9. Do Secret Societies Still Exist? (Eyes Wide Shut)
We demand a lot of the powerful. Not only that they obey the law and reward their investors and act in the interests of constituents, but that theyre also beyond reproach morallyor at least appear to be. Unfortunately for this particular group of well-heeled individuals, making the fact of Medieval Venetian-themed orgies held in a Jacobethan mansion common knowledge would likely undermine the confidence required to keep them in such high stations, thereby necessitating concealment. The question becomes, then, is such secrecy possible in the real world? Not likely. The fact that the society exists at all suggests that this strata of the elite requires sanctuarythat these people arent just the adult children of aging rock stars, but high-stakes powerbrokers in government; captains of industry and the like. And the likelihood that such people would risk their careers to experience sexual liberation
en masse is minimal. Anyone in such a position would be acutely aware of just how difficult it is to keep a secret. In fact, the movie does as much, revealing how easy it is for a breech to occursomething echoed with some regularity in reality by events such as the Manning and Snowden cases, and the Clinton and Weiner scandals. One of the freedoms that the powerful must sacrifice is that of breaking societal norms in the pursuit of pleasure. In exchange for permitting them to profit from our labour or make laws which constrain our behaviour, we demand such power is exercised from a position of grey propriety, meaning that there will always be those who can benefit from, or see as beneficial, providing us with a glimpse behind closed doors.