Movie review
January 14, 2021 · 112 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Dig is a 2021 historical drama depicting the 1939 Sutton Hoo excavation, where self-taught archaeologist Basil Brown is hired by landowner Edith Pretty to investigate burial mounds on her Suffolk estate as World War II approaches. The narrative centers on the dig itself, themes of discovery, legacy, and mortality, and interpersonal dynamics among the team. A visible LGBTQ+ subplot appears through the fictionalized portrayal of archaeologist Peggy Piggott’s strained marriage to a neglectful (implied gay) husband Stuart and her subsequent affair, layered into the historical events for dramatic effect.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Dig.
Woke representation / casting
Period-appropriate British cast with no forced diversity, identity signaling, or mismatches to the 1930s setting.
Woke political dialogue
No modern activist or ideological dialogue.
Identity-driven story themes
Visible LGBTQ+ subplot via implied gay husband and fictional affair adds modern identity element, though secondary to the dig narrative.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Period-specific class tensions only; no modern activist reframing of patriarchy, systemic oppression, or Western institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Fictional additions and alterations to real 1939 figures/events (romance, composites) for drama, not identity ideology.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No backlash labeling it too woke or agenda-driven.
Creator track record context
Writer has political/feminist works elsewhere, but no strong aligning pattern here.
Production
