 368). Research conducted by Crawford and Unger shows that in general “[t]he closer to the top of the hierarchy, the fewer women there are” (Crawford & Unger 368). The number of women in top level positions all over the world is indeed far from satisfying :

In a recent study of more than 500 companies in the United Kingdom, 92 percent of top executives were male; in the United States, only about 5 percent of senior executives are women, and this hardly changed during the 1900s. Women hold between one and five percent of top executive positions in Canada, Brazil, and Germany. In fact, there is not a single

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field open to both women and men in which there are more women than men at the top, in any country in the world (Crawford & Unger 368). Having researched all these facts, I naturally become very interested when I read a novel by Michael Crichton entitled Disclosure, which presents as one of the major characters a career woman who is very successful in her job and even outperforms the men in her office. However, in spite of the fact that Crichton “does a very clever and innovative job at expressing his views of the various and very different pressures and expectations that both men and women face in the corporate” (Avernus ), I am aware that this novel is not received well among the feminists.

The portrayal of the female major character, Meredith Johnson, has instead caused a controversy because in spite of her successful career, she is depicted as a working woman with a lot of negative traits. It is not surprising, therefore, that “[t]his novel was harshly criticized by feminist commentators, who saw it as just another vilification of working women” (Michaelcrichton.com: Books & Movies-Disclosure). However, the author defends himself by pointing out that :

Eventually I conclude that working women liked the story because it focused attention on a female character they found difficult to deal with the unscrupulous corporate climber. They weren’t able to publicly criticize these climbers, because back in those days, working women thought they should stick together and not criticize each other. So they were pleased that a book did it for them (Michaelcrichton.com: Books & Movies-Disclosure).

Such different opinions concerning the character and the novel have challenged me to analyze the portrayal of Meredith Johnson more thoroughly. In

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order to obtain a deeper understanding of this subject, I am going to make use of several feminist essays and books, namely “The Socialist Feminist Project” by Nancy Holmstrom, Women and Gender by Mary Crawford & Rhoda Unger, “Women Wage Earners” by Marie Richmond-Abbott, “Professional Women: How Real Are the Recent Gains?” by Debra Renee Kaufman, and the last Career and Conflict by Anne Russel & Patricia Fitzgibbons. Most of the source I use deal with the problem of working women and gender inequalities in the workplace.

Finally, having analyzed the portrayal of the female major character in this novel by using the feminist approach, I would decide if this novel is indeed “a vilification of working women” or on the contrary, it is a novel that conveys the feminist spirit.

2. Statement of the Problem

1. How does the author portray the female major character in the novel?

2. How is the portrayal of the character related to feminism?

3. Why does the author create such a portrayal?

3. Purpose of the Study

1. The way the author portrays the female major character in the novel. 2. The way the portrayal of the character is related to feminism.

3. The purpose of the author in creating such a portrayal.

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4. Methods of Research

The method I use is library research. I begin by reading Michael Crichton’s Disclosure, and several books which are relevant to the topics to be discussed. After that, I analyze the primary text by using some theories from some references and materials from the Internet which can support the analysis and can help me in writing a good thesis. Finally, I draw some conclusions of what has been discussed.

5. Organization of the Thesis

I divide the thesis into three chapters, which are preceded by the Preface, the Table of Contents and the Abstract. In the first chapter, I present the Introduction, which contains Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research, and Organization of the Thesis. In the second chapter, I analyze the way the author portrays the female major character in Michael Crichton’s Disclosure by using the feminist approach, and in the third chapter, I draw conclusion of my analysis. The thesis ends with the Bibliography and the Appendix.

6 

 

CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

The negative characteristics of Meredith Johnson make assumption that Michael Crichton is an anti-feminist. Meredith’s negative characteristics are seen as ruining the image of women workers because the way she succeeds in getting a top level position is regarded immoral. Moreover, the readers are made unsympathetic toward her, which is proven when women speakers give their reaction by saying that this novel is “just a vilification toward women worker”. That is why Crichton is accused as an anti-feminist.

On the other hand, when I try to analyze this story thoroughly, I find that Michael Crichton is not an anti-feminist. His novel actually tells about women workers’ struggle which is represented by Meredith Johnson. Her characteristics can be seen as the reflection of the spirit of a woman worker to be in the top position. Where many women are pushed to become good housewives, she dares to express what she really wants in her life. Her characteristics are contradictory to women characteristics in reality which is seen as submissive and easy to be influenced.

