Movie review
August 21, 2024 · 103 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Blink Twice is a 2024 psychological thriller directed by Zoë Kravitz in her feature debut. Cocktail waitress Frida and her friend accept an invitation from tech billionaire Slater King to his private island, where endless parties mask nightly assaults enabled by memory-erasing substances. The story centers on power abuse by wealthy men, toxic masculinity in elite circles, female solidarity, and a violent reversal where women reclaim control, framed through a modern lens of trauma and systemic erasure of women's experiences.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Blink Twice.
Woke representation / casting
Visible diversity in key female roles, including a Black lead as working-class protagonist opposite a white male billionaire antagonist; story critiques privileged (often white) male power and class divides, adding moderate audience-visible identity weight without clear mismatches or quotas.
Woke political dialogue
Messaging on power and male behavior emerges mainly through events and visuals rather than extended speeches or lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
Central arc emphasizes gender-based sexual violence, women's collective trauma and solidarity, and triumphant reversal against male perpetrators in a #MeToo-inspired framework with graphic content.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Targets elite tech culture, performative cancel culture apologies, unchecked male entitlement, and systemic forgetting of abuse; frames rich men's luxury playgrounds as sites of exploitation with feminist reversal.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Original story.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Conservative-leaning reviews and online commentary criticize hamfisted focus on toxic (white) masculinity, empty fourth-wave feminism, and perceived agenda-driven revenge fantasy; remains niche without broad mobilization.
Creator track record context
Zoë Kravitz has engaged publicly on women's issues and power dynamics since 2017; Bruce Cohen carries a strong record of LGBTQ advocacy; remaining key creatives show minimal or no activist patterns.
Production
