Transcription
It's a refrain heard many a time over the last 10 years. "Go woke, go broke." It alludes to pandering by corporations and Hollywood, progressive screenwriters attempting to demonstrate allyship, and shape the culture more in their image. Botched marketing, on-the-nose lecturing, poor creative choices, and that extra little pinch of absurdity. So, I wanted to find out, as quantifiably as I could, just how much money was lost by corporations and studios over the last 10 years as a consequence of identity politics and ideological fads getting shoved into products and entertainment. This will add up to a ballpark figure at the end of the video that will reveal the cost of an era that went woke and almost went broke.
Part one, corporate.
Bud Light, 2023. Anheuser-Busch decided to do a commercial tie-in with a transgender entertainer, Dylan Mulvaney. Needless to say, this went down as badly as, well, Bud Light. Impact, 1 to 1.4 billion in revenue decline. Mostly attributable to woke positioning. A conservative estimate, 1 to 1.3 billion.
Target Pride Collection, 2023. A pride-themed retail push that struck many shoppers as an unexpectedly ideological turn for a mass-market store, less a seasonal range than a cultural statement. Impact, low billions and affected sales. Woke, a large factor. Conservative estimate, 0.8 to 1.2 billion. For a running total of 1.8 to 2.5 billion.
Gillette, "The Best Men Can Be." A rebrand framed around correcting male behavior. It landed less as a refresh than a reprimand, an ad that seemed to lecture its own customer base. Backdrop, $8 billion write-down. Mitigating factors, competition, category decline. Woke, a large factor. Conservative estimate, 1 to 1.5 billion. Running total, 2.8 to 4 billion.
Pepsi, Kendall Jenner campaign. A glossy protest pastiche built around a can of soda. It managed to aestheticize real-world unrest into brand theater, tone-deaf in concept and swiftly abandoned in practice. Impact, 50 to 100 million. Mitigating factors, none. Almost entirely attributable to woke framing. Conservative estimate, 70 to 100 million. Running total, 2.9 to 4.1 billion.
Victoria's Secret. A sweeping pivot from aspirational fantasy to earnest inclusivity. It dissolved a once distinct brand identity into something duller, more body-positive, and less sexy. Impact, high hundreds of millions over time. Mitigating factors, retail shifts, competition. Woke, a large factor. Conservative estimate, 300 to 500 million. Running total, 3.2 to 4.6 billion.
Jaguar identity repositioning. A high-gloss exercise in identity posturing that seemed more interested in signaling cultural awareness than selling cars. Curiously untethered from any actual product. Impact, mid-hundreds of millions. Mitigating factors, pre-existing structural decline. Woke involved. Conservative estimate, 150 to 300 million. Running total, 3.35 to 4.9 billion.
Corporate subtotal, 3.3 to 4.9 billion.
Part two, entertainment.
The Marvels, 2023. A franchise entry pitched less as an event than a corrective, with a female director pushed to the front and then having to be steadied. A film trying to be "girlboss" while also trying to be slightly meta-aware of "girlbossery." It leaned so heavily on framing and message that it appealed to no one. Budget, 300 million. Loss, 200 million. Mitigating factors, MCU fatigue. Woke, a large factor. Conservative estimate, 100 to 150 million. Running total 3.45 to 5.05 billion.
Strange World, 2022. A brightly packaged adventure that foregrounded progressive themes so bluntly that they overwhelmed the story, leaving it feeling less like escapism and more like an adventure in identity for the writers rather than an adventure for the audience. Loss, 200 million plus. Mitigating factors, weak marketing. Woke, a large factor. Conservative estimate, 100 to 150 million. Running total, 3.55 to 5.2 billion.
Lightyear, 2022. A prestige spin-off that smuggled in contemporary social signaling under a legacy brand. It felt less like a natural extension of Toy Story and more like a tonal and ideological detour audiences hadn't asked for. Budget, 200 million. Loss, 100 million. Mitigating factors, none. Woke involved. Conservative estimate, 30 to 60 million. Running total, 3.58 to 5.26 billion.
The Acolyte, 2024. A Star Wars entry that foregrounded modern identity politics and subversive framing. Less a space opera than a cringeworthy watch for the lols, a lesbian space witch fever dream. Budget, 180 to 200 million. Underperformance, up to 150 million. Mitigating factors, none. Mostly attributable to woke positioning. Conservative estimate, 80 to 120 million. Running total, 3.66 to 5.38 billion.