Meredith shows that women should not give up and be submissive to the system in society which treats them unfairly; that is why she chooses to

18 

manipulate in order to cope with the unfair system. Maybe she will be stuck in her position as sales executive because the company does not give her opportunity to show her ability to lead a company. Men already underestimate women and I think not only underestimate but they cannot accept if they must report to a female boss who is regarded as second gender.

Meredith is a portrayal of women who strive for equality between men and women. Through this novel I get a new understanding of women’s struggle in the workplace where it is difficult to find a way to compete with men workers. Women face many obstacles when they try to be equal with men; there are so many risks for women to develop as men. These obstacles make women sometimes develop negative traits and consequently they are trapped in crime but it is because they cannot find other ways to cope with the unfair patriarchal system.

This is also what Meredith feels. She feels that the system makes her trapped in a difficult position to choose the way which can help her to get the position she wants. Digicom, a big company dominated by male employees, makes Meredith use cunning ways and be trapped in crime.

Crichton shows that the position of women in society has been changed. They are not merely housewives but they can become career women. However, they must be careful with the unfair system because in reality there is still inequality between men and women. Men still does not want to be defeated by women, because they think it a shame if they must be led by a woman. I believe if the readers read this novel carefully and thoroughly, they can see the form of unfairness in the company which undermine women workers, and they find it difficult to deal with this unfairness

19 

and to criticize each other, as Crichton has said, which has been included in the Background of the Study : “So they were pleased that a book did it for them”.

Through Meredith as the main character, Crichton also shows that actually the inequality in the company can ruin the company itself because women can take advantage of their position as women who usually become victims of sexual harassment. Women can do sexual harassment toward man workers to get the position they want as Meredith does in this novel. Meredith cannot be blamed for taking advantage of her position as a woman, because this is how she copes with the unfair system. This proves that the patriarchal system nowadays not only can weaken women’s position but it can be a weapon for women to defend themselves.

Through this novel, women workers can take many lessons to face the company which still discriminates women in the workplace. They should not give up but try to find a way to cope with the system which discriminates them so they can reach their professional life and show their ability as a woman in the world of men.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary text :

• Crichton, Michael. Disclosure. United States of America: Random

House, Inc, 1993. References :

• Avernus. “An Intense and Spellbinding view on a corporate sexual

harassment case.” Rev. of Disclosure, by Michael Crichton. Spotlight Review 12 March 2007. 8 October 2007

< http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0345391055/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful/10

3-5809303-0056640?ie=UTF8&n=283155#customerReviews>

• Booksfactory.com: Michael Crichton. Biography and Complete

Works. Books of the World. 10 August 2007. 24 October 2007

<http://www.booksfactory.com/writers.Crichton.ht m&hl>

• Crawford, Mary, and Rhoda Unger. Women And Gender, A

Feminist Psychology. Avenue: Quebecor World Fairfield, Inc, 2004.

• Davis, R. “Scary…” Rev. of Disclosure, by Michael Crichton.

Spotlight Review 13 February 2007. 8 October 2007

<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0345391055/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful/10

3-5809303-0056640?ie=UTF8&n=283155#customerReviews

20

• Holmstrom, Nancy. “The Socialist Feminist Project.” March, 2003.

08 October 2007

<http://www.monthlyreview.org/0303holmstrom.ht m>

• Kaufman, Debra Renee. “Professional Women: “How Real Are the

Recent Gains?’” in Janet Kourany, James Sterba, and Rosemarie Tong. Feminist Philosophies. United States of America: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1992.

• Michaelcrichton.com: Books and Movies-Disclosure © 1997-2007

Constant C Productions. 8 October 2007. <http://www.michaelcrichton.com/books-disclosure.html>

• Richmond-Abbott, Marie. “Women Wage Earners” in Janet

Kourany, James Sterba, and Rosemarie Tong. Feminist Philosophies. United States of America: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1992.

• Russel, Anne, and Patricia Fitzgibbons. Career And Conflict. New

Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1982.

6 

CHAPTER THREE

CONCLUSION

The negative characteristics of Meredith Johnson make assumption that Michael Crichton is an anti-feminist. Meredith’s negative characteristics are seen as ruining the image of women workers because the way she succeeds in getting a top level position is regarded immoral. Moreover, the readers are made unsympathetic toward her, which is proven when women speakers give their reaction by saying that this novel is “just a vilification toward women worker”. That is why Crichton is accused as an anti-feminist.

