Movie review
August 12, 2021 · 145 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Respect (2021) is a biographical drama tracing Aretha Franklin’s early life from gospel prodigy in her father’s Detroit church through childhood trauma, an abusive marriage, civil rights-era performances, alcoholism struggles, and her breakthrough as the Queen of Soul with hits like “Respect.” The core narrative follows her arc of reclaiming personal agency and voice amid male control and personal setbacks, culminating in self-produced gospel work and independence. Recurring emphasis on a Black woman’s empowerment against spousal and familial dominance gives the story a noticeable identity-driven thread that many viewers register as a strong-female-lead triumph-over-adversity tale, though it stays rooted in documented biography rather than overt modern lectures.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Respect.
Woke representation / casting
All casting matches historical Black figures and 1950s–1970s Detroit gospel/civil-rights setting with zero visible forced diversity, race/gender swaps, or signaling.
Woke political dialogue
Occasional era-appropriate civil-rights references and MLK appearances remain background historical context with no modern activist monologues or present-day ideological framing.
Identity-driven story themes
Central character arc repeatedly stresses a Black woman’s struggle for personal power, voice, and independence from male control and trauma, making empowerment and self-respect the recurring narrative engine visible to average viewers.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Depicts historical personal abuse by father and husband plus church control as biographical facts but does not reframe into contemporary systemic patriarchy, whiteness, or institutional-critique messaging.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant; standard biopic dramatization and minor timeline condensing per fact-checks, with no ideological reinterpretations.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Near-absence of backlash claiming woke, activist, or identity-political pushing; complaints stay limited to biopic shallowness or historical accuracy with weak sourcing overall.
Creator track record context
Tommy’s political-theater background and explicit civil-rights/advocacy statements plus Khouri’s feminist canon (Thelma & Louise) provide moderate alignment with the film’s empowerment focus, though not an extreme activist pattern across their careers.
Production