The Rings of Power. A colossal, vapid commercial production with a Puerto Rican elf and a "girlboss" so preposterous she was the final boss of "girlbosses," upstaging men, being prickly and snide and standoffish, and behavior that, if it were a male character, would be exhibit A in unappealing masculinity. Spend, 700 million plus. Underperformance, 300 million class. Mitigating factors, none. Woke, a large factor. Conservative estimate, 150 to 250 million. Running total, 3.81 to 5.63 billion.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. A legacy sequel that sidelined its own hero and dulled to the swashbuckling appeal that made the series work, and tried desperately to position a beanpole British chick as Indy's successor by making her intellectually brilliant, a femme fatale, and an action star, which no one bought for a second. Loss, 150 to 200 million. Mitigating factors, none. Woke involved. Conservative estimate, 50 to 100 million. Running total, 3.86 to 5.73 billion.
Echo, Willow, She-Hulk, all grouped. Slop content heavy on identity, with Willow focusing on a pair of lesbians, Echo being deaf and having a disability, and being Native American, and She-Hulk being a bizarre pseudo-meta show that tried to out-ironize its cynical viewership. Budgets, 400 to 500 million combined. Underperformance, up to 200 million. Mitigating factors, some decent early numbers. Mostly attributable to woke positioning. Conservative estimate, 100 to 150 million. Running total, 3.96 to 5.88 billion.
Snow White, 2025. A film derailed disastrously by the running mouth of a pert, half-Colombian actress who seemed to delight in taking snarky potshots at a beloved classic and flounce about to the incredulity of everyone. Gross, 205.7 million. Loss, 170 million. Mostly attributable to woke positioning. Conservative estimate, 120 to 170 million. Running total, 4.08 to 6.05 billion.
Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa era. A gay showrunner and a gay Doctor Who from a diverse background. An episode featuring crying, a gay kiss, mincing and scampering energy, a two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner as a villain, leading to the show's worst ratings in six decades. Budget, 6 to 8 million pounds per episode. Underperformance, 30 to 80 million pounds. Mitigating factors, none. Woke, a large factor. Conservative estimate, 40 to 80 million. Running total, 4.12 to 6.13 billion.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. A legacy franchise extension positioned around a younger, more identity-forward ensemble. It boasted a gay Klingon in a dress, a bisexual fishman vomiting out blue glitter, a possibly on the spectrum hologram, a lesbian couple, and a trans bartender. And that was just one episode. Budget, 100 to 130 million season-level estimate. Reported engagement scenario, 400,000 viewers across full season. Substantial gap between cost and audience reach. Mitigating factors, general franchise dilution. Mostly attributable to woke positioning. Conservative estimate, 80 to 120 million.
Entertainment subtotal, 0.9 to 1.3 billion.
Part three, gaming.
Concord, 2024. A slick hero shooter whose painstakingly curated identity-forward cast and sterile tone landed as instantly unappealing. Rejection was immediate and terminal. Loss, 150 million plus. Mitigating factors, none. Partly attributable to woke positioning. Conservative estimate, 120 to 150 million. Running total, 4.24 to 6.28 billion.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard. A long-gestating flagship RPG that featured the character Taash declaring she was non-binary, and a scene where a character does push-ups in contrition after misgendering someone. Budget, typical AAA range inferred at 150 to 250 million. Performance, 1.5 million players. Mitigating factors, lengthy development cycle, shifting design direction, woke a large factor. Conservative estimate, high eight-figure shortfall. Running total, 4.32 to 6.38 billion.
Starfield, 2023. Its inclusion of optional pronoun selection and likely sanitized HR-coded tone became a disproportionate talking point, giving parts of the game a faintly focus-tested feel. Shortfall, high eight figures. Mitigating factors, gameplay design, woke involved. Conservative estimate, 20 to 50 million. Running total, 4.34 to 6.43 billion.
Dustborn, a narrative game built almost entirely around overtly progressive themes and dialogue. It positioned its identity as its core appeal. It had a fat, diverse chick in hot pants with vitiligo. Loss, 10 million. Mitigating factors, niche appeal, almost entirely attributable to woke positioning. Conservative estimate, 8 to 12 million.
So, after a decade of progressive posturing, ideology, self-inserts, theater kids enjoying the run of the writing rooms, and lesbian space witches, a millennial feminist She-Hulk, a shit-canned Willow, a fat Jedi, beer, soda, and women's lingerie somehow dragged into the culture war, a gay Klingon, and blue glitter-vomiting bisexual fish man, it seems we can safely say that corporations and Hollywood trying to pander to younger millennial and Gen Z audiences was mostly a gigantic folly that cost staggering amounts of money and resulted in painful write-downs and write-offs.
So, at a conservative estimate, how much money did woke actually lose? The final total, somewhere around 6 billion dollars. All to discover that the modern audience such products and entertainment were for doesn't really exist. That's some really expensive market research.
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