Movie review
September 6, 2017 · 135 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The 2017 horror film It adapts Stephen King's 1986 novel about seven children in 1980s Derry, Maine, who form the Losers Club to battle the ancient evil Pennywise, a shape-shifting clown that exploits their deepest fears amid personal struggles with bullies and family issues. The narrative prioritizes supernatural terror, friendship, and overcoming trauma through bravery, with no visible emphasis on modern social, political, or identity themes. Casting and story elements align directly with the source material without any audience-noticeable forced representation or activist messaging.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for It.
Woke representation / casting
Casting faithfully reproduces the 1986 novel's characters and demographics, including Mike Hanlon as a Black child fitting the story world, with no forced diversity, signaling, or mismatch visible to audiences.
Woke political dialogue
The screenplay contains no political, activist, or ideological dialogue; conversations focus on fear, friendship, family problems, and confronting the monster.
Identity-driven story themes
Core narrative revolves around supernatural evil, childhood trauma, bullying, and group loyalty without any identity politics, representation arcs, or modern social-justice framing.
Western institutional / cultural critique
No portrayals of toxic masculinity, patriarchy, systemic oppression, or critiques of traditional norms; personal abuse and evil are treated as individual and supernatural threats, not ideological.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. While some adjustments were made from the novel, none involve identity-driven reinterpretations or additions of activist elements.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No measurable backlash accusing the film of promoting woke, activist, or left-wing messaging; available coverage shows the opposite pattern of criticism for insufficient social commentary.
Creator track record context
No relevant prior work by director, producers, or writers indicates a pattern of identity-driven or activist projects.
Production
