Movie review
March 14, 2019 · 116 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Us is a 2019 horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele. A black family on a beach vacation faces a home invasion by their violent doppelgangers, called the Tethered, who live in underground tunnels as failed government clones. The story uses the setup to explore personal duality, repressed underclasses, and privilege through a black family at the center. Creator comments and some reviews highlight representation value and class inequality themes that viewers can notice in the allegory and key lines like "We're Americans."
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Us.
Woke representation / casting
Black family leads a mainstream horror film; creator publicly noted the significance of this representation in a story not centered on race, though casting fits modern American settings naturally.
Woke political dialogue
Minimal explicit dialogue; one key line has the antagonist claim "We're Americans" while explaining the Tethered's origins as a government project, but no extended ideological speeches or lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
Focuses on duality and a repressed underclass confronting privilege, interpreted by some as social inequality allegory, though Peele frames it primarily as universal horror about human nature rather than specific identity groups.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Depicts a hidden underclass of clones neglected by society and government, rising up with themes of privilege guilt and systemic failure; some critics link it to critiques of class structure in America.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. This is an original story with no source material alterations.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
A few conservative reviews labeled it as political content for "woke" audiences and criticized inserted social opinions, but such complaints remained limited and did not dominate public discourse.
Creator track record context
Jordan Peele has a documented history of films addressing social issues and representation (cached 52/100); Jason Blum has made occasional political comments in his work (cached 30/100); other key producers lack notable activist records.
