Movie review
January 26, 2020 · 94 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Social Dilemma.
Woke representation / casting
Interracial family used in dramatized segments to represent average American impacts.
Woke political dialogue
Experts repeatedly frame tech companies as direct threat to democracy through manipulation and disinformation.
Identity-driven story themes
Teen girl arc centers on mental health damage from social media-driven body image issues.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Film portrays profit-driven big tech capitalism as the central villain causing addiction, division, and societal harm.
Woke character or canon changes
Review
The Social Dilemma hammers big tech capitalism as the evil system manipulating billions for profit through addictive algorithms. The dramatized story shows a teen girl’s self-esteem destroyed by social media beauty standards and a teen boy radicalized by extreme content. Experts deliver constant lectures on how these platforms wreck mental health, spread disinformation, and threaten democracy. Netflix frames the entire film as an urgent societal alarm on tech harm.
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Absent major woke complaints or backlash claiming forced identity politics.
Creator track record context
Director has history of activist environmental documentaries.
Production
