Stephen Follows’ Study Challenges ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’ Theory in Hollywood
Recently, some movies have been targeted for going “woke” and, as a result, have been disappointing at the box office. But PinkNews highlights how a new study, conducted by film data researcher Stephen Follows, believes that the “Go woke, go broke” holds little merit, explaining how some of the movies he analyzed, which featured so-called “woke” themes, saw profitability, while others did not. “Similarly, some films which did not incite social commentary around ‘wokeness’ saw commercial success, while others, less so.”
In his research, he examined more than 10,000 films and four million fan comments to see if there was any connection between films that included themes considered “woke” by audiences and their success at the box office. He broke down the “woke-adjacent” themes into five categories, Representation & Diversity (casting, character focus), Identity Politics (gender, race, sexuality), Political & Social Messaging (justice, inclusion, activism), Canon & Continuity Changes (gender / race swaps, rewriting lore), and Cultural Tone (modern language, virtue signaling, didactic framing).
When presenting his findings at the Zurich Film Festival, he discovered that horror, thriller, sports, and music genres of films actually profit from including inclusive narratives in their storylines. While bigger budget movies that lean into having a political theme would take a financial hit.
“When messaging feels bolted on or too explicit, audiences push back, and profitability suffers. Don’t Look Up (2021) was criticized as ‘without trace of subtlety’ while The Woman King (2022) was accused in reviews of trampling historical accuracy for the sake of its empowerment message,” says Follows in his Substack. “Whether or not those views are fair, once audiences feel lectured, the film pays a price.”
Follows wrote on his Substack that his research shows the theory that “woke” films fails at the box office doesn’t hold up. He added that movies with strong ideas and messages resonate most with audiences when they are rooted in authenticity.
