Angela C.

Panagsagan The Contemporary World

ABS 1-1 Dr. Ven Ballano

Indecent Proposal is a 1993 film directed by Adrian Lyne. It stars actress Demi
Moore and actor Woody Harrelson who portray Diana Murphy and David Murphy
respectively, a young married couple who was in deep financial turmoil. A real estate
broker, Diana found a perfect land to build their home and David, an architect, wasted no
time and started to work on it. They financed it by getting a huge loan from a bank. As the
final touches of the house were being done, an economic recession hits their marriage,
prompting both of them to be laid off from their jobs. Unable to finance their house
anymore, the couple decided to go to Las Vegas and tried their luck in gaining their
financial stability back through gambling. Unfortunately for the two, they lost all their
money. There, they met billionaire John Gage, who was immediately attracted to Diana,
and offered the couple 1 million dollars in exchange of a night with her. The couple
eventually agreed. As time went by, David realized he could not leave what happened
with Diana behind their lives. The couple eventually grew apart, and Diana ended up with
John Gage. As David signed the divorce papers, John realized that Diana would never
look at him the way she looked at David, and eventually let her go by making up a story
that she was only one of the many women he ‘bought’. Diana returned to the pier where
David proposed and the couple got back together.
In the proposal, John Gage would deposit 1 million dollars to the couple’s casino
account in exchange of one night with Diana. After the contract was signed, John brought
Diana in a fancy boat to spend the night with him. When David learned about what
happened, he could not accept it. From there, the couple had a series of fight that
prompted their divorce.
As a sociology student whose eyes have been opened to the dynamics of marriage
and social life, I must say that accepting the proposal would be a no-brainer for me. Sex
is just sex, so why not profit from it? If I were in Diana’s exact situation, I would probably
do the same to save my marriage from drowning with huge debt. As a feminist, I would
even argue that this patriarchal society has always put women at disadvantage when it
comes to having sex. Double-standard exists in this movie in such a way that if my
husband were the one offered to sleep with another woman, accepting the offer would far
be less controversial than if I were the one who was offered with such proposal because
a man having sex with another woman while in a committed relationship is far more
‘acceptable’ than a woman having sex with another man. So, as a feminist, I would go
and prove that having sex outside marriage would not mean anything to me. But, as a
firm believer of love, marriage, and monogamous relationships, I would definitely not
accept the offer. Why would I accept that rather grand offer knowing that it would scar the
beautiful relationship I have with my husband? Not many people have that, so I already
consider myself lucky and rich having the love of my life. Giving up our dream house
would even be an option if we could really not afford to run it anymore. And as far as I
remember, they only needed $50,000 to pay for the house, so there is no use of living
beyond our means if it meant that the once harmonious relationship I had with my
husband would be scarred for life. Being fully aware of the social institutions and social
constructs that surround us do not necessarily mean that they have to be automatically
changed and opposed. Some, like love and commitment, I believe, are of much
importance in this world where things can be easily bought.