Why “Woke” Is Just the Newest Lazy Critique of Superhero Movies
Superheroes are supposed to be woke... whatever that even means now.
So apparently, the new Superman movie is “too woke.” That’s the latest take doing the rounds, especially from the usual right-wing commentators who seem determined to drag down anything that doesn’t fit their particular vibe.
I’ve now seen a mountain of claims that the film is overly left-wing, “anti-American” or just generally not worth watching because of this elusive woke agenda. Which, to be honest, I don’t even think most of them could properly explain if they tried. It’s bizarre that “woke” has become this one-size-fits-all sledgehammer online, wheeled out whenever someone just doesn’t want to give something a go.
If you don’t like a movie these days, apparently the easiest move is to chuck it in the woke basket. That’s exactly what I want to dig into here. All these right-wing commentators, Ben Shapiro leading the pack (I know, right?), have totally gone in on this movie for being “too woke.”
Even Dean Cain, who played Superman back in the nineties, has thrown his hat in the ring with complaints about “woke” movies, like the Snow White race-swapping thing which, honestly, flopped for a bunch of reasons outside just casting. The Harry Potter TV remake’s been dragged into it too — people are really pressed about Paapa Essiedu being cast as Snape, probably because they can't separate Alan Rickman from the character, but again, ask yourself, who genuinely cares this much about imaginary people looking a bit different?
Here’s my main beef: superheroes at their core are “woke” if you want to use that word. When the critics chuck it around, all they really mean is that these stories care about things like diversity, equality and social justice.
It’s pretty wild how many people miss the actual point of superhero fiction.
Take Captain America: he was created to punch literal Nazis and be a beacon for American values during World War II.
I read this top-notch article by Ben Child in the Guardian that gets right to the heart of it: superheroes have always subverted the powerful and sided with underdogs. That’s basically been the job description since the 1930s.
Superman was crafted from the very start to punch up, not down, fighting injustice and championing the right thing. Even the whole “immigrant” angle is nothing new. Superman’s always been an outsider who arrives in America, gets raised by two everyday battlers, and becomes a symbol for the best of what American society can be.
If you’re a conservative, isn’t that message kind of brilliant? Small town upbringing, solid family values, kid grows up to be a force for good? This is the stuff Superman’s had baked in for ages; it’s not some secret political rebrand done last minute.
If people want to dig even deeper, superhero stories have always been about social justice. Spider-Man starts out as a regular kid in New York who’s just trying to help people in his neighbourhood. At its heart, it’s fighting for everyday folks and looking after the underdog.
The X-Men? Their whole thing is being rejected purely for being different, which is such a clear metaphor for how society treats outsiders, whether that’s about race, sexuality or just not fitting the mould. These characters and stories are all about justice, acceptance and sometimes sticking a finger up at the people running the show when they’re out of line.
None of this is to say people have to love every creative decision or character casting, but the constant kneejerk “it’s woke!” stuff is lazy, and in most cases, completely misses the bigger picture. People using “woke” as an insult about these movies are kind of outing themselves as not understanding what these heroes were created to represent in the first place.
This is what’s so good about superhero films and why they resonate. At their best, they’re about hope, fairness and, honestly, treating people the right way. If that’s woke now, I’ll happily take it.
This blog post was repurposed from the transcript of my YouTube video on the same topic. I used AI to structure the transcript into a blog post form.