The “Woke” Culture Destroys Everything It Touches
Even the word “Woke” is on the edge of becoming destroyed. It’s gone the way of social justice warrior. Remember that word?
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To quote former President Donald Trump, “Everything woke turns to [expletive].”
Do you remember political correctness? For members of Generation X, the political correctness of the ’80s and ’90s was part of growing up.
Today’s “woke” philosophy is the equivalent of Generation X’s political correctness. Then, add to the mix of social media and mobile devices, and then political correctness is out of hand.
There are constraints on the creativity needed for exciting, compelling, and memorable storytelling. Diversity for the sake of diversity is the main constraint.
When there were only three channels to choose from on the television, the odds you and your neighbor enjoyed watching the same show were much more likely. The likelihood that “woke” culture infects storytelling was nil.
Americans now have more offerings and options than ever, which is good news. We’ve got Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Apple TV, and much more. More choices mean more opportunities for the “woke” culture to infiltrate and constrain the art of storytelling.
Hollywood wasn’t always so woke. Going as far back as the ’40s and ’50s, actors would star in movies celebrating America. So how did we get here?
The rules of “woke” pop culture stifles creativity.
An example of the sheer unoriginality of “woke” culture is Puffin Books’ hiring of so-called sensitivity experts. They are to scrub any language the “woke” culture deems offensive from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, and others.
Shielding children from so-called “offensive” words such as “fat,” “ugly,” or “four-eyes” won’t prepare children for the real world. This will only cause children more anxiety once they’re faced with the realities of the harshness and cruelty of reality.
Puffin Books partially walked back its plan to remove “insensitive” words from the author’s pages. The publisher’s announcement came after backlash over its move to cut and alter references to gender, race, and physical appearance in newer editions of Dahl’s books.
It’s not only the classics being rewritten, there are plans for a “woke” version of Harry Potter to be serialized this summer. TikTok producer, Megan Mckelli is the mastermind behind the Harry Potter a-woken-ing.
According to Mckelli, “We aim to reflect the diversity of the fanbase in its beloved characters, introducing people of color, queer storylines and characters of differing faiths.”
The casting for Harry Potter’s dad is open only to somebody who is Asian, black, of African descent, ethnically ambiguous, multiracial, Indigenous peoples, Latino, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, South Asian, Indian, Southeast Asian, or Pacific Islander, in other words, no “cis, white man.” The same holds for Potter’s mother, she should be a non-binary, trans female.
It’s a shame the books I grew up with, the Dr. Seuss classics, are already on the chopping block.
“Woke” destroys music also
It’s not only the banning of books by the “woke-mob” but the censorship of songs. Shane MacGowan’s “offensive” lyrics to the Fairytale of New York, were served up censored during the Christmas season for the coddled, super-sensitive young in the UK.
The lyrics in question? The allegedly offensive lyric is this one:
‘You scumbag, you maggot / You cheap lousy faggot / Happy Christmas your arse / I pray God it’s our last.’
“Woke” is a tick-box culture
What gets me riled up about “wokeness” isn’t only censorship. It isn’t the cousin of “wokeness”: cancel culture. It’s the deliberate constraints on the creativity of movies and television in particular. It’s the forcing of diversity, equity, and inclusion on the viewer.
Modern TV is falling over itself to be inclusive. The characters in the media we consume should be reflective of the real world, the world we live in. Instead, we have characters whose entire personalities are based on stereotypes. These characters are forced into their situations; they’ve become unnatural and lack depth and often look clumsy and contrived.
There’s a difference between writing a story about a strong female character — Ripley from the Aliens movies, Sarah Connor from the first few Terminator movies, Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs — and writing a story deliberately setting out to feature a “strong female character.”
Whenever a female character acts of her own volition, it’s seen as remarkable. We shouldn’t consider her remarkable, instead, we should expect this level of autonomy as the minimum and praise any character who resembles actual women.
A large problem with a strong female character is even if the character isn’t fully developed, she’s usually still praised for inclusion. The clamor to include a strong woman is so strong that the more important task of having a multidimensional character falls by the wayside; this can be seen in Mary Sue characters.
Modern “strong female characters” can be categorized as Mary Sues. Mary Sues are usually a female, fictional character. They’re too perfect; they’re boring for a lack of flaws.
Many filmmakers in Hollywood believe they only need to check the boxes of diversity, equity, and inclusion, a kind of tick-box culture.
Do we have a black character? Check.
Do we have a queer character? Check.
Do we have a character with a disability? Check.
Some examples of “wokeness” gone amok are Ghostbusters (2016), any old TV shows “updated” to include a diversified cast, and Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel-slash-reboot The Rings of Power.
The conclusion
Winston Smith’s job — who worked in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth in the novel 1984 — was to rewrite historical documents so they matched the constantly changing party line. This involves revising newspaper articles and doctoring photographs.
Removing any uniqueness from genuinely original creations and serving them up bland and pedestrian for a generation being groomed to consume the intellectual equivalent of Reader’s Digest or the TV Guide is now the norm.
6079 Smith W would fit in nicely in today’s “woke” culture.
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