Question 1

Is Free State of Jones woke?

Accepted Answer

Free State of Jones has a woke score of 22/100, which means it is not especially woke compared with higher-scoring titles. Free State of Jones is a 2016 historical war drama based on real events in Jones County, Mississippi, during and after the Civil War. It follows poor white farmer Newt Knight, who deserts the Confederate army over unfair conscription and taxation favoring rich planters, then leads a militia of fellow deserters and runaway slaves in open rebellion against the Confederacy before continuing resistance into Reconstruction. The film frames its story around class-based economic grievances and cross-racial alliances against elite power rather than modern identity politics, with no visible girlboss dynamics, activist dialogue, race or gender swaps, or contemporary social-justice lectures.

Question 2

Is there DEI in Free State of Jones?

Accepted Answer

The biggest factors in our score are Institutional / cultural critique, Identity-driven story themes, Creator track record context. In 1863, Mississippi farmer Newt Knight serves as a medic for the Confederate Army. Opposed to slavery, Knight would rather help the wounded than fight the Union. After his nephew dies in battle, Newt returns home to Jones County to safeguard his family but is soon branded an outlaw deserter. Forced to flee, he finds refuge with a group of runaway slaves hiding out in the swamps. Forging an alliance with the slaves and other farmers, Knight leads a rebellion that would forever change history.

Free State of Jones

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