TV Show review
November 6, 2016 · TV-G
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Planet Earth II is a 2016 BBC nature documentary series presented by David Attenborough. It shows how animals adapt and survive in six main habitats: islands, mountains, jungles, deserts, grasslands, and cities. The series uses advanced cameras to capture real animal behavior and natural events with straightforward factual narration.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Planet Earth II.
Woke representation / casting
The series shows animals in natural settings and urban areas. The only regular human presence is the standard narrator David Attenborough. There is no visible emphasis on human diversity, identity groups, or representation choices in who appears or how they are presented.
Woke political dialogue
All narration describes animal behavior and survival in simple factual terms. The cities episode ends with one short direct comment from Attenborough about the value of people staying connected to nature, but it uses plain language with no political terms, activist calls, or identity framing.
Identity-driven story themes
The main ideas are animal adaptation, habitat challenges, and natural survival across different environments. No plots, character arcs, or messages involve human identity categories, gender roles, race, sexuality, or social justice topics.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Human-wildlife scenes in the cities episode note real issues like light pollution affecting animals and show some adaptations or local efforts to help nature. These are presented as straightforward observations of coexistence, not as attacks on Western systems, traditional values, capitalism, or cultural institutions.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. This is an original documentary built on new wildlife footage with no existing characters, stories, or historical figures being altered for identity or ideological reasons.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Searches across news and public discussions found no notable viewer complaints or articles claiming the series promotes woke ideas, DEI themes, or left-wing political content. Talk centered on the quality of the animal footage and visuals.
Creator track record context
The directors specialize in factual natural history filming for series like this one. Their documented work stays within wildlife documentation and shows no pattern of activist, political, or identity-driven projects.
