Movie review
January 20, 2023 · 117 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for You People.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent interracial couple and Black-Jewish ensemble in lead family roles; diversity is tightly tied to the central culture-clash premise rather than random signaling or quotas, though identities are heavily emphasized in casting and marketing.
Woke political dialogue
Scattered comedic scenes involve race discussions, a podcast on racial differences, and family arguments over culture, but these remain light and joke-driven without sustained activist lectures or institutional critique.
Identity-driven story themes
Racial, religious, and cultural identity form the main engine of conflict, humor, and character arcs in this interracial romance, making identity politics a noticeable and recurring focus.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Story stays focused on personal family biases and cultural stereotypes rather than broad attacks on Western institutions, patriarchy, capitalism, or systemic power structures.
Review
You People is a 2023 Netflix romantic comedy directed by Kenya Barris and co-written with Jonah Hill. It centers on a secular Jewish man and a Black Muslim woman who meet and fall in love in Los Angeles, then face intense family pushback over racial, religious, and cultural differences. The film uses broad comedy to explore modern interracial dating, generational expectations, and family clashes, with race and identity forming the core source of humor and conflict through multiple scenes of cultural stereotyping and debate.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Some viewers and critics explicitly called out forced “woke” race scenes, an obsession with interracial dynamics, and awkward identity-politics handling; complaints exist but stayed niche and moderate in volume.
Creator track record context
Kenya Barris’s long history of race-focused progressive content on Black-ish and related shows provides clear context; Jonah Hill shows no comparable pattern.
Production
