10 Great Movies That Would Now Be Considered ‘Woke’

The culture war is raging, and its full force is easy to see. Some of the biggest critics on YouTube have gained notoriety by focusing on culture war issues, and their most popular videos often complain about every Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars film being ‘woke’ because they make women, people of colour, and LGBTQ+ characters the heroes at the expense of white men. A film doesn’t even have to be released for this section of the internet to bitch and moan. However, anyone who has watched videos made by a ‘Scottish alcoholic’ or a ‘neurotic nerd’ will know their arguments are shallow and always the same. This article sets out how easy it is to make these ‘woke’ criticisms using their critical lens on some great films, even films they claim to like.

The Wizard of Oz

Let’s start with a big film: the 1939 adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. It’s a classic musical and fantasy that had groundbreaking cinematography and production design. It’s also a film where the saviour of Oz is a little girl, and her companions were a group of emasculated men. There was an idiot, a coward, and a wannabe sissy. The other prominent male character was the Wizard of Oz, was portrayed as a fraud with no real power. This was a commentary about political leaders who are not as powerful or all-knowing as they portray themselves, but it would suffer with constant criticism from Reactionaries if it were a modern film. Adding to the film’s feminist credentials was the film’s most powerful characters, who were women who could defeat any male character.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

When No Time to Die was being promoted the usual suspects on YouTube complained that it was woke because it featured black woman as a Double-0 and showing two women being able to kick ass. Worst of all, Bond was riding on the back of a motorbike driven by a woman. These people would have been shocked if they realised No Time to Die was influenced by On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. This was the film where the most famous and masculine spy fell in love, got married, and cried when his wife died. It was also a film that showed Bond being rescued by a woman when he was chased by Blofeld’s men. Who cares about great character development and tragic drama when it was emasculating? Goodness knows how these people would react to the Pierce Bronsan and Daniel Craig eras where Bond was ordered about by a woman who called him out on his failures.

The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day

James Cameron used his Terminator films to spread feminist propaganda. In the first film, Sarah Connor was a scared teenager who worked as a waitress, yet by the end of the film, she was able to order around a seasoned resistance fighter and crush a killer robot. The woman somehow gained the strength to fight back against a killer is a trope of slasher cinema. Then in the sequel, Sarah is inexplicably a muscular badass who could take on men twice her size.

Aliens

Ellen Ripley and Aliens are often held in high regard by the reactionary crowd as a great example of female representation in action cinema. Is it because they genuinely believe this, or is it due to being such a revered classic that they know they would be ripped apart by audiences if they dare to criticise it like they would other female-led action films?

Aliens shows the only survivor of an alien attack going on a mission to investigate why Weyland-Yutani lost contact with LV-426. A woman with no military experience or training, somehow being allowed to go on a dangerous mission, was more capable than a platoon of Colonial Marines, and used motherly instincts to save Newt. This might show Ripley’s character growth, conquering her fears, and led to some of the most awesome moments in James Cameron’s filmography, but does that really matter? Plus, this sequel shows that a little girl was able to survive alone in a base filled with Xenomorphs.

Blade Trilogy

1998’s Blade has been seen as a game-changing film. The film was regarded as the one that revived the superhero genre after the failure of Batman and Robin and brought back an air of seriousness. All three films mixed horror, martial arts, gunplay, and gadget-based action. All was set in a modernised vampire society that mixes fantasy and sci-fi. The first two films are great and were ones I watched a lot when shown on late-night television.

The series was led by Wesley Snipes when he was at his coolest, and it is arguably his most iconic role. The trilogy came out when African American-led action films were getting some mainstream traction. This is why the Blade movies would be seen as ‘woke’ since they were all films about a black character fighting and beating a white elite of vampires. The reactionaries would call Blade a ‘Gary Sue’ since he had all the strengths of a vampire, none of their weaknesses, and barely broke a sweat when fighting highly trained vampire soldiers.

The Matrix

The Matrix is one of my favourite films of all time. It was a clever sci-fi film that mixed Hong Kong-style action, anime, and philosophical ideas, and told it in a traditional hero’s journey narrative. It was a film that had many influences and inspired films, such as Equilibrium and Underworld. It has also been a heavily parodied film.

Reactionaries would now be triggered by The Matrix. The good guys were a diverse group, and Neo’s mentor was a black man. Trinity was a badass who was able to fight off multiple cops, and she did something that was meant to be impossible: kill an agent.

Since the release of The Matrix Trilogy, The Wachowskis have come out as trans, and Lilly Wachowski has even said The Matrix is a trans allegory. Anything trans and LGBTQ+ related really triggers reactionaries, so if The Matrix had been released now, it would be decried as ‘woke propaganda’ and not be seen as a masterpiece.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest trilogies put to celluloid and a fantastic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnum opus. It’s a series of films I hold near and dear to my heart. But it would now be ‘woke’ by reactionary standards. Arwen replaced Glorfindel as Frodo’s saviour, even though Glorfindel was a minor character in Fellowship of the Ring, and amalgamating roles is a standard practice in film adaptations. Éowyn was made out to be the hero of the Battle of Minas Tirith, where she killed the big and powerful Witch-king of Angmar and rubbed salt by highlighting her femininity. The scene was badass and appeared in a book that was published in 1955, but it can’t be allowed by reactionaries.

As well as sending out a message of feminism, there was also a message about racial harmony since Gimli and Legolas overcame their prejudice and became friends.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2

Quentin Tarantino is a popular filmmaker, especially amongst men. His filmography includes Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Inglorious Basterds, which are seen as essential films for film buffs and Gen X and Millennial men. Between Pulp Fiction and Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino made two female-centric films, Jackie Brown and Kill Bill.

The Kill Bill films are awesome, violent action films that were influenced by kung-fu and exploitation cinema. Many blokes enjoyed Kill Bill as action films, even though they were female-dominated films. If they were released now, the usual suspects would argue Kill Bill is enforcing THE MESSAGE of female empowerment as an average-sized woman single-handedly defeated a small army of sword-wielding men and women, and when the main character woke up from a coma, she beat a man to death. She managed to do that even though she was paralysed.

Dredd

Dredd is a bloke’s movie and one that fans of the comic books love and appreciate. Even the Critical Drinker made a Drinkers Recommends video promoting the film. But it’s woke for two words: “DEI hire!” Cassandra Anderson failed the tests to become a Judge, yet was given a second chance because she was in the mutant minority. She failed the field trial since she got captured and lost her gun, yet she got a Judge’s position at the end of the film.

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Mad Max trilogy was made for macho men, starring a macho man. After a 30-year break, Mad Max came back with a bang with Fury Road. It was a troubled production due to the tough location shooting, practical stunt work, and stars being challenging, but it was worth it because it was seen as one of the best action films of the 2010s and won six Academy Awards. Yet, Max Rockatansky was sidelined in his film since Furiosa was the main character as she led an audacious escape and saved a group of women to prevent them from being sex slaves for a cult leader. Fury Road ended up being a film about female empowerment and freedom. Furiosa became so popular that she led a spin-off prequel in 2024.