Slate Money: Movies – Indecent Proposal

Episode Date: February 16, 2021
Host: Felix Salmon
Guests: Anna Szymanski, Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Episode Overview

In this episode of Slate Money Goes to the Movies, Felix Salmon, Anna Szymanski, and special guest Taffy Brodesser-Akner take a deep dive into the 1993 film Indecent Proposal. The hosts reflect on the movie’s cultural and economic assumptions, its portrayal of women, the nature of wealth and morality, and the complicated legacy of "tainted" money in society and media. The conversation is witty, critical, and nostalgic, weaving personal anecdotes with sharp social commentary about money, agency, and the enduring weirdness of this iconic film.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Cultural & Personal Legacy of Indecent Proposal

• First Encounters and Personal Impressions
  • Taffy recalls watching the film in 1993 after high school, noting how, raised in a religious environment, movies provided a window into a glamorous, possible future. She describes how the film became a recurring reference in her journalism career (01:43–02:43).
  • She connects her experiences profiling wealthy individuals and writing about the "sugar daddy" phenomenon to the movie’s fascination with using money to test moral boundaries.

Sex, Money, and Agency

• Sex for Cash and the Illusion of Choice
  • The group dissects the central premise: Would you accept a million dollars for one night with someone? Taffy discusses how the sugar daddy dynamic is less about sex, and more about leveraging money to transgress stated personal boundaries — "That's the kink." (03:12)
  • Questions arise about Demi Moore's character's agency: Is she a victim being maneuvered by the wishes of men, or does she have some say? Felix tries to argue for a "feminist subtext" by noting her decisions throughout, though Taffy and Anna remain skeptical.
  • Quote:
    • Taffy: "Now I see it as this woman who is just, like, abused from all sides. She's like a victim. She has no agency." (02:44)

The Movie’s Depiction of Money

• Moralizing Wealth and the Problem of "Dirty Money"

  • The trope of returning "tainted" money to cleanse oneself is dissected and critiqued as a recurring cinematic cliché that fails real-world logic.

  • Taffy: "All that you went through and you don't even get the million dollars, which now I know isn't a million dollars. It's after taxes, it's 500,000. I can't bear after taxes." (18:54)

  • The hosts riff on the famous scene of having sex on a waterbed covered in casino cash — its impracticality and symbolism as an economic and hygienic faux pas (09:27–10:17).

  • They connect the movie’s attitudes toward wealth and morality to Taffy’s personal experiences as a freelance writer and the difficulty of reconciling work, values, and financial security as a creative professional.

  • Notable Quote:

    • Taffy: "The only way to clean your soul is to get rid of the money. ... If I gave up the money ... I'd be like, how could you have put me through that and not keep the money?" (19:53)

Economic and Financial Realism

• Real Estate, Recession, and Movie Logic
  • Anna contextualizes the film within the early '90s recession and real estate bust, noting how land, mortgages, and wealth insecurity permeate the script (10:23).
  • They joke about the protagonist’s ability to buy a "wilderness" property in Santa Monica and the movie’s confused usage of a "demand note" as a plot device:
    • Felix: "A demand note is this very obscure financial instrument that is only ever really written between close friends or family members... It’s not something you get from a bank." (40:00)

Casting, Character Depth, and Stereotypes

• Robert Redford as the Billionaire
  • The panel debates Redford’s casting as a genteel billionaire, with Taffy asserting that his gravitas masks the character’s underlying sleaze. Anna notices Gatsby parallels and recognizes this as a deliberate attempt to have the audience both attracted to and repelled by his wealth and power (11:51–13:01).
  • Demi Moore’s character is criticized for being flat, existing only to facilitate the male characters’ ambitions.
  • Felix and Taffy observe that art (and film) consistently pushes the idea that money, especially if earned dishonorably, corrupts — a message at odds with the realities and ambitions of many viewers.
  • Notable Quote:
    • "For anybody who grew up poor... once the money is there, you cannot become a better person by getting rid of it, because you could never have undone those things." – Taffy (21:07)

Genre, Tone, and the Movie’s Place in Pop Culture

• Confused Narratives and Lasting Appeal
  • The hosts are mystified by the movie’s shifting tone — part romance, part class drama, part softcore thriller, and at times, "interior design porn" thanks to its set design and props (07:43–08:38).
  • The lack of financial and emotional realism undermines the drama, even as the movie remains a pop culture touchstone.
  • Quote:
    • Taffy: "Its genre was erotic borer. Like, instead of a thriller. It was boring." (41:37)

Movies, Money, and the American Dream

• Broader Societal Messages
  • The panel expounds on how art made by the wealthy frequently demonizes wealth or claims that money can't buy happiness—while being produced by people removed from such struggles (24:14–24:18).
  • They contrast this cinematic narrative of noble poverty with their lived experiences and present-day economic realities.
  • Notable Quote:
    • "I do work really long hours, and ... if you didn't have an inheritance, ... these movies did you no good. They told you that ... middle class happiness was guaranteed... when really you're kind of on that boat all the time." – Taffy (37:24)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Time | Speaker | Quote | |------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:12 | Taffy | "That's the kink... trying to see if you could get them to subvert it for money." | | 09:40 | Felix | "That's definitely dirty. ... Money's so dirty. From a casino." | | 12:11 | Taffy | "Now from this parallax view of adulthood, ... that guy is disgusting. ... That's bad casting." | | 19:53 | Taffy | "All that you went through and you don't even get the million dollars, which now I know isn't a million dollars. It's after taxes, it's 500,000." | | 24:18 | Taffy | "They're made by people who ... cannot remember being poor. ... How dare they spray this through the land." | | 41:37 | Taffy | "Taffy Claude and I determined its genre was erotic borer. ... boring." | | 42:06 | Taffy | "Let me quote my favorite movie, Indecent Proposal, to you. Nothing will happen that he didn't want to happen." |

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:43 – Taffy's story of first seeing the movie and its ongoing relevance in her career
• 03:12–04:42 – Sugar daddies and the transactional nature of sex and money
• 09:27–10:17 – Sex on a waterbed full of cash: symbolism and impracticality
• 10:23–13:01 – Economic context: real estate, class, and early '90s recession
• 18:54–21:07 – Hollywood clichés of "tainted money" and real-life consequences
• 24:18 – Critique of the film industry's privileged messaging about money
• 40:00 – Felix explains what a "demand note" really is
• 41:32–42:31 – Final verdict: Is it actually a good movie?
• 42:06 – Taffy’s real-life use of the film’s most infamous line

Conclusion and Takeaways

• Indecent Proposal remains a fascinating cultural artifact, not so much for its plotting or realism, but for the way it inadvertently exposes attitudes toward money, gender, and aspiration in 1990s America.
• The film is critiqued for its muddled genre, implausible financial logic, and especially its portrayal of women — but it endures as a conversation starter and a lens on the era’s deeper anxieties.
• The hosts’ vivid personal stories and sharp observations make this episode particularly rich for listeners interested in the intersection of pop culture, economics, and personal narrative.