In the shooting script to "showgirls," director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas detailed exactly how they wanted the lap dance between Nomi (Elizabeth Berkley) and Zack (Kyle MacLachlan) to proceed: on what beat she should bury her blond head in his lap, when she should crawl naked across the floor in front of him. The director included pages of the script in the tie-in photo book, "Showgirls: Portrait of a Film," so the world can see the thought that went into the scene. The script includes pencil diagrams in the margins: a naked woman bending over at the waist and touching herself, a woman on all fours with an arrow pointing from her head to the precise spot between a seated man's knees. It is an elaborately choreographed bit of manipulation, on many levels. The two male creators, Verhoeven and Eszterhas, are contriving a degrading experience for their female character. Nomi is using Zack; Zack, in turn, is beginning a long pattern of manipulating Nomi. And finally, the "Showgirls" audience will be taken for a ride by what feels like a cynical, manipulative movie.
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