A leading film industry analyst has shared the timeline and scale of rising social and political themes in cinema, revealing a significant increase in what many now refer to as “woke” content in mainstream films.
Stephen Follows, an industry researcher and educator, analysed over 51,000 films dating from 1940 to the present day and found a clear upward trend in the inclusion of social justice narratives, overt political messaging, and representation-focused casting, with the steepest growth occurring from the early 2000s onward.
Follows, who regularly publishes film data insights on Substack, used AI tools to analyse over 20,000 film plot summaries, along with audience reviews and thematic metadata.
He identified a sharp rise in themes related to inclusion, rights movements, and identity-based narratives.
One notable finding from his research was that LGBTQ+ representation, which saw early visibility in the 1970s, made a strong resurgence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and has risen dramatically in the last decade.
Similarly, films explicitly referencing social reform and equality have doubled since the 1970s, from 5% to more than 10% of releases today.
The trend has stirred significant debate in both the industry and among audiences, particularly as some high-profile films have been criticised for what some see as heavy-handed messaging or overt political intent.
Examples include the 2016 all-female Ghostbusters remake and 2023’s The Little Mermaid, which drew praise for diversity in casting but also backlash from segments of the fanbase.
Follows’ data indicates that, while representation and inclusivity have become priorities in many studios, this shift has coincided with more explicit storytelling around topics like gender, race, identity, and consent, often leading to divided reception.
For instance, films like Lightyear, featuring an LGBT subplot, and Snow White, which reimagined the classic tale with a more modern perspective, both encountered polarised responses and mixed box office outcomes.
In some cases, backlash extended to the small screen.
Long-running BBC series Doctor Who has experienced a drop in viewership, with some fans attributing the decline to recent narrative choices involving non-binary and transgender characters, and reimagined aspects of the lead character.
Follows’ report stops short of making value judgments but notes that today’s audiences are more aware than ever of a film’s underlying themes and messages.
“Political messaging in film has become less subtle over time,” he wrote, noting that once-nuanced themes are now more frequently delivered in a “clear and central” manner.