On the other hand, when I try to analyze this story thoroughly, I find that Michael Crichton is not an anti-feminist. His novel actually tells about women workers’ struggle which is represented by Meredith Johnson. Her characteristics can be seen as the reflection of the spirit of a woman worker to be in the top position. Where many women are pushed to become good housewives, she dares to express what she really wants in her life. Her characteristics are contradictory to women characteristics in reality which is seen as submissive and easy to be influenced.

Meredith shows that women should not give up and be submissive to the system in society which treats them unfairly; that is why she chooses to

18 

manipulate in order to cope with the unfair system. Maybe she will be stuck in her position as sales executive because the company does not give her opportunity to show her ability to lead a company. Men already underestimate women and I think not only underestimate but they cannot accept if they must report to a female boss who is regarded as second gender.

Meredith is a portrayal of women who strive for equality between men and women. Through this novel I get a new understanding of women’s struggle in the workplace where it is difficult to find a way to compete with men workers. Women face many obstacles when they try to be equal with men; there are so many risks for women to develop as men. These obstacles make women sometimes develop negative traits and consequently they are trapped in crime but it is because they cannot find other ways to cope with the unfair patriarchal system.

This is also what Meredith feels. She feels that the system makes her trapped in a difficult position to choose the way which can help her to get the position she wants. Digicom, a big company dominated by male employees, makes Meredith use cunning ways and be trapped in crime.

Crichton shows that the position of women in society has been changed. They are not merely housewives but they can become career women. However, they must be careful with the unfair system because in reality there is still inequality between men and women. Men still does not want to be defeated by women, because they think it a shame if they must be led by a woman. I believe if the readers read this novel carefully and thoroughly, they can see the form of unfairness in the company which undermine women workers, and they find it difficult to deal with this unfairness

19 

and to criticize each other, as Crichton has said, which has been included in the Background of the Study : “So they were pleased that a book did it for them”.

Through Meredith as the main character, Crichton also shows that actually the inequality in the company can ruin the company itself because women can take advantage of their position as women who usually become victims of sexual harassment. Women can do sexual harassment toward man workers to get the position they want as Meredith does in this novel. Meredith cannot be blamed for taking advantage of her position as a woman, because this is how she copes with the unfair system. This proves that the patriarchal system nowadays not only can weaken women’s position but it can be a weapon for women to defend themselves.

Through this novel, women workers can take many lessons to face the company which still discriminates women in the workplace. They should not give up but try to find a way to cope with the system which discriminates them so they can reach their professional life and show their ability as a woman in the world of men.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary text :

• Crichton, Michael. Disclosure. United States of America: Random House, Inc, 1993.

References :

• Avernus. “An Intense and Spellbinding view on a corporate sexual harassment case.” Rev. of Disclosure, by Michael Crichton. Spotlight Review 12 March 2007. 8 October 2007

< http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0345391055/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful/10

3-5809303-0056640?ie=UTF8&n=283155#customerReviews> • Booksfactory.com: Michael Crichton. Biography and Complete

Works. Books of the World. 10 August 2007. 24 October 2007

<http://www.booksfactory.com/writers.Crichton.ht m&hl>

• Crawford, Mary, and Rhoda Unger. Women And Gender, A Feminist Psychology. Avenue: Quebecor World Fairfield, Inc, 2004.

• Davis, R. “Scary…” Rev. of Disclosure, by Michael Crichton. Spotlight Review 13 February 2007. 8 October 2007

<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0345391055/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful/10

20

• Holmstrom, Nancy. “The Socialist Feminist Project.” March, 2003. 08 October 2007

<http://www.monthlyreview.org/0303holmstrom.ht m>

• Kaufman, Debra Renee. “Professional Women: “How Real Are the Recent Gains?’” in Janet Kourany, James Sterba, and Rosemarie Tong. Feminist Philosophies. United States of America: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1992. • Michaelcrichton.com: Books and Movies-Disclosure © 1997-2007

Constant C Productions. 8 October 2007. <http://www.michaelcrichton.com/books-disclosure.html>

• Richmond-Abbott, Marie. “Women Wage Earners” in Janet Kourany, James Sterba, and Rosemarie Tong. Feminist Philosophies. United States of America: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1992.

• Russel, Anne, and Patricia Fitzgibbons. Career And Conflict. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1982.