‘Woke’ is in full retreat, and President Donald Trump caused its rout, bringing an end to the culture war.
To those having long suffered under the ‘wokeisation’ of film and television shows (which saw beloved legacy characters being portrayed in ways unpalatable to some in their fanbases, a well-known example being Amazon’s Tolkien adaptation “Rings of Power”) in recent years, it is a comforting thought.
The matter is however far more complex.
As the historical record of warfare amply shows, even when one side’s triumph is a foregone conclusion, fanatical pockets of resistance— temporarily demoralised or not—often remain.
One only has to think of the Japanese Imperial Army digging in on a few strategically useless islands during WWII, which U.S. forces, at great cost to themselves, had to either capture or kill.
While matters are not as life or death concerning the culture war, the analogy is still apt.
Indeed, despite several major corporations and, after Trump’s inauguration, public institutions, having now rolled back DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives, Hollywood, a liberal enclave, has not, or at least, not openly.
The fact remains that Hollywood’s managerial class and creatives —barring an aggressive purge and influx of new, less ideologically driven talent—will remain predominantly liberal.
Therefore, “woke” messaging (female empowerment, LGBT representation, political activism) in Hollywood entertainment is likely to persist, though perhaps less overt, and more cleverly disguised.
A return to entertainment such as was on offer in the nineties—still propagating all the liberal assumptions but far less grating and condescending—might be in the cards.
Even should it persist, turn the ’woke’ up a notch, and lose out on bundles of cash, in the big picture, it is unlikely to be of great import. The mantra “Go woke, go broke,” often used by detractors is, while technically true when applied to one project taken in isolation, far less applicable to a behemoth like a major Hollywood studio.
Indeed, even if such projects—’woke’ or not—fail, record-breaking hits ( like last year’s Deadpool and Wolverine (Disney) or 2023’s Barbie (Warner Brothers)), if achieved on a regular enough basis, could financially absorb such bombs.
Furthermore, major studios and streaming platforms have made long-term commitments to diversity and inclusion. Initiatives like Disney’s Reimagine Tomorrow and Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity are also backed by significant financial investments— in the case of Netflix, by American multinational investment company Blackrock, which owns 7.1% of the company.
Importantly, awards bodies like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have implemented guidelines to encourage diversity in nominations and winners. Filmmakers are then incentivised to create content which aligns with these standards.
There is also the fact that liberal Hollywood has served as a counterbalance to Republican governments for at least 60 years.
On top of this, there is the extraordinary level of polarisation now prevalent in the U.S., causing many creators to view their work as an act of resistance or a platform to address social issues dear to their heart. Trump’s first presidency, for instance, inspired a wave of politically charged content, arguably contributing to ‘wokeisation’ of media to a large degree.
While political leadership can influence public discourse, it is unlikely to dictate the creative direction of an industry as vast and diverse as Hollywood. Moreover, the global nature of the entertainment industry—having to cater to markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America— ensures that Hollywood’s output will not be confined to the U.S.’ political climate.
Given all these factors, one cannot but arrive at the conclusion that representation and ‘inclusive’ storytelling will very much remain mainstays.
Yet, Hollywood’s cultural influence (and domestic box office) is on the wane, ‘woke’ or not. While Breitbart founder Andrew Breitbart was eminently correct (“pop culture matters”) when he lambasted conservatives for their lack of interest in fighting the Left on its own turf, times have—perhaps irrevocably—changed.
Film, television and their associated star actors just do not have the cultural capital they once had. As a recent Vulture article noted, quoting an unnamed ‘talent manager with A-list clients’:
“Hollywood doesn’t matter as much as it thinks it matters. You had the biggest stars in the world support [Democrat presidential candidate] Kamala Harris. She couldn’t have drawn more powerful advocates. And it didn’t move the needle. What does that tell you? It’s unsettling because the people and things you hold in high esteem don’t drive the culture. As much as I love movies, they aren’t the driver anymore.”
Even if the Trump-appointed ‘special ambassadors to Hollywood’ ( Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, and Jon Voight, all well-known conservatives), whose task it is to bring back business lost to “foreign countries,” are successful in their task, is it really still the most crucial battlefield in the quest for cultural dominance?
Going on raw data alone, it is far from it; in recent years, the gaming industry video has supplanted both the film and the music industry, outselling both of them combined by a very large margin.
Astonishingly, in 2022, the global gaming industry generated an estimated $184.4 billion, while in that same year the global recorded music industry and global movie industry generated roughly $52 billion.
Clearly, it is by far the most important industry for shaping culture, especially among its most enthusiastic users, i.e. the younger generations. Reason dictates it is more instructive to track the development of that art form (some of its greatest recent successes having been made in non-DEI/’woke’ obsessed Eastern Asia), to anticipate what cultural direction our societies will be going in.