Question 1

Is LUZ woke?

Accepted Answer

LUZ has a woke score of 87/100, which means it is heavily driven by woke themes. LUZ (2020) follows two Latino men, Ruben and Carlos, who meet as cellmates in a minimum-security prison, develop a romantic and sexual relationship, and later attempt to sustain it after release amid family pressures, past relationships, and questions of authenticity. The narrative centers their emotional and physical connection while exploring survival in a macho prison environment and outside cultural expectations. The film explicitly frames traditional Latino machismo as a harmful force tied to homophobia and emotional repression, using the queer protagonists' arcs to challenge and transcend those norms through vulnerability and non-traditional masculinity.

Question 2

Is there DEI in LUZ?

Accepted Answer

The biggest factors in our score are Identity-driven story themes, Western institutional / cultural critique, Creator track record context. Ruben and Carlos become cellmates in a minimum-security prison. While Ruben struggles to learn the ropes of daily life and where he falls in the complex hierarchical prison system, Carlos becomes a mentor and then eventually a lover. The two men develop feelings for one another they can't easily express. As time moves on and one of them is released before the other, there are questions looming as to whether what they had was real or simply out of the need for human connection.

LUZ

Factors & Ratings

Summary

Main Cast

Director & Crew